Anticipate Anti-Aging Becoming Skin-Deep

Contemporary societies value a youthful appearance, especially in women. So it might seem that the prime market for anti-aging physical appearance offerings would consist of those female consumers who are most aged. However, studies at Université catholique de Louvain find that, for those over age 60, the motivation to reverse the clock winds down. The coupling between physical appearance and self-esteem loosens. Physical appearance becomes more closely associated with wellbeing about personal health and less closely associated with interpersonal attractiveness.
     This doesn’t mean the elderly female consumer stops attending to her physical appearance or is wholly comfortable in her own skin in every sense of that word. The study results do suggest that a highly promising selling point for anti-aging products to women over age 60 is skin care.
     However, the objective is not so much to reverse the ravages of aging on the skin as to protect the skin from further deterioration. This leads to the counterintuitive conclusion that women who are satisfied with their appearance are more likely to use anti-aging products. The research findings were consistent with that conclusion. It seemed that the older women, all residing in France where physical appearance is particularly noticed, placed limited importance on meeting cultural norms which favor youthful facial skin, but did derive peace of mind from healthy-looking skin appropriate for their age.
     The researchers note that this shift could account for how elderly women will continue to use anti-aging products even when harboring doubts the products are working. The women consider some deterioration in skin condition to be inevitable. The users take comfort in believing the products could be showing their effectiveness by slowing the inevitable.
     All this informs optimal strategies for marketing anti-aging products. The researchers suggest that for audiences in their 40’s, you talk about the interpersonal value of a youthful physical appearance, while for audiences in their 50’s, you emphasize easing the anxiety associated with acknowledging the aging process. For prospective purchasers in their 60’s and beyond, incorporate into the marketing messages cues of acceptance and wellbeing which will arise from use of the products.
     Multifunctionality also helps sell cosmetics. The NPD Group found that, not surprisingly, the single most important expectation of consumers for a blemish balm is natural-looking coverage of skin blemishes. But 47% of consumers surveyed said they expect a BB Cream to also moisturize the skin, and 42% wanted sunscreen protection included.

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