Heyday’s Digital And Physical Reformation Of The Facial

The concept for Heyday, a New York-based startup aiming to bring facials to the masses, was dreamt up by Co-Founder and CEO Adam Ross when it occurred to him that the world of facials had a hollow middle. A consumer already very into them could elect to pay a high price for a high-quality facial – or, on the other end of the spectrum, there were facial parlors that offered the product cheaply (in every sense of the word).

Heyday attempts to offer a sane middle ground for facial enthusiasts, with services that start at $65 for a 30-minute session. Except, Ross noted, many of the firm’s customers aren’t experienced facial enthusiasts. About 30 percent of their members never had a facial before receiving their first in one of the chain’s six physical locations.

But after receiving the service at a reasonable price point – in Heyday’s shops that have been lauded for being clean, professional and easily accessible – those first-time facial consumers are often persuaded to come back for repeat treatments. The goal, according to Ross, is to change how consumers think about facials in general.

“Your skin is your largest organ,” Ross pointed out – which means it probably deserves a higher level of constant maintenance and care than almost any other part of the body.

“Most of our clients think about us like an Equinox membership,” he noted – after a few sessions, customers tend to start considering the facials as part of an overall wellness routine.

That perceptual shift is aided by the in-store experience, but is also buttressed by the digital side of the business, which is the online digital portal used for bookings. Recently redesigned for a smoother and more frictionless experience, Heyday’s site also allows customers to customize and personalize the treatments they received during their session, down to the specific products that are used.

Going forward, Ross said, the firm’s development goals include both expanding its stores’ physical footprints and dropping its mini-chain designation in favor of the full-fledged chain designation. Heyday also aims to improve the digital experience for customers who use their stores – or who perhaps haven’t used them yet, but are on the verge of discovering something new.

“It’s not an either/or – we see mutual growth and expansion across both channels,” Ross said. “The physical footprint will always be a key pillar of our brand strategy, but to win and service customer in this space, you need to be online.”

You also need to be willing to reach out to customers who have perhaps been left out of the world of skincare thus far, he added. The world spent $134.5 billion on skincare alone last year, and that figure is expected to grow to over $180 billion by 2024. But as a subset of that massive industry, men’s grooming is actually a pretty small slice, worth about $57.7 billion as of last year. Small but growing, and forecast to hit $78.6 billion by 2023.

As was the case with facials, bringing new players into the world of advanced skincare means taking the mystery and associated expense out of the equation, Ross said.

That’s why earlier this month, Heyday branched out into retail goods. As part of its digital men’s skincare line, Harry’s, the company offers a men’s facial mask. Priced at $20, the Detoxifying Face Mask promises to detoxify, exfoliate and soothe skin with ingredients like walnut shell powder and lactic acid.

“We have the expertise and R&D team to make our own skincare products,” Harry’s CEO Andy Katz-Mayfield noted in a recent interview, “but for our first mask, we wanted to work with a partner who physically deals with men’s skin day in and day out.”

For Heyday, it was a chance to widen its range and name recognition as it attempts to expand, and to work with one of the forerunners in the men’s skincare movement.

“To be able to have a conversation with Harry’s audience around [skincare] is incredibly exciting for us,” said Heyday Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer Michael Pollak. “We admire what they’ve done in terms of helping men open the door to grooming and self-care.”