During lockdown we’ve started to appreciate the grooming habits and beauty treatments that were once just seen as a convenience. But what does this mean for the aesthetics industry in the long run?
Covid-19 has completely transformed every aspect of our daily lives. It's created opportunities for self-reflection and has prompted us to reset. One of the main goals it has started to help us accomplish is our outlook on self-care, which we’ve had more time than ever to carve out. We’ve even started to shift our perception of beauty to mean looking and feeling healthy. Here are three ways the pandemic is going to change our outlook on aesthetics.
Turning to Self-Love
The majority of our usual beauty treatments have been replaced by DIY home-based fixes, but there are others that we’ve been forced to live without, such as chemical peels and Botox. This shift in our reality has forced us to confront versions of ourselves that we previously might have been uncomfortable with. It can be extremely problematic – especially for those who undergo non-surgical aesthetic treatments for a self-esteem boost.
Due to the psychological impacts of the pandemic, self-care can make a huge difference to how we feel – whether we’ve started to take part in simple rituals such as bathing or working out everyday to gain some comfort. As lockdown starts to ease, we can seek out further measures to amplify our self-worth, with tweakments acting as another form of self-love. Now is the time for us to broaden our definitions of wellness, and understand how closely beauty and confidence are connected.
Zoom Fever
Since lockdown, it's no surprise that internet activity has soared, with almost half (44%) of global users spending more time on social media to check in on their loved ones and reminisce over pre-pandemic life. Many of us are also guilty of fawning over our favourite celebrities and beauty moguls, who always seem to look flawless - even in the era of communicating purely digitally.
While dissolving fillers and looking more natural were popular for some pre-pandemic, wanting to look flawless for Zoom calls is overtaking this trend. We have been learning how to recreate the best version of ourselves in the digital space, and this will also be reflected in our behaviour now that we're finally able to start going out into the real world too. We’ll strive to have instantly even skin texture thanks to the ‘Touch Up My Appearance’ function on Zoom and, thankfully, fractional laser treatments offer a subtle way of looking like a filter IRL.
It’s In Your Eyes
As we start to return to the ‘new normal’ and wear our face masks on commutes and shopping trips, there will naturally be more of a focus on the eyes. As eye makeup starts to become heavier, it will be important to make the eye area look brighter to combat any of the darker makeup we wear which can make us look tired. One treatment that can really help brighten eyes quickly and effectively is tear trough filler, which offers a subtle way of reducing eye puffiness and dark circles.
While life may never be exactly the same as it was pre-pandemic, one benefit is that it's made us reassess how to create the best version of ourselves from the inside out. We've reached a pivotal point in our lives that calls for serious self-reflection and change and, for many, actively seeking out tweakments will be part of that change.
Guest writer Disha Daswaney is a global beauty and wellness expert. After having worked in publishing in Europe and Asia for ten years, covering everything from fashion to travel, she is passionate about inclusivity and emerging trends. Disha has previously written for London Evening Standard, Fizzy Magazine, BASE, Prestige Hong Kong and AsiaSpa Magazine.
