French Girl Myth: A Transparent Take on the Self-care Industry
Most women can recall being force-fed the fantasy of the modern french woman — a jeune fille who eats baguette with brie for lunch and dinner, drinks a healthy glass of red wine a day and has impeccable Futuredew worthy skin despite fostering a chain smoking habit. I was recently sifting through an article by Refinery 29 on this very topic and began pondering on why modern culture has taken the je ne sais quoi of the French woman to heart.
In a culture filled with discipline, diets and deadlines (the triple D threat, of course), the laissez faire attitude characterizing the french woman seems like a dream come true. Although frankly, I don’t think it’s the carbs or Chanel that we’re really lacking, but rather the romance that comes with indulging in life’s small pleasures — and not feeling guilty about it. This can be anything from purchasing a bouquet of tulips on the way home to having that extra piece of charcuterie, because why not? I believe that this longing for a sense of satisfaction of one’s whims (to a certain extent) makes up the foundation for pure self-care.
However, if self-knowledge and gratification of one’s small desires is at the core of caring for oneself, it begs the question: how has the gold standard for self-care shifted from low maintenance, on-a-whim croissants to a multi-trillion dollar product-driven industry?
The Rising Ubiquity of “Self-care”
With well over 28M posts tagged as #selfcare on Instagram depicting everything from bubble baths to workout videos and motivational quotes, this new trend is taking all demographic segments by a storm. Although the concept of Self-care is hardly new, with Michel Foucault bringing it up in his 1976 essay entitled “The Care of the Self’, the recent productization of the term has rendered it, by most standards, a particularly effective marketing tool.
Contributing to the global health and wellness industry — worth about $4.5 trillion US — the self-care trend has seen substantial growth in recent years due to a general rise in stress, chronic diseases and mental health awareness. What’s more, the market is expected to flourish further at a 6% CAGR between 2019–2213, growing in categories such as personal care/beauty/anti-aging, nutrition, wellness tourism and even the spa economy. This market is heavily influenced by general socioeconomic trends such as sustainability/green living, increasingly busy lifestyles and an aging population.
Despite the wide reaching impact of self-care, I am particularly interested in understanding how the Pivotal segment operates in the space. More specifically, how either start-ups or industry veterans have adapted their offering to appeal to this group that thrives on brands that are both authentic and offer a personalized, holistic experience to their customers.
Undeniable Importance of Brand
In a previous article entitled The Rise of Pivotals, I brought up how an emerging segment at the intersection of Millenials and Gen Z (aged 13–34) is challenging the status quo of the beauty and fashion industry. Driven by social media, rejecting traditional social norms, this target market has unparalleled high expectations for the brands they interact with and invest in — and this extends to the self-care industry.
With this in mind, the self-care brands that have consistently succeeded with this target market have a few points in common: they are honest, personalized and offer an experience that goes way beyond a simple product. They have an online (and offline) following of communities that appreciate their aesthetic and interact with them across all available channels. However, if — at the core — self-care products are consumed alone and are effectively not reusable (think a pill, a cream, a white tampon), then why does an outward facing brand become so important?
Let me explain. As previously discussed, pivotals crave connection to a brand-driven community, effectively making them both unique and a wider whole. Take the infamous Fila Disruptor II — potentially the 2010’s most disruptive (pun intended) — and memed — shoe. Worn by hordes of teenage girls with lite cocaine habits & thigh gaps around the world, opting for this sneaker indicates to the world that you have very ~specific ~ taste in fashion, but also makes you part of this larger community of “cool” girls . (For the record, I love my Filas and have accepted the meme, but there are few examples that illustrate my point better than this.) In the context of an outward facing piece of clothing, the reasoning is clear: wearing the shoe visually indicates that you fall in a specific segment, but this doesn’t hold true when the product itself isn’t displayed to the world.
I’ve hypothesized that despite not being outward facing, the importance of a strong brand in the Self-care industry is driven primarily by the intimate nature of the solution. Whether it be in response to #buttne (butt acne, believe it or not), erectile dysfunction or that time of the month, self-care brands aim to tackle the most intimate and vulnerable aspects of our lives. Thus, given how personal these issues become, consumers want to deal with brands they can trust, relate to on a personal level and connect to. If you are using a product on a day to day basis in an intimate capacity, you ultimately want it to make you feel good and like it’s an extension of who you are — of your personal brand in some ways.
That being said, the next part of this article will explore some brands that have grasped this concept with immense grace and are pushing forward the future of the self-care industry in the best possible way. Unlike industry incumbents, they are approaching the self-care market from a different angle, aiming to solve issues that have otherwise been overlooked with a genuine sense of altruism.
Industry Game Changers
Blume: Addressing Periods & Womanhood
The first brand I want to take a deeper dive into is Blume, a 2016 startup dedicated to educating and supporting the next generation of women around puberty and periods. Founded by two sisters, the company offers a wide range of critically acclaimed skincare products (think Melt Down) alongside its monthly subscription box that include all period must haves (from organic cotton pads to tampons).
Punctuated by its slogan, “self-care is the new going out”, Blume embodies the nature of product driven self-care, while leaning on a genuine and unique mission to make female intimate health part of the modern conversation, inspiring young women to own their femininity in the process.
Maude: Redefining Sexual Health
Also aiming to tackle intimate health for the modern human, Maude’s mission is the redeifnition of sexual health. Launched in 2018, Maude has reached $2.1 million in funding and achieves its goal of redefining bedroom essentials through developing its line of natural latex condoms, lubes, massage candles and even a vibrator, affectionately named the “vibe”.
With an aesthetically appealing, gender neutral branding of all its products, Maude takes the “cringe” out of buying sex toys or bedroom essentials while making these necessaries accessible to all. Alonside its blog, The Maudern. which offers everything from cocktail ideas to sex advice, Maude truly goes above and beyond the product to offer a complete sexual self-care package.
Anese: Honest Humor
With “serious skincare for not so serious babes” as its tagline, Anese has differentiated itself in the self-care market through its unique offering: boob and booty care. In fact, its bestselling products That Booty Tho. and Calm Your Tits help women (and men!) deal with an array of skin concerns such as acne, chaffing and stretch markets. The brand is founded in light humor, honest reviews, before/afters and a bright and bubbly aesthetic.
Although Anese does primarily sell products, its quirky take on self-care, strong social media presence and commitment to solving a specific type of problem that has otherwise been overlooked by most skincare brands renders it a top contender in this market.
Care/Of: Modernizing & Personalizing Supplements
Shifting to the health side of things, Care/of is a healthcare technology company based in NYC that has raised a whopping $82.9M since 2016. With experience at Bonobos and in VC, the duo that launched this brand have been one of the first to venture into the bygone industry of supplements and vitamins. Their proposition is pretty simple: take a five minute quiz on your lifestyle, health goals, eating/fitness habits & values, and receive a personalized recommendation of monthly supplements to take. From pea protein to iron tablets, they’ve got you covered. They facilitate the process for you by offering to send you a monthly subscription box with the recommended items — with the packaging personalized with your name.
Not only has this company taken a completely lagging industry and turned it on its head, Care/of has also done an exceptional job at leveraging influencer marketing to get its word out. It has redefined the image of supplements as something anyone can integrate into their lifestyle — making it an essential part of the self-care routine in a way that is truly tailored to each and every person.
Hims: Destigmatizing Men’s Health
Operating at the intersection of men’s health technology, Hims aims to connect men with medical professionals to increase the mass market accessibility for solutions to hair loss, erectile dysfunction, bad skin and anxiety (the list goes on). A series C startup with $197M in funding, Hims has brought self-care to a segment that was otherwise overlooked.
The brand’s aesthetic, no-bullshit approach and mission of making personal wellness accessible & affordable are all factors that have contributed to the brand’s immense success. Self-care and wellness has traditionally been considered a taboo or uncomfortable topic for men to address, and Hims aims to change this way of thinking while truly making a difference in mens’ lives.
Parting Thoughts
Self-care is ubiquitous, it’s personal and — above all — it’s complicated. The reality is that there’s much more to it than living life like the french — it englobes everything from skincare to sexual health and everything in between. Although it could seem very disingenuous to use the premise of #self-care to sell products that can solve consumer’s most intimate vulnerabilities, there is certainly room for young entrepreneurs to enter this space with the authentic intention of improving the lives of others. Whether it be dealing with #buttne, premature hair loss or a convoluted supplement industry, the sense of altruism is genuine for most.
The issue arises when there are efforts to lean into this self-care world without actually actually having the end buyers’ best interests at heart. This holds true for most of the fashion and beauty industries, although its particularly salient when dealing with individuals’ deepest anxieties and insecurities.
For example, Hers — the counterpart of the previous discussed Hims — had a faux-pas moment when they posted about prescribing anxiety medication as a solution to first date flutters. In their defense, they quickly addressed their lack of delicacy on this topic and owned up to their mistake, which is key when dealing with topics as intimate as mental health. Consumers should feel comfortable holding brands accountable to their actions and stances in this space, and pivotals certainly have that entitlement.
So whether you’re a woke consumer ready to splurge on your next buy or a budding entrepreneur keen to start your next venture in the space, just make sure you’re approaching it with a positive and honest end result in mind. Without proper precautions might just end up as a feature on the dreaded “estee laundry” Instagram page.
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