The road out of the pandemic has taken many a twist and turn and, although we’re now enjoying the lifting of most restrictions, many establishments and transport companies still require patrons and employees to wear a face covering to protect themselves and others. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it looks like face masks are going to be part of our lives for the foreseeable future and, while it’s fair to say that some people are less than enthused, there are those who have embraced the current situation and turned it into a new trend – Above The Mask Beauty.
No more lip service
The human face is capable of expressing a myriad of emotions – whether it’s a worried frown, a joyful smile or a disapproving pout. Our facial expressions tend to communicate our feelings to others and can serve as a welcome or a threat. Wearing a face covering essentially ‘masks’ about 50% of our facial expressions, meaning that we need to be able to convey our feelings through our eyes alone.
As we know, a genuine smile will always include the eyes (which is why we should embrace those little crinkles) and, lots of people have chosen to capitalise on this by upping their game when it comes to above the mask beauty. Following worldwide mask mandates in early 2020, global lipstick sales dropped by around 15% as consumers chose not to spend money on products which would rarely actually be seen, but it wasn’t all bad news for the cosmetics industry…………
Browbeating Fashion
The global eye makeup industry is worth an eye-opening $15.34 billion, with a projected rise to $23.49 billion by 2028. As well as over the counter cosmetics, the trend for above the mask beauty has seen salons across the world enjoy a surge in appointments for treatments such as eyebrow threading, eyelash extensions and permanent eyeliner. While this trend has provided a very welcome boost to a lot of businesses, it has also presented some issues in accommodating customers safely and efficiently.
Heather Elrod, CEO of Amazing Lash Studio says, “We have owners who have rolled up their sleeves and found a way to make it happen. During this time when masks are part of our daily routine, our eyes are an even more powerful form of personal expression than they were before”. An increasing number of beauty salons are harnessing the power of technology in order to keep on top of a significant uptick in traffic. Leading scheduling software provider, Booksy, has reported record numbers of beauty salons signing up to its platform in a bid to better manage rising numbers of customers.
Balancing the books
Booksy is a scheduling and management tool used by hair and beauty salons around the world and offers a solid solution for salon owners looking to optimise their time and space. The Booksy website and app allows customers to book and manage their own appointments and, the AI powered software makes light work of managing booked appointments and walk-ins for a more streamlined and efficient service.
As well as offering convenience to customers, Booksy has tons of clever features to help salon owners make the most of their businesses. These include:
Appointment management – The software’s AI capabilities mean that bookings are managed intelligently based on previous visits.
Customer alerts – Booksy sends notifications and reminders to customers, including letting them know when their beautician is ready for them. This allows salons to remove waiting areas in order to improve distancing.
Payments and prepayments – Booksy lets salon owners take payment for treatments online as well as an option for prepayment of treatments – something which can help to reduce the number of no-shows, which are a major bugbear for every salon owner.
Product sales – More and more salons rely on pre-treatment and post-treatment product sales to boost their revenue and, these sales can be managed quickly and easily through the Booksy app. Beauty salon owners are able to significantly increase their income through the upselling of products such as eyelash curlers, eyebrow pencils and more.
Marketing – Booksy’s marketing tools allow salon owners to create and deliver messaging to their existing customers and to reach out to new ones at an extremely low cost.
Conclusion
New beauty trends require new ways of working and, as always, the answer lies in the advent of new technology. As face coverings continue to be an important part of keeping COVID-19 at bay, we can expect to see groomed brows, sparkly eye-makeup and wonderful winged eyeliner for some time to come. As such, Booksy’s scheduling app can help salon owners keep their eyes on the prize in terms of getting those customers back into their salons and to maximise their business while focusing on safety and efficiency.
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