The pandemic has affected every area of life – including some we might never have imagined, such as the beauty business.
Industry insiders say many upcoming trends have been driven by the events of the past couple of years – and they’re set to dominate in 2022.
Number one trend, not surprisingly, is hygiene – hence why many upmarket beauty brands are busy developing their own ranges of high-end soaps and hand sanitisers to appeal to their brand-conscious consumers.
With more of us working from home and generally spending more time indoors staring at screens, there’s also a big focus on protecting skin from damaging ‘blue light’. The beauty gurus are on to this issue with products to minimise the impact, and industry watchers reckon it will lead to a flurry of new products.
Ironically, the lockdowns have also led to a focus on ‘minimalist make up’ as more of us hid at home or shielded our faces behind masks. Not much point in putting on full warpaint when there’s nobody to see you! Which could have been bad news for beauty products – but the industry’s answer is ‘minimalist’ make-up ranges for those who like the natural look – but might need a bit of help achieving it!
‘Natural’ is also the new buzz word for hair, after many people were banned from hairdressing salons for months on end and unexpectedly re-discovered their own natural colour – even if that meant embracing the grey! This is resulting in products that enhance natural colour, and less structured styles that don’t need as much regular maintenance.