Less filter, more self-care: skincare and the future of cosmetics in the post-pandemic world

We have never worried so much with aging as we do now. The subject is printed everywhere. On magazine covers with the secret of such Hollywood actress, on outdoors with young and slender models, on advertisements that are directed to us on the social media every day. But which result can we predict from this growing trend in the post-pandemic market?

As if this 24-hour-a-day bombardment of information were not enough, we face a world health crisis in which the main group at risk is of people advanced in years. Coronavirus has exposed a truth which we were still reluctant to accept: We need to age with health and quality of life.

Brazilian PhD scientist Alessandra Zonari is one of the fittest persons for speaking about the subject. She is the co-founder of OneSkin, one of the startups in which we invest. The enterprise has been growing in Silicon Valley since 2016 and is working to revert aging directly in senescent cells. She points out the combat against aging as the next great world trend in the health, beauty and cosmetic markets.

“What we're learning from this pandemic is that, by fighting aging, it's possible to make more in response to the disease”, she explains. Alessandra comments that, besides working to combat the Covid-19 virus, it is also necessary to strengthen the body, since we are “hosts of the virus”. “Aging has for a long time been considered a risk factor in countless illnesses, but aging is in itself a disease which can be treated”.

The market and the self-care age

What Alessandra points out meets a much bigger trend we are living through worldwide, which is the age of self-care. Whoever takes part in the social network can see the movement which posts have been lately following. On Instagram, for instance, the #autocuidado (self-care, in Portuguese) hashtag has vertiginously mounted to over 1 million photos. We have never consumed so much content about self-care as in the last year — and that has just been intensified with Covid-19.

According to a research made by Consumoteca, 67% of interviewees declared that they had invested in self-care products in that last month. Diane Kelter, an American trends analyst, asserts that self-care is in a stage of evolution. In other words, the age of “10 products before sleeping” is coming to an end. The specialist says that self-care will be increasingly harnessed to improving already existing habits in one's routine rather than creating new routines and new habits. This means that people shall be more attentive to what they eat, consume, and how they take care of themselves.

Healthy routines for a healthy aging

Better planned meals, more carefulness by the time of selecting content to be consumed, and more conscious choices. The new age of self-care shall be totally turned to treat aging as a disease combated with healthy routines from an early time.

“It”s never late to incorporate healthy habits, no matter your age”, declares Alessandra. The scientist asserts that one of the best practices in the combat against aging is prevention. “In the last two years I myself have changed my own habits, like [adopting] daily exercise, meditation, fasting, and a healthier diet, and I can already feel the impact of that on my health and energy”.

The industry of self-care became a market evaluated at US$450 million, as a study made by Uniwax points out. This same study asserts that 62% of Americans try to consume vegan beauty products, demonstrating more concern with their routine of skin care.

The technology which she applies in the labs of OneSkin speaks for itself. The startup makes researches which seek to extend the time of a person's longevity of skin, preventing [facial] expression marks and illnesses associated with aging. “Longevity researches show that life styles and therapeutic interventions are capable of delaying the process of aging and increasing the number of healthy years”, she explains. “Aging is treatable”.

Learn more about the work of OneSkin here. And follow the enterprise on Instagram to learn beforehand about the unprecedent product which will be launched this year and is intended to revolutionize the skincare market, contributing to skin longevity and antiaging.