Emer O'Callaghan: Thinking about how we are influenced around beauty buys 

It’s funny how, as you get older, your perspective on life and people changes so much.

As a beautician for 25 years working with the public, I’ve met all sorts, I can tell ya.

I love my job and I enjoy my work, which I believe is extremely important because we all spend so much of our life at work that there is just no way I’d ever waste my precious life doing something I simply didn’t love.

I meet people all the time who say, ‘Oh, I’d love to move jobs’, and I’m like, ‘So, do then!’ Back yourself, girl.

Getting older makes you realise your time is short on this earth and I am very selective over who I spend time with. I surround myself with positive, good people who only come from a place of love.

We are all energy, we are attracted to people by their energy. I’ve met a few magnetically energetic people in my time but they are rare and that’s sad.

This year, I promised myself I would push myself out of my comfort zone a lot more, so I’ve started doing things I used to enjoy doing years ago and it’s great.

I spend so much time in work being observant, studying people’s faces, checking I didn’t miss a hair or blackhead anywhere, that when I’m not at work it’s like I just switch it off and I am so unobservant. I just tune out!

That’s natural enough as in today’s world of constant emails, texts, and calls, it’s becoming harder to keep work out of our personal and family time - but we must. We must push back to protect our own work/life balance.

It’s Lent and a great time to strengthen our discipline muscle, and even though February was quite the wash-out, we must stay hopeful of better days ahead. I love spring/summer in Cork, we are all just in better form with more sunshine.

I’m flat to the mat in Emerald Beauty Clinic as Confirmation season is coming, and there is not a day goes by when I don’t get asked beauty questions. I love when people ask me my professional opinion on a treatment or products because, let’s face it, you must be baffled now at the amount of them we have today.

We certainly are living in an age of excess and as a beauty doctor and skin specialist, I always tell people the truth because I know my job is to educate people so they know better and can choose better.

The beauty industry is flooded with products, no generation has ever had as much choice as to what we can put on our faces and skin, but if you ask me, three-quarters of what is on the market is not worth buying.

So this week, let’s take a closer look at how we are all being influenced to buy beauty products today.

MARKETING TACTICS

Marketing plays a huge role in this and companies pay billions to target us all. Men’s ranges are promoted during matches, you only have to look at the ads at half time on TV.

We women, are also suckers for it, with so many ads for anti-ageing, youth serums and creams after 9pm at night, because research shows this is when many women sit down after their busy day, tired and worn out.

Even though we know this, the ads tap into our vulnerability and subconscious brain, so when you are out shopping you see the serum and buy it.

PACKAGING

I’m delighted to see more big skincare brands now finally listening and reducing their packaging, which is only going to be good for our poor environment.

As women, we are suckers for packaging, I grew up in a house of men and I’ve never once heard a man say he likes a certain product for the bottle, but still I as a female will buy certain perfumes because I like the bottle.

The male and female brains are wired very differently and this is why big skin care companies target packaging for women.

Think about it, a pink or pastel coloured bottle is something a woman would buy and a black or navy bottle is one a man would buy, and by going grey it’s neutral and professional.

Remember, you are paying for all that packaging! I do hope we start moving away from it as it’s making the products far more expensive.

BEWARE THE CLAIMS

It’s basic human nature that anyone who gets given something free to try is unlikely to find it bad. Plus, that person will want free gifts in the future. Be aware of this when you hear various claims and statistics about beauty products from people.

I look for scientific evidence, research, ingredients, and government approval - was it made by doctors or scientists? These are the facts that matter, ladies.

ONLINE TARGETING

There isn’t a day goes by now when you won’t see some influencer with no skin or beauty training promoting and flogging a product or device.

Even that word influencer - I can’t get me head around it, like, what are we all, sheep?

At the end of the day, you wouldn’t let someone who is not a mechanic work on you car, or a person who is not a teacher teach your kids.

So why would you just buy any old beauty products or device off someone that you know is not qualified in our industry?

It’s actually scary the way the industry has been hijacked and the beauty professional gets ignored.

DON’T FORGET THE OVER 65s

Social media is great, I have an amazing team that do all of mine and I see the monthly stats on how popular my videos and posts are.

Of course, as a businesswoman I know this is the way things have gone and we must all adapt and change with the times.

But there is a huge cohort of our population today, mainly over 65, who are not on social media platforms and have no idea what goes on there.

These are the people who are reading this tonight that still enjoy print media and reading the local newspaper, who will go by word of mouth and a good recommendation just as they have their whole life.

These people are vital to every business and I have a huge percentage of my business from this age group.

I find it very disrespectful when businesses do not cater for them, or when they are not inclusive of every age group.

I see every day in my clinic how the over 65s are in fact a target market for so many businesses today - they have retired, many have their families reared, and they not only have the time but the disposable income to treat themselves.

They worked hard their whole lives, made sacrifices for their families, and put everyone else ahead of them, and it’s truly fantastic now to see them finally investing some time and care back into themselves, God knows they deserve it.

I think all of us in business have a duty of care to be inclusive of all ages in society, and not just focus on one platform.

We should cater for everyone’s needs, and respect that online will never be part of many people’s lives as they choose to not partake - and isn’t that lovely too?!

Emer O’Callaghan is a multi award winning beauty doctor and skin specialist who won Irish Beauty Therapist Of The Year and works at Emerald Organic Beauty Products Ltd, trading as Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. A Gold Standard Centre of Excellence, 2008-2026 www.emeraldbeautyclinic.ie - follow us on Facebook/Instagram/TikTok now

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