That’s A Wrap: WBC 2018

For the Intrinsics team, the New Year officially began when we exhibited at the 2018 Western Buying Conference in Las Vegas, NV on January 15th and 16th.

This may have been their 33rd annual show, but this was the busiest WBC show we’ve ever attended.

We got the two-day extravaganza off to a great start, as distributors and reps lined up to talk to us about our new products, promotions, and to place orders with us. The distributors were also very curious about what we saw as the upcoming 2018 beauty trends, as well as how our 2017 new product launches were going.

Our new Nail Tech's Choice Nail Wipes, Disposable Velcro® Headband, and Carbon Filter Face Mask were among Intrinsics' top players in 2017.

New trends for 2018 will focus on:

• Skin
• Eyes
• Nails
• Barbering

The carryover trends from 2017 will continue to be balayage techniques and dimensional highlighting and coloring.

Our neat booth at WBC! Next to our friends, Godefroy.

SKIN

Facials. Facials. Facials. We can’t get enough of them and, apparently, neither can anyone else. Facials have been one the most requested services at spas for the last two years. At-home facials are also becoming popular: check any beauty supply store and you will see hundreds of different kinds of sheeted facial masks. Everyone is aiming for that young, clean, glowing look and getting facials, using the right regimen, can deliver that for you.

Men’s facials have seen the biggest increase in this category. This is evident by the new products from American International Industries’ Clubman Pinaud® brand. Clubman Pinaud has been around since 1810, though I wonder if this men’s brand would ever guess they’d carry a charcoal peel-off black mask? They do and it’s selling really well. Many barbershops have even started including facials and manicures alongside cuts and shaves. The WBC event expanded on this growing theme with over 25% of the booths offering a new men’s product.

Our superstar sales director, Dave Albers, speaking with visitors at WBC.

BROWS + LASHES

Eyes continue to be a focal point from brow waxing and microblading, to eyebrow and eyelash tinting. One of our favorite beauty companies, Godefroy, recommends using 100% cotton products when working with their tints. For this process, technicians use Pillowettes™. Why Pillowettes? It’s because they are made of 100% pure, soft cotton with no lint. Our Pillowettes are easy to maneuver around the eyes because they have a soft pillow design, for comfort, and they are specially constructed to contain a slot for fingers.

NAILS

If you polish your nails, you need to check out the new Polygel® from Gelish. Polygel is not an acrylic or a hard gel, but combines the best of both worlds for an all-in-one system. According to Gelish, Polygel is more flexible than acrylic, stronger than hard gel, and lighter than both. To get the best results, you’ll need to do a nail prep; during the prep, you must use a wipe that is completely lint-free. Yeah, we’re looking at you Lint-free Nail Wipe. Our nail wipes are made from special non-woven material called “melt blown”. Melt blown is soft and very absorbent, and is often used in medical settings because it does not leave behind lint.

It was great seeing everyone at WBC! Next stop for the Intrinsics team is at the IBS-IECSC show, taking place in New York City at the Javits Center on March 4th-6th. See you there.