Do you ever look in the mirror and ask yourself, is this new serum working? Or, if you’re a fan of aesthetic treatments, do you struggle to keep tabs on whether or not your filler or Botox might need a refresh?
If so, help is at hand – quite literally if you own a smartphone, because there is a growing range of apps promising to help consumers track their skin ‘journey’, whether this be following the effectiveness of a new acne-busting regimen, or keeping a beady eye on a suspect mole.
That such apps are proving popular in lockdown is no mystery. With fewer social moments in our calendars to encourage make-up use, skin health and skin care has taken on a more important role than ever; e-tailer Feelunique recently revealed a 57% uptick in skin care sales over the 2020 festive season compared with the prior year.
Moreover, reduced opportunities to visit GPs and dermatologists means consumers also want to reassure themselves that everything is as it should be, or, conversely, if they do spot something ‘off’ with their skin, that they have the evidence of change to present to the experts.
"Skin health is likely to be the next biomarker that consumers want to track in a more quantifiable way, rather than self-reporting and getting it wrong," notes Mintel’s Associate Director of Beauty & Personal Care, Alex Fisher.