Relaxed beauty trends are a visible reflection of our current pandemic reality. Working from home has blurred personal and professional lines for millions of Americans. We’ve seen the insides of each other’s living rooms and home offices in newscasts and our daily WFH video conferences. There’s a new and welcomed intimacy as we’ve become closer and learned to care for one another in more genuine ways. We can expect a more connected, empathetic society long after COVID-19 with less emphasis on formal boundaries. “The value of comfort—both physical and emotional—will become really important,” according to Mintel Trend. With customer expectations shifted towards an informal yet empathetic vibe, aesthetic brands will be wise to focus on more personalized customer comfort. Pandemic Pampering Beauty therapy is the #1 activity consumers are most looking forward to as COVID-19 restrictions are allowing salons and aesthetic treatment centers to open in various parts of the country. Everything from haircuts to nails to elective cosmetic procedures like BOTOX® Cosmetic. People miss their pampering. I know my team does! Aesthetic-care, done with care, can be safe––and is slowly rebounding. As the CEO and founder of EvolveMKD, a digital communications and PR agency headquartered in NYC, I lead my teams to track trends and predict outcomes. We develop 360-degree campaigns for innovators who are making a real difference in people’s lives—often in the beauty, medical, and lifestyle sectors. A trend we’re hearing pretty consistently from media and influencers all over the country is that one of the first items on their beauty to-do list is BOTOX® Cosmetic injections. While some patients are still hesitant, doctors have shared that most are anxious for their wrinkle reduction treatments and are beginning once again to schedule appointments. Recently, some of the nation’s top dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and infectious diseases doctors organized the Skinbetter Science Institute and developed a set of guidelines, known as the AesCert Guidance, to help practices re-open and resume aesthetic treatments. According to the AesCert Guidance, getting a Botox injection is considered safe even amid the pandemic. We now know that we may be living within a pandemic for some time. Consumers are gauging how to live their best quality of life while taking appropriate precautions. The pandemic has drastically shifted customer experience expectations. Brands that demonstrate their understanding and adjust their customer experience to address new attitudes will stand out and earn brand love. Consumers want to feel safe and expect the customer experience to accommodate and protect their needs. A visit to the salon will now look much more like outpatient surgery with gloves, masks, and temperature screenings. While looking our best does go a long way in making us feel better, the pandemic has forced us to become more comfortable with visible roots and less-stylized, more natural looks. Some cosmetic surgeons speculate that in a post-COVID world, the overt cosmetically altered look may go out of fashion with more subdued natural looks coming into vogue. Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.