Indeed, it is becoming a new beauty marker (“Beauty is actually wellness, vibrancy and vitality”, Dr Taz, Integrative Medicine, US) and brands are now focusing on completely different aspects in their campaigns (“Reveal the glow of health and the flush of youth. Reveal a portrait of radiant health”, Dr Perricone, MD).
(Health + Wellness + Beauty) is the new self-management equation. “Super aware” people are creating global skincare routines and setting up parameters for 360° wellness and beauty by themselves, drawing inspiration from brands’ campaigns and what experts and their peers recommend. The craze for yoga and meditation for the last three years is a perfect example: the new motto is to cultivate our inner peace to reveal our profound beauty.
Beyond these societal observations, “Health Tech” is changing our relationship with skincare and our own selves. The Digital Health revolution is about to redesign the boundaries of tomorrow’s beauty, health, and wellness (“this year, half a billion human beings will keep an eye on their health via an app or a connected device” [2]).
Augmented prevention, holistic tracking and Mood Tech are all the rage: patches reveal everything about us (HealthPatch VitalConnect BioSensor, measurement of heartbeats, body position, temperature, etc.), Tellspec scans our food, Baidu has even designed connected chopsticks that can detect foods toxicity in China, and at Alliance Pornic, Physioscan scans the biochemical energy field of tissues and organs for a global energy assessment. And the cunning Nudge app combines the results of fitness trackers and health apps to establish a single score (should that be developed in beauty?).
As for cosmetics, Ioma has paved the way for a new “skin radiography” method by exploiting the MEMS spatial measurement technology, while L’Oréal, with its Makeup Genius app, has managed to work miracles by collecting 64 dynamic dots in facial recognition. Panasonic is actively working on a connected mirror for the general public. Dr Denis Lamboley has developed the Wellspa application for Clarins, which coaches people through a multidimensional approach: stress, mood, energy, nutrition, etc. It also gives advice and recommends practical exercises (breathing, heart coherence, etc.). Here is a good example of a brand that considers wellness and health as a condition for beauty.
Lastly, the synchronized boom of GRIN (Genetics / Robotics / Information / Nanotechnology) represents a radical change for health. The promise of augmented longevity is taking shape through science and biotechnologies. Calico (Google) intends to prolong life expectancy by at least 20 years. The transhumanist movement, ubiquitous in the Silicon Valley, is dreaming of an augmented Man with no disease, aging, or death.
With the current Health Revolution that is creating a multitude of technological solutions, the skincare paradigm is to be rethought not to be left behind. The idea is to develop synergies and establish the health-beauty continuum… meaning, among others, guaranteeing product safety, resensorializing the relationship with oneself, potentiating technologies, and also relying on omniscient tracking, on the predictive approach and on data in order to set up a cutting-edge, customized solution that would guarantee the role and action of cosmetic skincare, while integrating an emotional dimension.
