2016 was the year of the face mask, and, judging by their increasing popularity, they’re going to be sticking around long into 2017.
Originating in Korea, the masks originally brightened and hydrated skin, although in the last year, the list of attributes has expanded to firming, pigmentation reduction, skin reinvigoration, collagen delivery…The list is endless.
Not only that, but they even range from full-face to area specific, plumping the lips or rejuvenating the under eye section. Oh, and did we mention they can be made out of silk, rubber and bubbling pearl extract?
“Consumers want affordable and convenient solutions that make them look and feel good … and actually work!” says Lonvitalite Managing Director, Rochelle Bridge. “The face mask theory works as it causes skin occlusion slightly increasing the temperature of the surface skin, inhibiting air and increasing moisture levels. The combination of this science helps the delivery system of nutrients within the mask serum permeate directly into the skin for an intense hydration boost.”
The Asia Pacific region dominates the market, with Cosmetics Business attributing our corner of the globe with a 37.9% global share in 2015. Rochelle tells us that by 2020, it’s estimated that the face mask industry will be worth a staggering $US7.4 billion. An Australian brand. Lonvitalite launched back in 2009 and has seen an extraordinary boost in sales, with their specialist masks now being sold in 700 salons nation-wide, not to mention, in a true mark of millennial success, amassing an impressive 40,000 Instagram followers.
However, it’s not just consumers who are soaking up the benefits. Face masks are an excellent add on salon owners can offer clients. Think of cooling face-masks after skin needling, injectable treatments or microdermabrasion, eye masks as essentials facets of the lash extension service and more.
Salons charge around 10 or 20 dollars for these extra features, a seemingly small amount for each individual that quickly adds up for your salon’s cash register.
Face masks are social media regulars, with people documenting their nights in spent with a glass of vino and, in LonVitalite’s case, a red wine collagen firming and moisturising silk sheet face mask.
Everyone from Drew Barrymore and Emma Stone to Maisie Williams and Julia Louis-Dreyfus has snapped a pic of themselves in a sheet mask, although admittedly they were on their ways to The Golden Globes and not bed.
So what’s in store for 2017? Korea is releasing a face mask soaked in rice water, Charlotte Tilbury has designed a dry version and one beauty blogger is showing her followers how to make a DIY Nutella edition.
Is your stomach rumbling too?
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