Last week marked Sleep Awareness Week, an initiative set-up by the US National Sleep Foundation to highlight the importance of good sleep health. But what is ‘good sleep health’?

‘Better sleep’ has become a major lifestyle component, heralded as the key to better productivity, fitness and overall health. It’s no longer as simple as getting the right amount of sleep (the coveted 8-hours), ensuring high quality sleep is now the more pertinent priority.

There are multiple factors that can affect sleep quality, which has led to consumer product offerings numerous brands and industries addressing and targeting sleep in different ways.

One of the interesting emergent categories we’ve been tracking lies at the intersection of skincare and sleep. We’ve been monitoring how these new offerings are stretching the meanings of sleep and skincare and the interrelationship between the two. Here are some key examples:

Sleeping to relax and pamper the skin

Dove’s premium DermaSpa Beauty Sleep range includes Bedtime Bliss body lotion, Midnight Melting body balm and Overnight Manicure hand cream which allow you to ‘spa while you sleep’ with results in just one night.

It borrows spa-treatment cues to give a sense of pampering and luxury. The design uses a deep blue ‘starry sky’ effect to signify deeper sleep. This effect is mimicked as a speckle finish on the moulded plastic cap.

Sleeping time to revive and recover damaged skin.

Since 2016, O’Keefe’s has branched out from its original ‘Working Hands’ hand cream, introducing more targeted product ranges. Its Lip Repair range includes an Overnight Lip Balm, an intense treatment for damaged lips.

Similar to the Dove offering, it promises ‘results in 1 night’, but instead of spa-like luxury, promises guaranteed repair for very dry or cracked lips through heritage, science and proven efficacy and restores lips to a comfortable, healthy condition.

That being said, they have recently sent out a ‘Sleep Tight’ box to beauty blogger Beauty Queen UK, containing the Overnight Lip Balm, a sleep mask, a pillow spray and a candle. It will be interesting to watch how their product offerings and brand stretch further from the original emphasis on working hands.

Skincare to establish calming bedtime rituals.

Balance Me’s Beauty Sleep Mist combines Hyaluronic Acid to plump and hydrate the skin with essential oils to promote calm relaxation and a good night’s sleep. After spraying the mist onto your palms, you’re advised to inhale deeply and then press onto your neck and chest before bedtime.

By layering in ingredients known to promote sleep and establishing a performative ritual for application, this product stretches slightly further, becoming more about holistic wellness, not just skincare.

Skincare to improve sleep cycles

Givaudan Active Beauty has recently announced the launch of Synchronight™, an innovative new skincare ingredient that shields the skin from blue light and other digital stresses. Activated by the skin’s microbiome, it helps to promote healthier melatonin cycles and stimulate skin rejuvenation, simultaneously contributing to better sleep and younger-looking skin. Together with DreamScentz™ - a fragrance technology for enhancing sleep - Synchronight™ will form part of a product called ‘My Blue Guard High Performance’.

This is an example of how improving the skin’s functionality (ability to shield the body) can actually have a positive impact on sleep, as well as aesthetic benefits. This flips the relationship between sleep and skincare to one of symbiosis, rather than cause and effect.

At Recipe, we continually monitor the innovations breaking new ground in the skincare and personal care industries. We analyse the consumer behaviours that are pushing and pulling these new products and how the products themselves influence consumer behaviour.

We use this knowledge to inform design solutions for our clients, helping them understand how the shifts in meaning can help shape their future product pipelines.

To talk to us about the evolving meanings for skincare, why not get in contact?