SpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine released its “Top Ten Spa Beauty Trends to Watch in 2009” today.
1. Multi—tasking, money-saving products
The explosion of targeted skin-care products in recent years will give way to products that have two, three, or four beautifying uses.
2. Brand-name facialists
Dermatologists are being joined by a new generation of facialist-branded skin-care treatments and products.
3. Gem stoned
Move over gold, silver and platinum; spas worldwide are now boasting the benefits of beauty products infused with precious and semi-precious gems.
4. The skin-care diet
Food is the new skin care, reflecting a return to the inner-beauty mantra that a good diet begets good skin.
5. Antioxidant free-for-all
All manner of teas, hearty alpine herbs like edelweiss and rare fruit extracts will be joined by more, and possibly increasingly obscure, sources of skin-benefiting antioxidants. For instance, next up, suggests a recent article in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology: burdock fruit.
6. Sunscreen controversy
Are mineral sunscreen particles too small to be safe? Are chemical sunscreens bad for you? Do some antioxidants boost protection from UV rays? More questions are simmering about beauty’s most serious and important skin-care product than the industry can answer, at least in 2009.
7. Suds-free shampoos
By popular demand, shampoos without the controversial ingredient sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) or traditional foaming agents are hitting the shelves.
8. Organic panic
While beauty brands continue to scramble for a USDA organics logo, strip parabens from their formulations, or swap their packaging for something more earth-friendly to meet consumer demand, others will use 2009 to better define exactly what shade of green they subscribe to, while touting transparency as their angle.
9. Hammams are hot
This year’s hottest beautifying bathing ritual is the hammam, a traditional Moorish-Mediterranean steam room, now found in brand-new spas.
10. Hard science sells
There’s nothing like proof that a product works to justify a cosmetic purchase or a higher-price point. That’s why science-backed products will be flourishing even in tough economic times.