The last time you had a bad hair day, had you thought of the state of your scalp? You should. Not too long ago, consumers didn’t make the connection between great skin and lifestyle factors such as diet and vitamin and probiotic usage. Now, the skinification of hair care is connecting the dots between the health of the scalp and hair wellness.
Juliet Okonkwo, founder and owner of Pure Skin and Scalp Wellness Studio in Culver City, California, spoke with Global Cosmetic Industry about the numerous benefits of scalp massages that consumers are seeking today.
Going to Pure Skin and Scalp Wellness Studio for a scalp treatment is not only about making the hair look better, but creating a healthier scalp.
Report: Scalp Care and the Dermocosmetics Boom
Okonkwo says that the three most common issues her scalp therapists observe are clients’ itchy scalps, hair loss and/or dandruff. According to Okonkwo, people often just accept these problems and use topicals habitually, even though the issues can be minimized, though not always reversed, with scalp treatments alone.
While there are many scalp care opportunities for marketers to come up with products, selling products is not one of Okonkwo’s goals. She prefers to see what her client needs and then makes solutions available to them.
Her scalp treatments include various combinations of a soothing scalp massage with organic peppermint, a deep cleanse, an exfoliation and a conditioning session with exclusive therapeutics, and, sometimes, a warm mist therapy. All of the treatments take approximately 90 minutes, with a tingling sensation validating the process is working.
Okonkwo recommends seeing a professional every two weeks and doing DIY scalp treatments in between sessions for optimal results.
Is interest in scalp therapy trending?
[JO]: Yes. Ironically, I believe the stress created by the pandemic was a huge contributor to the awareness of all the benefits of a professional scalp massage. Living with tension for the last two years has motivated consumers to look for stress relieving services. The renewed focus on wellness and self-care has really caused people to search us out.
A professional scalp message will relieve tension and stress, create relations, reduce your blood pressure, relax your respiration, calm your mind and locally, will increase blood supply to your hair follicles, boost hair growth and reduce scalp inflammation. No wonder people can’t get enough of it.
Can you quantify that?
[JO]: Yes. Though we have always performed scalp massages as a standard process of all our scalp treatments, once we added scalp massage as an additional service to all current services, as well as a singular service, the booking for it increased by 50%.
Why do you think that is?
[JO]: Once it is experienced by a client, the feeling and the results are undeniable.
What kind of consumers are coming in?
[JO]: We really have four kinds of consumers:
- Those that are very much into self-care and wellness.
- Those that have scalp and hair challenges and are frustrated by all the failed DIY purchases or unfulfilled by the treatments provided by their dermatologist.
- Those that really understand the benefits of our services and didn’t know we existed until now.
- Those that accidently stumbled across our service, tried it and are now addicted to it.
Who are you targeting?
[JO]: People with scalp and hair challenges that are searching for real but non-invasive results.
What is the difference between your scalp treatment and one that a consumer may do at home?
[JO]: Everything. Our scalp treatment uses proprietary formulations of products that are specifically intended to treat our list of common scalp challenges which most people struggle with controlling let alone resolving. Our Pure Scalp Rejuvenation massage provides incomparable mental, physical, and clinical benefits. And combining it with innovative mist therapy to hydrate and repair your scalp and hair follicles, our treatment is like no other and is easily disguisable from any DIY treatment.
