The beauty and wellness industry is always evolving. Booking software specialist Fresha partnered with trend forecaster WGSN to decode the trends that are shaping, and will shape, the industry over the coming months and years.
One of the biggest trends at the moment is dopamine beauty. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter and hormone that plays a role in many important body functions.
It acts on areas of the brain that give you feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and motivation.
So, dopamine beauty is beauty products and treatments that focus on joy, rather than being something that is simply functional.
Dopamine beauty simply puts more emphasis on mental and emotional wellbeing, and it’s becoming more and more popular.
For example, 58.5% of people think wellness is about how they feel mentally and emotionally, compared to 31.5% of people think it’s about how they feel physically. So, treatments are becoming the space to focus on the clients' joy.
There are many reasons for this development. For example, we’ve recently been through a turbulent period in our modern history: the Covid-19 pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency have impacted our emotional wellbeing and way of life.
Gallup's 2022 Global Emotions report found that a blend of negative emotions including anger, stress, anxiety, fear and sadness has led to a new record level of unhappiness since its first edition in 2006.
Consumers understandably want to be uplifted and are turning to dopamine-inducing beauty experiences that prioritise mental and emotional – over physical – health, with 65% of women and 52% of men in our consumer survey agreeing with this outlook.
As it so often feels like we’re on the brink of a revolution within the wellness space, the concept of wellness will continue to encompass so much more than it currently does, or did in the past 10 years or so.
But, the most important question is how do we create dopamine treatments? How do we create the space for our clients to prioritise joy over function, mental over physical?
Using colour for self-expression
Beauty aesthetics that offer an instant hit of dopamine are emerging through the creative use of colour.
Colour is frequently studied for its ability to affect our emotions and influence how we feel on a daily basis.
In the quest to feel good and have fun while doing so, consumers have begun to experiment more boldly with colour across makeup, nail, brow and hair aesthetics, for an instant dopamine boost.
Tina Michael, founder of UK conscious beauty brand Shoreditch Nails in London, and a Fresha partner, has noted this shift in her salons.
“Customers are pushing boundaries in terms of what they are having on their nails,” she explains.
“When we first introduced nail art it was very simple, but it has gone to a different level now with animals, characters and 3D nail art, meaning clients get to have their own piece of art on their nails.”
WGSN’s social media data shows that conversations on the topic of dopamine beauty (colourful, escapist makeup and beauty looks) are still emerging.
These conversations are being driven by innovator brands and influencers, signalling that there is still a lot of opportunity for the wider market to capitalise on these creative and experimental aesthetics.
The future of dopamine beauty: creative exploration
Salons will be equipped to offer creative and experimental beauty services for clients looking to transform their image.
Nail, makeup and hair services will effortlessly own this trend in the short term, with adventurous nail art and colourful temporary hair dyes, creative hair styling.
Salons that stay up to date with the latest aesthetic trends emerging across TikTok and pop culture will drive excitement across the industry, leveraging the creative expertise of nail technicians, makeup artists and stylists to drive footfall.