Skincare is an undoubtedly saturated market. From clinical to natural and everything in between, finding a point of difference in 2020 is damn near impossible. BeautyBio is the exception to the rule.
With a lifetime of product development behind her, a highly engaged social following and a huge focus on education, Jamie O’Banion put professional grade skincare tools directly in the hands of the consumer and as a result, has built a cult following seen by few other brands.
“I started BeautyBio because I felt a sense of responsibility to speak out against the “dream in a bottle” rhetoric that has circulated for decades in our industry, [and instead] help educate on the basics of skin health. I felt it was wrong for a company to charge a small fortune for something that was never actually going to work,” she explains.
As for how O’Banion is changing that rhetoric with BeautyBio– by putting clinical treatment skin care products and tools directly in the hands of the consumer, specifically, an at-home micro-needling tool called GloPRO. “[The tool] uses tiny micro needles to create vertical exfoliation channels in the skin,” O’Banion says. “When these needles glide over the skin, they cause invisible, [mostly] painless micro-injuries, igniting the skin cells to produce new structural proteins, such as collagen and elastin [amongst others!], which form the structural matrix that keeps skin tough, taut and flexible. This helps to provide skin with improved access to oxygen and nutrients…[skin] is restored from the inside out, making it look plumper and younger.”
And while anti-ageing is not necessarily front of mind for Gen-Z, early twenties is a good time to start thinking about taking care of your skin in the long-term. “Our bodies decrease collagen by one percent each year from the age of 18 — depressing I know!” she says. “But, we can stimulate manually what our body used to do, when we incorporate [something like micro-needling], and then crucial vitamins, like vitamin C help rebuild what we’re losing each year in collagen production.”
Putting products like GloPRO in the hands of consumers, despite the benefits, hasn’t come without challenges. The largest of which was “Getting people to understand needles don’t have to be scary! A lot of what we do is educate and at the end of the day, we’re happy with wherever a customer chooses to shop as long as they feel confident in their investment.”
When it comes to the necessary education surrounding professional grade skincare, social media has become a crucial tool for both BeautyBio and O’Banion herself.
From trend analysis, to customer feedback and product research, “the impact of social media is invaluable with any business that relies on solving the current and fluctuating needs of customers,” O’Banion says. And “most importantly, there is direct engagement with our consumers for clarity of message like we’ve never [seen] in the industry before.” And messaging has never been more important – with the unique cross over of tech and beauty, BeautyBio has more to do in education than almost any other beauty brand on the market, not only due to efficacy but also safety.
“Instead of depending on one in-store sign…on how to explain a new technology, we can now unwrap and share the entire message. Consumers are then empowered with knowledge and they can ultimately make more informed decisions — [social media] has undoubtedly broadened our abilities and methods of achieving success.” On top of brand messaging, O’Banion has also found building trust is of peak importance, “skincare is truly my passion and I hope that resonates. I’ll never be the founder who’s too busy to answer customer DM’s…as a consumer, I prefer shopping brands where I feel like I have a relationship with the creator [and the team], even if it’s just a virtual one,” she explains.
“Having those personal connections builds lasting brand trust,” she says, a sentiment which has never been more important, especially as a pioneer in the crossover of beauty and tech. With the guiding principles of efficacy, education and engagement, we’re calling BeautyBio as the brand to watch as it lands in Aus.
BeautyBio available now exclusively at Mecca.