Wow! This last year was as unpredictable as 2020. We have a feeling that 2022 is going to be the year of green. After sitting at home for a year, people have become more informed about the toxicity of the items they consume. The 2022 beauty trend is leaning towards the essence of inclusion, diversification, and sustainability in the beauty industry. Being stuck with our thoughts caused a shift in consumer habits and a demand for corporate transparency, and because the ethical beauty trend already existed, it wasn’t hard for the organic beauty sect to champion the trend. The beautiful part of it is that these earth-friendly trends have reached beyond the organic beauty world, extending to the entire beauty industry, making sustainable and organic beauty the biggest trend of 2022.
Organic beauty is set to dominate the beauty industry this year and hopefully beyond.
1. Sustainable Product Sourcing
A major determining factor in the end result of a product relies on the entire sourcing process that goes into it. This year studies have shown that more people are becoming aware of the impact a brand’s production can have on the environment and on human health. Brands with a social voice regarding the products they sell have shown more manufacturers reorganizing their sourcing channels to include local organic farmers.
Sustainable product sourcing can be identified on the labels. Remember to quickly google or ask Siri about the labels present on your beauty products. UBQ has a great article explaining the identification of these labels.
Also, natural ingredients are the fast and becoming trend of the cosmetics industry, so it’s likely that more and more companies are taking a step into the environmentally friendly world. Terms like “green” and “sustainable” are beginning to define the beauty industry.
2. Cruelty-Free Beauty Products
The term “Cruelty-free” has been buzzing in the beauty industry for a couple of years now, but with the awareness of 2021, it has become a demand of beauty aficionados across the globe. Throughout history, the beauty industry has been linked to animal testing and animal cruelty, making it crucial for brands to label their products cruelty-free.
Companies are accomplishing this by integrating computer-modeling techniques replacing the need for both animal and human testing. Beauty companies like Kat Von D, Glossier, The Body Shop, and Urban Decay have been leading this trend for a while now and as the year continues, it is forecasted to continue its expansion.
This trend is becoming, due to consumers championing the cause for vegan products and brands, attracting non-vegan users to inculcate the animal respect culture. Thank goodness we are waking up to the dark side of the beauty industry and taking control of what is in our products. Data shows that at least 59% of Millennials and Gen Z consumers prefer environmentally and cruelty-friendly products to opposing products.
The Vegan Beauty Trend is without any doubt becoming a standard for beauty products in 2022, and hopefully in all the years following.
3. Dual Purpose Skincare Products
One goal of the organic beauty world is to use minimal products that maximize the ones in use. This would mean that a number of products will be streamlined, with some having dual purposes. In fact, recent skincare products are taking on the hybrid outlook and serving more than one purpose.
Consumers are making efforts to self-indulge themselves while not overspending. As a result, companies are breaking out dual-purpose beauty products and services. This is yet another factor playing into the sustainability side of the beauty market – fewer containers signify less impact on the environment.
Products reading “moisturizing toner”, “bi-serum” or “exfoliating facial mask” will now become the norm as the year goes on. For instance, the Kérastase’s Sérum Thérapiste is a hair care product that’s not only a serum that repairs hair tresses but also protects the hair against the use of heat. One of our favorite dual-purpose products is from Adonia Organics, moisturizer (day and night) while also having the dual-purpose of being a miracle wrinkle cream and COMPLETELY organic!
4. Third-party Seals and Certifications
In theory, third-party product verification has existed for years in the beauty industry. Cosmetics and personal care products have always been plastered with third-party seals, whether or not they’re verified. However, customers today are becoming more and more aware of the need for third-party product verification and are knowledgeable enough to identify real verifications and not.
Beauty products in the U.S are particularly overlooked when it comes to FDA regulation, but they may not be able to get away with it anymore because ECOCERT and the Environmental Working Group are now easily identifiable.
Brands are now going over and beyond to ensure that their products retain the “organic” and “eco-friendly” state that they claim to have. They engage third-party programs to verify their products to ensure that their products are safe for both the environment and human health.
5. Beauty Tools of the Future
For a number of reasons, at-home self-care tools have been on a continuous rise. First, consumers are becoming more thoughtful in the way they deal with beauty products (as we’ve explained so far). They are getting more involved in the process and striving to be resourceful in the use of beauty products. Therefore, there’ll be a call for more and improved self-care tools to increase the do-it-yourself attitude. Some women have been creating their own DIY organic makeup solutions. Recipes like DIY Makeup Remover with Coconut Oil or DIY Makeup Setting Spray Without Glycerin are great examples of what came out of 2021.
With the world in a post-pandemic season, we are still caught in the web of being extra careful with close contact and the use of shared products. So instead of having beauticians attend to us directly – whether it’s our skin, hair, or makeup, we’re indoors isolated with our alternative beauty tools which are showing great improvements in the world of high-tech.
The near future holds the possibility (and reality) of devices that can detect skin problems that we’re suffering from and possibly a suggestion to solve the problem. Devices like jade rollers, micro-needling devices, laser therapy tools, and pro-level facial home-care devices are the more futuristic approach to skincare. This is not only a trend of 2022 but also the beginning of a new world of beauty.
6. Recycling Beauty Products
Recycling has always been a myth in the cosmetic and beauty industry in the preceding years. However, 2022 is showing a major shift in the eco-friendly world. As we already established, consumers are becoming more aware of what should be considered organic and natural beauty products, paying more attention to every aspect of what goes into their beauty products, even down to the bottles and where they end up.
Consumers are beginning to realize that ‘organic’ and ‘clean’ are more than just the sourcing of the products and what they contain but extending their view to the entirety of its packaging. 87% of beauty products packaging ends up in landfills or in one of the many plastic islands forming in our oceans. This trend has caused refillable masks and wipes like those from Credo to Exa’s recyclable glass and its 100% post-consumer waste box, the trend is taking over the industry and there’ll be more to see in the near future.
Although the recycling industry still has a long way to go, because of how slow it is for consumers to integrate it into their general lives, it’s steadily putting its mark on the organic beauty industry.
7. By-Products of Beauty
Incorporating organic and natural beauty into a routine involves covering every possible product and making sure that nothing that can benefit the body goes to waste. So, by-products beauty is simply using ingredients on our bodies that would otherwise go to waste. For instance, there are certain foods and drinks ingredients that can be beneficial to the body as natural beauty products, rather than being thrown away.
Before now, DIYers have inculcated this culture by using homemade products as homemade remedies, and these have lasted for years. However, rather than leave it to consumers to set up themselves, the industry as a whole is beginning to realize how this niche can be a huge one for them. It also helps consumers reduce the side effects of fusing the products themselves. The bigger picture is pushing the zero-waste agenda and improving circular beauty to ensure that post-consumer waste is prevented as much as possible.
As the year goes by, we will be seeing more products like the UpCircle face scrub made out of coffee grounds and other fruit powders.
8. Sustainable Product Packaging
Again, organic products extend to not only the product inside the bottle but the entirety of the product and the packaging it comes in. One reason why sustainable product packaging is thriving is that it’s a good route to protecting the main content of the product. Also, it pushes the zero-waste product agenda and removes that problem out of the way for manufacturers.
DIYers are also a great inspiration to limit waste through packaging for manufacturers. For instance, bath bombs can be wrapped in recycled paper and biodegradable wrappers instead of going through the process of manufacturing an entire wrapper for it. Also, some products will be modified to eliminate the need for packaging.
So, it’s possible to see these products like shampoo bars and scrubs in their naked format. Some other products come in refillable formats, so you can refill the content as soon as they’re done – such as perfume, shampoo, and body scrubs.
These make it more attractive to buyers who are environmentally conscious and guns for continuous improvement of the product.
9. Waterless Product Formulas
Again, this is a trend that isn’t ‘there’ yet but has a huge potential of leading the organic beauty world as we move on. Having all beauty product formulations completely rid of water is almost as tough as it is to get rid of plastic packaging, but the more we have brands tilting towards it, the more mainstream it becomes.
Not only does it make for better quality products, but it also helps the world in conserving a considerable amount of water, because a good level is being used in skincare and cosmetic production. A good example of this will be dry shampoo. Oil cleansers and powders also completely eliminate water from the formula.
Waterless formulas also go beyond the products and extend to the skincare routine. Our routines are becoming streamlined to steps that conserve water. You can imagine a morning skincare routine where there’s limited rinse and application of products all in the name of conserving water and keeping our beauty process environmentally friendly.
10. Dewy ‘no-makeup’ Look
Dewy no-makeup looks have been the rave for a while, even outside the organic beauty world. As the year progresses, it doesn’t seem like it’s taken the backseat for anyone anytime soon. The entire idea behind the dewy makeup look is to have the minimum amount of makeup on your face while maintaining a bare-faced look. With this style, you can go about your day looking like you don’t have makeup on when you actually have some on.
Instead of layering your face with foundation, powders, and whatnots, you can skip the entire process and still look great. The dewy look isn’t only about the makeup, but more about the agenda of enhancing our natural looks, than the use of ‘enhancing’ products. From skinmalism and natural-looking brows to dewy looks, the trend is to depict that ‘less is more’. It’s not surprising that people now go around with their bare faces, having nothing more than a lippie or eyeliner on them.
Conclusion
2022 is introducing a huge surge in the beauty industry and it’s hinged on ethical and organic measures. As organic and natural trends are leading the forefront of the skincare and beauty industry, consumers who follow the aforementioned trends will not have a problem fitting into the new beauty space.
Which of these organic beauty trends of 2021 have you tried and which ones do you intend to try out as the year goes on?
