Beauty And Wellness Pros On The Business Of Beauty Sleep

Businesses are waking up to the potential of beauty sleep.

A fitting place to address the topic is mattress company Leesa’s New York showroom, where last Thursday online business community Radiche put together a panel of beauty and wellness experts, influencers and entrepreneurs for a discussion entitled Beauty Sleep IRL. As guests lounged on the display mattresses, panel moderator and Radiche co-founder Alysha Malik and panelists Stephanie Kim, founder of Moonlit Skincare; Neal Thakkar, founder of supplement e-commerce site Filtered Formulas; Christopher Merkle, founder of Mime; Jess Trieber, director of marketing at Tula probiotic skincare company; and Natalie Cahill, senior manager, makeup marketing at Christian Dior Parfums talked about the perks of quality sleep, emerging trends in sleep and wellness, how sleep hygiene plays into mental wellbeing and beauty marketing, and the role digital media and technology play in redefining the beauty space. 

No discussion of sleep can avoid covering the lack thereof. The functional supplements Nootropics are among a growing group of wellness products addressing inadequate sleep. “They are cognitive enhancement products with virtually no side effects that can help you perform in high-stress situations such as sleep deprivation,” explains Thakkar. In addition to decreased brain fog and increased verbal fluency, Thakkar singles out picamilon, agave and l-theanine as potent Nootropic sleep aids. “Nootropics help calm the mind and racing thoughts so you can get a good night’s sleep,” he says.

Just as overbooked schedules may make busy consumers reach for the supplement bottles, it also affects the beauty products they purchase as well. Cahill asserts the trend toward multitasking hybrid beauty products will continue to gain traction because 10-step skincare regiments are impossible for most people. Consumers do, however, expect stellar results from their comparatively straightforward cleanser-scrub-mask combo. “Consumers today want instant gratification. They need to see the results right away,” says Cahill. She points out Dior Capture Totale DreamSkin is a bestseller because “it instantly gives skin its own Instagram filter.”

Although skincare consumers are demanding, Cahill is bullish on the skincare segment generally and sleep products in particular. “Skincare is growing faster than makeup first time ever. Mask sales are up 30%,” she notes. “Sleep-related products like sleep masks will continue to be popular, and splash masks, which you use for only 20 seconds in the shower, are becoming incredibly popular, too.”

The panelists agreed that millennials and members of gen z take a holistic approach to health and beauty, and are conscious of the impact lifestyle choices have on wellness. “One thing we’ve seen at Moonlit is that this rising generation is very aware of the effects of their sleep habits,” says Kim. “It’s no longer about, ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’ They want to sleep, and they want to wake up looking refreshed.” Trieber concurs. “There’s definitely been an increase in customer awareness and interest in what goes into their body and how it affects skin,” she says. In light of such observations, Tula turned its probiotic process inward with the launch of their Daily Probiotic & Skin Health Complex supplement. “Tula is about overall skin health,” says Trieber. “We’re at the intersection of science and beauty and create products that get to the root of a problem.”

“One thing we’ve seen at Moonlit is that this rising generation is very aware of the effects of their sleep habits,” says brand founder Stephanie Kim. “It’s no longer about, ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’ They want to sleep, and they want to wake up looking refreshed.”

Technology and beauty can be strange bedfellows, especially when it comes to getting quality beauty sleep. Studies have shown that the blue light emitted from computer, tablet and phone screens inhibits melatonin production, and prevents people from falling and staying asleep. “My sleep hack is going to bed with my phone way out of arm’s reach,” reports Kim, whose line Moonlit Skincare is designed exclusively for use at night. “It’s very difficult, but give it a go.” Though a beauty tech entrepreneur, Merkle concedes that technology and social media at bedtime is a no-no. for his sleep hack, he advises, “Don’t check Instagram before bed. It’ll mess with your head.”