The ultimate guide to 2018’s biggest beauty breakthroughs
The gadgets, treatments and products you need to put on your radar
The gadgets, treatments and products you need to put on your radar
Another day, another new beauty product/trend/breakthrough to fall in love with. If you like to stay ahead of the beauty game, then keep reading. This is your ultimate guide to what’s hot, new and causing quite a stir in the beauty world this year.
The facial: Laser facials
The facial has come a long way from its massage-heavy origins. The new breed of hi-tech face treatments enlists laser to deliver super-speedy results.
Try: The Hollywood Carbon Laser Peel. For no pain but lots of radiant skin gain, this facial offers instant glow and long-term skin benefits. Your face is first painted with black carbon, which attracts the laser beam to painlessly buff off the outer layer of skin, while a second and third laser sweep warms the dermis down deep to help boost collagen production, tighten skin and shrink pores.
Why we love it in 2018: Skin looks even more radiant a few days later and your complexion improves over time.
The superfood ingredient: Coconut
The coconut has been a beauty staple since the ancient Egyptians, but this superfood is still a firm favourite among models (think Candice Swanepoel and Miranda Kerr) and actresses (hello, Ruby Rose) wanting to keep their skin and hair in peak condition.
Try: Coconut oil from your health food store as a face mask, makeup remover, body moisturiser or hair mask. Alternatively, look for coconut-spiked products such as the decadent Palmer’s Coconut Oil Cleansing Balm, which melts away grime while leaving skin soft and supple. A winning combo!
Why we love it in 2018: It multitasks better than an F45 class and there are no nasties.
The genius skin care idea: Active beauty
Some beauty ideas make so much sense we don’t know why no one thought of it before. Case in point: workout-inspired skin care and makeup.
Try: The clever folk at Clinique have come up with CliniqueFIT, a brand new range of high-performance skin care and makeup that stays in place even during the most full-on sweat sesh. We love CliniqueFIT Post-Workout Neutralizing Face Powder. Handy!
Why we love it in 2018: We’re always on the lookout for products that fit seamlessly with our active lifestyles, and these clever newbies are serious can-do beauty at its best.
The buzz vitamin: Niacinamide
Keen to dose up your skin care routine with a new anti-ageing ingredient? Niacinamide is your go-to active. Also known as vitamin B3, this is the new vitamin A when it comes to clinical research. “Niacinamide repairs DNA, preserves the skin’s immune system from UV and environmental damage, prevents damage to collagen, stops pigmentation and evens out skin tone while reducing inflammation in the skin,” explains dermatologist Dr Natasha Cook. Sign us up!
Try: Dr Natasha Cook Concentrated Illuminator – a doctor-created serum spiked with vitamin B3 that slips under your moisturiser for instant glow, along with a host of anti-ageing benefits.
Why we love it in 2018: Because this buzz ingredient is so easy to incorporate into your regular skin care routine and the skin benefits are real.
Palmer’s Coconut Oil Cleansing Balm
CliniqueFIT Post-Workout Neutralizing Face Powder
Dr Natasha Cook Concentrated Illuminator
The genius hair treatment: Pre-shampoo masks
We love a hair mask but jumping out of the shower to wait out the treatment process is a time-suck. Enter the next-gen hair masks, which can be applied before your shampoo. Actually, they can go on before you get anywhere near the shower.
Try: Oribe Gold Lust Pre-Shampoo Intensive Treatment. This luxe treatment nourishes damaged hair to leave it soft, shiny and strong. And it gets bonus points for being able to slide onto dry, dirty hair.
Why we love it in 2018: Add this decadent treatment to your hair before a run, or simply massage it in before a beach workout. Leave it to work its magic then wash as normal post-exercise. Easy!
The skin analysis breakthrough: DNA testing
To measure exactly what’s going on at cell level, skin care scientists are going way past the skin’s surface to our very DNA. “DNA reveals your skin’s strengths and weaknesses, which helps customise a skin care plan to address your most important needs first,” says Richard Parker, founder and formulator of Rationale. The bad news: you are stuck with your unique DNA for life. And the good news: you can now know what to do about it when it comes to your skin care plan.
Try: Rationale’s DNArray Skin Genetic Test. This in-clinic test involves a simple (and painless) cheek swab to find out your skin’s specific DNA against different markers such as oxidation, glycation and inflammation. Also try Rationale DNA Night Cream, which targets DNA damage.
Why we love it in 2018: “A skin genetic test takes the guesswork out of choosing the best products for your skin type,” says Parker. No more impulse skin care buying necessary.
The sci-fi body treatment: Cryotherapy
If you want to add a bit of futurism to your body treatment, cryotherapy could be your new go-to. Popular with athletes, this super short but intense hyper-cooling process helps with muscle recovery, injury healing, anti-ageing and toxin build-up. Now that’s multitasking!
Try: Cryo. You’ll be put inside a state-of-the-art chamber where your body is cooled with a fine nitrogen mist to minus 140°C. Yes, it’s teeth-chattering cold, but the endorphins will make you feel on top of the world once your three minutes are up.
Why we love it in 2018: This is hi-tech beauty at its best. You’re whisked into a Passenger-esque changing pod, spoken to by a computer-generated host then escorted to your cryo session. Verdict? It’s fun and effective in equal measure.
The salon hair treatment: Anti-frizz treatment
There are plenty of anti-frizz hair products out there for a quick fix, but if you want to calm frizz for more than a day, the new crop of in-salon hair treatments can actually change the texture of your hair for weeks on end.
Try: The Goldwell Kerasilk Control De-Frizz Service. This new in-salon treatment will tame frizz, improve manageability, add natural volume and make styling easier for up to six weeks.
Why we love it in 2018: You’ll only need to spend an hour in the salon to reap the hair benefits, plus you’ll get a darn good head massage in the process.
The beauty gadget: At-home LED
Light-emitting diode (aka LED) is one of the best non-invasive anti-ageing technologies going – bonus, it’s also great for clearing up acne. Once a clinic-only treatment, it’s now possible to get the benefits from at-home LED appliances.
Try: Neutrogena Visibly Clear Light Therapy Acne Mask. This wearable LED device delivers red and blue wavelengths into the skin at speed-of-light rates to stop spots in their tracks. “The blue light kills bacteria, while the red light reduces the inflammation linked to acne,” says Keshan Gunasingh, the Director of Beauty, Research and Development at Neutrogena.
Why we love it in 2018: Wear it for 10 minutes a day while you Netflix and chill and it’s likely you’ll notice clearer skin in a week.
Oribe Gold Lust Pre-Shampoo Intensive Treatment
Rationale DNA Night Cream
Neutrogena Visibly Clear Light Therapy Acne Mask
Want to know what other beauty trends are worth knowing about? These are the most popular beauty trends around the world.
For more health and wellbeing advice from Women's Health, head to womenshealth.com.au
Have you heard of or tried any of these breakthrough beauty treatments yet?
Main image credit: @gisele
marie claire Beauty Director, Sally Hunwick joined the marie claire team in 2017. Previously Sally has worked on Cosmopolitan as Beauty and Lifestyle Director, Women’s Health as Contributing Beauty Editor, and Harper's BAZAAR and Dolly as Beauty Writer and Beauty Editor respectively. An award-winning journalist with a long-running career both in Australia and in the UK, Sally is passionate about all things beauty and health.
