New must-haves: Olive Young facial guasha sales increase six-fold in the first half of 2022

Guasha is a traditional Chinese therapy that has been adopted by the beauty industry as facial tool that claims to stimulate circulation, reduce swelling, and generally relieve tension in the face.

Olive Young is a health and beauty retail chain owned by the CJ Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates.

The data revealed that sales of beauty accessories, which include make-up, hair, and nail tools, increased by 35% in the first six months of year, compared to the previous year.

In particular, sales of facial guasha tools have swelled over six times. According to Olive Young sales data, the guasha Bioheal BOH Probioderm Lifting Massager was the top five product in the beauty tool category.

The company said that the growth of guasha sales concurs with its observation that younger consumers – namely millennials and gen Zs – are turning to self-care rituals such as facial massages.

It noted that more beauty consumers are indulging in beauty and self-care at home, rather at beauty salons, as a result of COVID-19.

This has been further fuelled by self-care content shared by beauty key opinion leaders (KOLs) on social media and content platforms like YouTube.

Coupled together, this is driving beauty consumers to “open their wallets generously”​ to beauty tools.

Moving forward, it expects that tools that are mainly used in a professional setting could potentially find their way into the mass market.

An example would be make-up brushes, which have increased by a whopping 46% in sales.

The retailer highlighted that K-beauty tool brands Picasso, Soo Ador, and Fillimilli, have successfully launched premium and professional-grade make-up brush collections.

In fact, Fillimilli’s Eye Brush Pro Collection, a set for five eye make-up brushes, was the top selling product in the beauty tools category.

Another such example is Picasso’s make-up spatula, a tool which commonly used by make-up artists, which is now making its way up Olive Young’s popular products lists.

According to the firm, since the launch of Picasso on its global mall platform, it has topped the ranks as the bestselling beauty tools brand because of the popularity of the make-up spatula.

Overall, the retailer highlighted that beauty tools were moving from a more “supporting role to a leading role” ​in the everyday beauty routine and is expecting the demand to continue growing.

“More beauty consumers are looking for not only good cosmetics but also beauty accessories that can give professional self-care. We plan to solidify our position as a trend-leading channel that suggests lifestyle ahead of time.”​