At-home nail care still trending among beauty mavens
Women still love their nail polish!
Judging by the continued double-digit sales growth and the new products still flooding the market, the nail color segment continues to shine.
"Whether the woman opts to do it herself or go the salon route, nail care has an option to appeal to every age of woman. Getting a pulse check on the nail consumer is so very important right now. At this moment in time, nail is still a blue-sky, white canvas opportunity. We are just scratching the surface," stated Karen Grant, VP and global industry analyst for The NPD Group, earlier this year when announcing the findings of its March 2013 "Nail Care and Polish Consumer Report."
The report found that more than half of women ages 18 years and older have purchased nail products for at-home use or professional nail services in the past year. Supporting the findings that many beauty mavens are turning to at-home products is the most recent 52-week data from IRI.
According to IRI, the nail category rose nearly 11% during the 52 weeks ended June 16 at U.S. multi-outlets, with nail polish accounting for the greatest growth within the category — up 17.6% to reach about $896 million.
Expense plays a large role in why women do their nails at home, but it is not the only issue. Concerns about health and safety issues at salons and the convenience of at-home solutions are also factors.
Among the most notable developments within nail care at mass is the entrance of at-home gel manicures. Delivering long-lasting results at a fraction of the price as a salon gel manicure, these do-it-yourself products took the mass market nail segment by storm.
It is estimated that, within the next year, gel polish retail sales will more than double and come in somewhere near the $75 million to $80 million mark, according to Joel Carden, EVP of Pacific World, which markets the SensatioNail at-home gel polish.
Also contributing to the explosive growth are such innovations as adhesive nail stickers bearing wild colors and edgy patterns, crackled nail polish, glitter nail polish and magnetic nail polish.
Judging by the slew of new products on display at the recent Cosmoprof North America conference in Las Vegas, this trend shows little sign of slowing. While a majority of the products highlighted at Cosmoprof are geared toward the professional salon market, there's no doubt that gel continues to be all the rage with such brands as Essie touting gel manicure systems on the show floor.
Recent launches for the mass market include Red Carpet Manicure's light-activated nail treatments. The DIY light-activated gel nail treatments — Nail Remedy and Nail Recovery — help nails become stronger and longer. Also new are Cuticle Balm, Cuticle Elixir and Youth Crème.
CCA Industries' Nutra Nail Gel Perfect is aiming to reinvent the pedicure with its new Nutra Nail Gel Perfect Walk on the Wild Side Pedicure Kit. In 2011, CCA Industries launched its Nutra Nail Gel Perfect, a gel-color technology that promises to set rock solid in five minutes with no UV/LED light needed, and now the manufacturer has developed the pedicure kit.
There's also Belvada, which recently announced the launch of its GelMoment. The polish, which dries in 30 seconds with the Belvada LED curing light, eliminates the need for a base coat and topcoat, and Belvada is positioning it as the first one-step gel nail polish.