Australians are beginning to demand that beauty salons “offer a full regime of both inner and outer beauty”, according to The Beauty Chef founder Carla Oates.
Oates, who founded her inner beauty company in 2012, believes all beauty professionals should be able to assist a client in “their inner beauty journey and achieve the best results for optimal skin health”.
Citing a recent Zion Market Research report which found that the US$133 billion international dietary supplements market is expected to reach $220.3 billion by 2022, Oates said beauty therapists are ideally positioned to capitalise on the growth.
She added that the 2016 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements by US-based Council for Responsible Nutrition found that nearly one fifth of American supplement users take them for skin, hair and nail benefits.
“Research like this tells us that this is a category that is not going anywhere,” she said.
“It [the dietary supplements category] is not niche. It is becoming integral to our everyday skincare routine.
“I think it will be a case of consumers demanding that their local salon offer a full regime of both inner and outer beauty.”
She said such a regime would ensure the best results for clients and maximum profits for salons.
Oates explained further that The Beauty Chef’s ethos is ‘beauty begins in the belly’.
“Digestive health is key for healthy, radiant skin,” she said.
“Research shows that those with healthier gut microbiota have a better fatty acid profile in their skin while those with dermatitis have been shown to have a disruption of normal gut flora.
“Studies also show that where there is gut inflammation, there will be skin inflammation.
“It makes sense then, that in order to offer a full service to their clients salons need to adopt a 360 degree approach to skin health.”
According to Oates, beauty therapists are in a unique situation as “they are often the first port of call for a person suffering skin conditions or wanting to improve their skin”.
“On occasion, the more extreme cases may warrant a consult with a naturopath, but most people will see improvement in gut health and digestion, and healthier, glowing skin with the adoption of a healthier eating plan and incorporating lacto-fermented foods, full of nutrients and natural probiotics into their diet.”
“For this reason, our Glow Inner Beauty Powder is the perfect inner beauty product to incorporate into a client’s take home protocol as it contains 24 lacto-fermented, bio-available super foods and prebiotics and probiotics to ensure their skin is getting good bacteria and nutrients to keep its ecosystem strong, healthy and glowing.”
Oates also revealed that when she launched her first “inner beauty” product “it was a challenge to break into the mainstream beauty market”.
“Although the reaction from salon owners who tested the products personally was overwhelmingly positive, the feedback from a business perspective was that they were at that time, too left of field,” she said.
“Lacto-fermentation and the benefits of probiotics was a very new concept for the beauty world.
“I remember there was a buyer who called me and said, ‘I tried your powders and my skin is amazing, everyone is asking me what I’m doing differently. I want to buy your product and put it on the shelves, but right now there’s no category for it.’”
Today The Beauty Chef has more than 200 stockists around the world.