Lip care should never fall to the wayside, but given how temperatures are cooling and we're all wistfully looking back at summer and feeling a little...chapped, I figured now's the perfect time to aim our coverage where our mouths are.
So, in preparation for mistletoe season, pucker up and take a look at what's on consumers' minds when it comes to lip care.
Quality is key, but...where did we last leave it?
Technological advancements have made for more nuanced and sophisticated means of formulation and deployment, raising consumer expectations in the product market.Image by Alliance / Adobe Stock.
In our warp-speed age of information, the rate at which products come out keeps ratcheting up the standards for consumer education, and lip care isn't cutting anyone a break either. As is, consumers are struggling to keep up with what should be in their skin care regimens, but this acuity hasn't quite caught up with lip care. Lip products are also particularly susceptible for baiting consumers into making impulse buys (I don't know about you, but I've never been standing in line at the grocery store and made the split-second decision to buy toner,) so consumers caught in a lapse of judgment might unknowingly be sinking money into products that don't work, or worse yet, damage their lips.
So, what should we be recommending clients prioritize with their lip care? There's no "lip police", but the people who do judge lip products seem to agree that hydration and longevity are a few of the primary considerations.
As a professional, you're in a primo position to educate clients on how to spot the balms that will best serve them, and which ones are the kiss of death (or at least, ineffectiveness, which might as well be the same thing.) Brands like Abature have crafted balms, or in this case, butters, with nutrient-rich hydrators like avocado oil, mango butter and vitamin E.
People are taking personal care.
The more inclusive gender dialogue has contributed to more versatile, gender-neutral solutions and minimalist packaging.Image by Dorde / Adobe Stock.
Personal care has never not been a priority for consumers, but the rise of "self-care" specifically as a wellness practice has raised standards and added nuance to the conversation. Lip care has expanded way past carrying a tube of ChapStick around in your purse. People are exfoliating; multifunctional solutions have led to less-drying, more nourishing formulas in lipstick and lip care is no longer viewed primarily as part of a woman's beauty routine. As the conversation surrounding men's grooming habits and personal care evolves, the changing conversation around gender has led to less traditionally gendered marketing and branding in products. Lip care has become more central for everyone across the board, which means more consumers, more clients and more education to be had.
Beauty in 2025? Natural.
While the demand for natural beauty is growing, ethically sourcing natural ingredients to meet this demand can be difficult.Image by Pixel-Shot / Adobe Stock.
It seems like we can't escape the word; people want natural-looking results, they want maintaining those results to fit seamlessly into their life and they want natural ingredients, ideally to avoid any unwanted side-effects in pursuit of those results.
As long as words like "natural" and "clean" are flung around in the industry, though, there will be a need to clarify to your clients what they mean. If you're sending your clients out into the world to get lip care, and they're not purchasing from the "you-approved" selection of products your spa offers, then show them how to make sense of an ingredient list.
Recognizable ingredients like elderberry extract, olive-derived squalene oil and red algae actives (all of which are present in Abature's Champagne Lip Butter, fyi) are good indicators. Showing clients how to recognize known irritants, as well as keying them into why ingredient lists are ordered the way they are, can empower clients to choose products that better align with their priorities, too.
There's a lot of fish (and trash) in the sea, so make sure clients don't see those plastic six-pack rings and think scales.
Many of what the market is flooded with is born of the demand that's shaped beauty as it is today: quick and easy.Image by Vladimir Razgulyaev / Adobe Stock.
The market is so flooded with products, brands and opinions right now, that it's less a flood and more an entirely new ocean we all live in. It's important to empower consumers to make informed decisions about what they're putting in and on their bodies, so clients understand that just because it's looking back at you from a shelf or screen, doesn't mean it's good, or even safe, necessarily.
Beauty regulation is constantly evolving, and sometimes, in a brand's haste to get a product to market, corners are cut. Technical innovation has made life a lot easier for all of us, but this new quality of life defined by convenience also means that in wanting things now, we don't always do our due diligence in vetting what we're getting.
Client education isn't just about making sure they find their new favorite brand, but about giving them the tools they need to make healthier choices.
