Introduction
Here at Tomorrow Lab, all who join our team have a sense of curiosity for consumer products, design trends and new technologies. And that includes myself – being Tomorrow Lab’s People and Finance manager – I get the pleasure of following along all of TL’s engineering projects from inception to completion.
During Covid while we were working exclusively from home I decided it was time to take my skincare routine more seriously. I had the time to research and trial new products, trending devices and note the results. My skin has always been acne prone and since crossing into my 30s, I have noticed significant changes in how my skin looks, feels and reacts to new products. I was on a mission to find new solutions to help ease these new changes. In casual conversations with my fellow TL’ers, I reviewed several trending product categories evaluating how they work, their benefits and ultimately ending with a product ideas of my own!
Exploration
I started my research looking at viral products and contemplated the why/what/how that made these products so attractive in the market. I wanted to find products that answered those questions, but also looked to actually solve a problem – and also thought – how could this problem be solved in an even better way?
Cryo Therapy & Facial Sculpting
What is it?
Cryotherapy started its popularity journey at luxury spas and originated as a machine operated facial treatment that applies pressurized and condensed air to the face, neck and lymph areas. The skin is exposed to sub-zero temperatures for short durations, which delivers results said to brighten the skin, tighten pores, reduce the appearance of fine lines and even the skin tone – in as little as 15 minutes!
Facial sculpting is a type of manual massage used as an alternative to medical procedures (think dermal fillers) aimed at lifting and pulling the skin and muscles of the face to create a more general definition. There are all kinds of tools and devices in the market for users to try to find their best fit (like the tried and true Mount Lai Jade Gua Sha).
While cryotherapy can deliver almost instant results, manual facial sculpting takes time and discipline. Most professionals (I asked many retail beauty experts and my personal esthetician) say you need to use sculpting tools at least twice per week for 10-15 minutes at a time for at least one month to see any kind of results. I can actually attest to this as I picked up a stainless steel Gua Shua and tried it religiously (cold and room temp) for several weeks and I did start to see results in the shape of my chin/jaw line and I also saw less fine lines overall on my forehead and around my eyes! But I have to admit, life got in the way and I stopped sculpting as religiously as I was and the effects were only short lived.
I was curious if there was a device out there that could take some of the manual labor out of the sculpting process, but also combine the effects of cryo….
What skincare tools are currently available?
Wow, there are so many different products all at different price points! I started looking at the manual sculpting offerings that had the highest customer reviews, but quickly found that many of these products also combined cryo aspects – proving that these devices appeal to the same customer.
This Barbie-core (The Skinny Confidential) set was all over social media, with high star reviews, an accessible price point and stellar marketing. The most interesting feature to me was the hexagonal shaped 2-ball roller, which is said to help grip the face tighter. The set also comes with an ‘ice roller,’ meant to be put in the freezer before use.
The ‘A-Lister Glow’ wand set (Angela Caglia) is made of stainless steel and is gold plated, with freezable gel filled inside the wands to help hold hot or cold for longer. And of course, there is the Cryo Roller (BeautyBio), which has two different sized rollers on each end: narrow to de-puff under eyes and brows and wide for sculpting cheekbones, forehead and relieving tension. Side note – I even found a cryo brush claiming to smooth and tame frizz by adding moisture back into hair through cold temps (BaByliss Pro)!
The most intriguing electronic device I found for combining these therapies was the NuFace Trinity (launched in August 2022), which uses microcurrents for a mini face lift. It has several attachments: dual cylindrical rollers, dual prongs with a circular end, a red LED spotlight and lip & eye attachment. It connects to an app for tutorials, progress tracking and reminders. The dual featured attachments can be put in the fridge for a few minutes before use for that extra cryo dose.
I have thoughts and questions!
I had several main thoughts after scouring the market. Many of these devices claim to be ergonomic, but again (as with Part 1 exploring LED therapy) I am not fully convinced using these products on a semi daily basis for up to 20 minutes at a time is easy on your wrists/shoulders/upper back. Many manual devices require using a pinching gesture to hold and glide across skin. There also seems to be a benefit in having the metal surface be slightly textured, which allows for additional stimulation and deeper penetration of skincare products (but what kind and size of texture is best?). Finally, the only temperature control for these devices is to put it directly in the fridge or freezer.
So I also had to ask myself: does cryotherapy and facial sculpting have staying power in the market? I believe there is a good chance of these trending products to stay and evolve in the market. Everyone loves “instant” results, which in turn delivers great marketing opportunities. Though these products are relatively new to the market, these types of products are easy to get celebrity and influencer endorsements, as everyone also loves to try new things.
There is also a wellness component taking these types of therapies into the home and spending the time on yourself, to not only take care of your skin better, but it’s a chance to connect and check-in with yourself. 🙂
Product Opportunities & Conclusion
I kept coming back to the issue of temperature control. As a longtime curly haired girl using hair straighteners to get that sleek straight look, I thought there had to be a better approach to this. I wanted an ultimate device that combined cryo and sculpting through temperature control, microcurrents and subtle texture.
I started with thinking about a unique stainless steel barrel shape, somewhere between an egg and swoosh shape that would allow for easy gliding. The barrel should be attached to an ergonomically considered handle, which should be easy to use for up to 15 minutes next to the face, but also have the ability to use easily for lymphatic drainage along the neck at any angle. There should be no pinching gesture, the handle should be held fully in the hand (think Theragun angles). The barrel could also have a slight texture – slightly rough to the touch, but still smooth when run across skin in a certain direction (or all directions?).
The barrel should also have a hollow interior that holds a reactive gel that is able to be temperature controlled – similarly to a hair straightener. The interior gel can be set to room temp (68F), slightly above (75F) as the warmest setting and down to a full cryo setting (30F), with increments in between. A microcurrent attachment should also come as an add-on to compete with other devices in market.
This type of product would most likely need a high price point, but I believe that is okay as most consumers looking for these types of products are in the 30-50 age range and current products are in the $250-400 price range.
Exploring viral beauty products and coming up with my own potential solutions to share with the world was so much fun! Not to mention it was gratifying to hear from Tomorrow Lab’s Partners that I could, indeed, be onto something! I hope this was an enjoyable and enlightening read. We at Tomorrow Lab love sharing our ideas and starting conversations around new products, emerging technologies and market trends. Check out these two prior Tomorrow Lab client projects in the beauty space:
Exponent (we won an award!); packaging that delivers on-demand skincare
Smart Cap; reminder technology for consumer goods.
If you have a new beauty product or packaging idea and want to bring it to life – connect with us for a free consultation here!
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