Self-care was once just a trendy buzzword, but today it’s defining the beauty industry. After two years of enduring ups, downs, closures, and re-openings, beauty professionals are providing the services that customers are seeking, and this time around placing even more value on them.
Beauty services were once seen as a luxury but are now seen as a necessity, and beauty professionals are busier than ever. The Square Future of Beauty Report uncovered that 78% of consumers say going back for regular personal care services is important for a sense of normalcy. Square Appointments saw more than 60M completed reservations with beauty and personal care sellers in 2021 alone, matching this sentiment from consumers.
“A little self care goes a long way for our mental space during this time of uncertainty. We’re booking more appointments now than two years ago as clients continue to prioritize themselves,” said Alvaro Hernandes-Pelayo, Owner of Slain Nail Art Studios in Phoenix, AZ.
How beauty professionals can use trends to grow their business
It might feel like there are new trends emerging every week, and while you don’t need to jump on every single one, it’s important to stay on top of what customers are looking for and explore bringing in new services that keep your business fresh.
Use trends to expand your audience
When new trends start to emerge, they provide a key opportunity to expand your customer base to those on the hunt for new services. To engage with audiences from anywhere, try out videos and livestreams to showcase new services, create beauty tutorials, advertise products, and engage with audiences in new ways.
Our Future of Beauty report found that 51% of beauty practitioners say that online tutorials will continue to help engage clients post-pandemic, while 52% say the same for virtual classes, and 41% for livestream beauty tutorials.
Ask your customers what they want
Sometimes going straight to the source is the best method for knowing when it’s time to explore a new service. Surveying your customers through your social media channels or marketing emails is a great way to get a better understanding of what services they’d like to see you offer, and has the added bonus of helping to strengthen your relationships with your customers.
Free up time with an omnichannel experience
Adding a new service might seem like a big undertaking, especially when you’re already busy, but with the right automation tools, you can lighten your administrative load and free up time to focus on expanding your services.
Our Future of Beauty report found that a significant 98% of salon and spa owners say that having an integrated app to manage all areas of their beauty businesses would free up their staff for more important, hands-on work, such as learning about new services, training staff to provide new services, and building relationships with clients.
What’s trending
Keeping up with trends and what customers are looking for is tricky, which is why the Square Beauty Trends Report took a look at what services are on the rise so business owners can get a glimpse into what more customers will be asking for.
From the millions of appointments booked on the Square platform, we take a deep dive into the fastest-growing personal care trends over the past 12 months to find out what they are and where they’re most popular.
- Brow Special: Consumers loved brow specials for their ability to shape, control, and manage their eyebrows, with salons using a variety of techniques like waxing, threading, and tweezing. Brows are most popular in Gretna, LA, and took the number-one spot as the fastest-growing beauty trend with 14x growth.
- Vacuum Therapy: Vacuum therapy is a noninvasive massaging technique that has seen a 6x growth and is most popular in Waldorf, MD.
- DiamondGlow Facial: DiamondGlow Facials are a three-in-one treatment that performs exfoliation, extractions, and serum infusion, promoting healthier skin and improving the appearance of lines and dark spots. Before tip and tax, consumers can expect to pay $180 for this treatment, an increase of 30% in price since 2020. These facials have seen a 6x growth and are most popular in Kill Devil Hills, NC.
- Structured Gel Manicure: To help add strength to nails, consumers leaned on structured gel manicures to reinforce, enhance, and repair their nails. This treatment currently has an average sticker price of $53, rising 22%, and has seen a 5x growth, especially in Covington, OH.
- Butterfly Locs: Consumers in Atlus, OK, gravitated toward butterfly locs, a variant of faux locs that are done using a crochet method. This treatment takes wavy hair and loops it into a braid using a crochet needle, then is loosely wrapped for a distressed and unraveled look. Butterfly locs are typically worn for four to six weeks and cost around $75. Butterfly locs have risen 5x over the last 12 months.
- Global Bleach: This service includes applying the same blonde from root to tip for an intense, even shade throughout. Global bleach treatments have remained stable in price, typically costing $165. Global bleach treatments have seen a 5x increase and are most popular in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
- Stitch Braids: Stitch braids, which have grown 5x, are a type of braided style where the hair is sectioned into thin or thick horizontal lines, and then braided into a cornrow using braiding hair. Customers can expect to pay an average of $53 for this service. They are most frequently sought out in Conley, GA.
- Lymphatic Massage: Lymphatic massages include a series of gliding, compressing, stretching, and cupping techniques aimed at relieving swelling of affected areas in the body. On average, this services runs around $127 and has seen a 4x increase, especially in Oakland, TN.
- Gua Sha Facial: These facials cost around $89, are most popular in Waterloo, IN, and have seen a 4x growth in the last 12 months.
- Personal Training Sessions: Customers have a renewed focus on their health with personal training sessions seeing 3x growth, most popularly in Waller, TX.
