PARIS ­— Sonsoles Gonzalez began noticing changes to her hair starting in her early 40s. “I used to have very thick, full, long hair, and I began feeling like my ponytail was shrinking, it was very dry,” she said. “I knew it was due to hormonal changes.”

So the seasoned beauty executive — who’d worked at L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble, where she steered Pantene globally — set out to know the phenomenon and launched the Higher Not Younger brand in March.

“No one is talking to those women,” said Gonzalez. “I knew that the majority briefs were targeting women 18 to 44, and it was even a bit little bit of a joke inside [the industry]: What happens with women once they’re 45? They disappear.”

Not so anymore.

Generation X is starting to look less just like the lost generation as beauty brands akin to Groupe Clarins, Korres and Trinny London introduce products specializing in women of their 40s and older.

“We’re seeing the next variety of products that focus on a really specific concern, versus general ‘antiaging’ ones,” said Newby Hands, beauty director of Net-a-porter. “The main focus is not on age, but on specific individual concerns, whether that’s pigmentation or dullness. Meaning now women really can construct a more personalized wardrobe of products that they use as and when needed, fairly than sticking to the exact same regimen day in and time out.”

After years of industry attention on Millennials and Boomers, a confluence of things is today causing the highlight to shine brightly on Gen Xers.

First, there’s the sheer variety of them, who’re energetic and living longer than ever before. The 50-and-over set is the fastest-growing population segment in lots of countries, including China and the U.K. By 2025, half of Japan’s population shall be older than 50, in response to Euromonitor International.

By 2022, women aged above 55 will make up 32 percent of the U.S.’ female population, a Mintel report said.

And next 12 months, 50 million women within the U.S. shall be 51 or older, across the time most woman reach menopause. Near 70 million women within the U.S. are in some stage of menopause, in response to estimates.

This critical mass helps dispel the longstanding belief held by many who mentioning “menopause” above a whisper is taboo.

So, too, the appearance of more mature beauty ambassadors akin to Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore and Isabella Rossellini. Plus, there’s the older generation of beauty influencers, including Tricia Cusden, Park Makrye and Nichole Grice.

Gen Xers have deep pockets. A gaggle of 40 million American women 50-plus are said to represent greater than $15 trillion in purchasing power and have been called probably the most attractive generation ever.

“They’ve got no intention of retiring,” Vivienne Rudd, director of innovation and insight, beauty and private care at Mintel, said of Gen Xers. “So you could have got this huge working population that has busy social lives, family lives. The old adage that marketing teams used to make use of — the over-50s don’t use beauty products because they stopped worrying about their appearances — just isn’t true anymore.

“Aging isn’t about demographics or chronology anymore,” she continued. “It’s all about how you are feeling about your life stage, about yourself. There’s no cookie-cutter image for older women anymore — at the very least there shouldn’t be.”

Some corporations are listening.

“A number of disruptive brands have seen the potential of this space,” said Jenni Middleton, director of beauty at trend forecaster WGSN. “U.S.-based Pause Well-Aging offers a portfolio to tackle menopausal skin concerns: a Fascia Stimulating Tool to enhance elasticity and minimize sagging, Hot Flash Cooling Mist and Collagen Boosting Moisturizer, for instance.

“Within the U.K., Boots No7 has done an identical job, in designing huge campaigns specifically for Gen X, focused on their inner beauty in addition to their outer beauty,” she continued.

In accordance with the recent Mintel “Diversity in Beauty” report, 26 percent of British consumers polled said that “not catering for my age group” is the most certainly reason for them to be discouraged from using a beauty or grooming brand. For girls ages 45 to 64, that rises to 35 percent, and 41 percent of girls age 65-plus.

Brands have long had trouble determining tips on how to speak to the Gen X consumer.

“I’ve heard people say we’re more like Millennials in our tech habits and more like Boomers in our mind-set,” said Didi Gluck, content director at Manifest LLC, an agency where she launched The Plum, an editorial platform targeting women over 40. “Personally, as a Gen Xer, I don’t think either statement is true. I feel we’re quite distinct.”

Often lumped along with Boomers (as in everyone older than 40), Gen X women are inclined to share more traits with their daughters’ generation than their moms’.

Gluck believes that in talking to such a well-informed demographic, a pitfall might be overselling a product’s advantages. “Keep the advantages really well-defined and realistic,” she said. “One other challenge is tips on how to check with us.”

“The conversation in beauty today is all about diversity. Unfortunately, I feel [that’s] more around racial diversity, color diversity, even gender fluidity, but little or no around age diversity, and that’s a part of the large problem,” said Oscar Yuan, president at brand, marketing and innovation consultancy Ipsos Strategy3.

He noted whereas the language used to explain “antiaging” beauty — with words like “concealing,” “erasing” or “hiding” — often with the Millennial psychographic in mind, the maturer beauty consumer tends to be comfortable in her own skin (literally), in order that they’re more about making a glow or radiance, looking healthy fairly than looking wrinkle-free.

Groupe Clarins is targeting the 60-plus crowd with its upcoming Nutri-Lumière line, set to launch globally in February.

“What we have now discovered by studying and listening to women is that there are quite a lot of requests from women aging, after 60, on the lookout for a response to the dryness of their skin, that their skin was losing luminosity,” said Jonathan Zrihen, Groupe Clarins chief executive officer.

For the formulas, Clarins laboratories worked primarily with the flower and fruit of the horse chestnut tree.

“We actually tried to be sure that that folks will see the profit visually and feel it when it comes to their skin improvement,” said Zrihen.

Clarins named Claudia Maria Ferreira da Costa, a 57-year-old champion fencer, because the face of the brand new line.

While Clarins executives wouldn’t discuss numbers, industry sources estimate the Nutri-Lumière range will generate upward of 100 million euros in first-year retail sales.

The road should tap into Clarins’ consumer base that’s growing older in addition to help recruit latest female consumers, in response to Zrihen.

“The science behind skincare and anti-aging has made the wonder sector more trusted and credible for this group,” said Clare Varga, head of beauty at WGSN. “It is a consumer group that values results and is comfortable to spend on something that works.”

Greek beauty company Korres is poised in January to roll out abroad its year-old White Pine Meno-Reverse collection of products for post-menopausal women, which comes with the tag line “aging is a fact of life — looking your age isn’t.”

The Volumizing Serum-in-Moisturizer and Deep Wrinkle Plumping + Age Spot Concentrate contain white pine bark, said to revive skin density and volume to pre-menopausal levels.

Korres’ all-female research-and-development team wanted to higher understand the biological impact on skin with the onset of menopause.

“You lose 30 percent of collagen, 30 percent of lipids and there’s a 36 percent reduction in cell reproductivity,” said Robert DeBaker, president of Korres.

That may end up in lack of skin firmness, enlarged pores and sensitive skin. Women might find that their moisturizers remain on the highest layer of their skin, which has change into thicker, and in addition they get a surge in age spots.

“Up up to now, the common thought process was you hit the age of fifty, and suddenly you go for thicker, dense, super-hydrating formulas,” said DeBaker.

But that’s not what is required, in response to the Korres team, which sought to launch high-performance products with a thinner texture.

“The formula in our White Pine Meno-Reverse product is 11 times more practical on women going through menopause than women who’re pre-menopause,” said DeBaker, adding: “It’s still effective for those who’re pre-menopausal.”

How best to check with women older than 45 has long eluded marketers.

Through focus groups, Korres learned that girls of that demographic are on the lookout for a way of community. So the corporate began a social media community where people can virtually come together to share information on what they’re experiencing and discuss what works for them.

Korres had kept expectations low for Pine Meno-Reverse, however the line’s been doubling targets, in response to said DeBaker.

Higher Not Younger’s Gonzalez noticed that promoting addressing women over 45 or 50 typically employed old stereotypes — women in retirement, with their grandchildren or taking cruises.

“I couldn’t see myself in that picture,” she said. “I knew none of my friends would, because they’re all initiating latest things or still working.”

As an alternative, she “wanted to indicate women celebrating age, feeling empowered.”

For her first photo shoot, Gonzalez couldn’t get any modeling agencies to send her women older than 45 or 50. So she called two close friends to model.

“We didn’t retouch a single picture,” she said. “They’re gorgeous as they’re.”

For the second shoot, the manager contacted other people she’d met, noting, “Women really need to be a part of this movement.”

For her product line, Gonzalez hired an MIT scientist who helped make clear that as women become old, follicles shrink, causing hair to be thinner and with a slower growth cycle. Further, one’s body produces so much less sebum, making hair dryer and more brittle. Graying is as a consequence of less melanin, and the scalp’s skin becomes thinner, too.

“Due to all these changes, you are attempting to compensate,” said Gonzalez. “You begin using more styling products…and begin coloring every 4, six weeks. It’s like the proper storm. Your hair goes through enormous changes — it’s so much more vulnerable — but you’re adding the harshest chemistry you may possibly consider in your scalp and hair. Your hair is beginning to feel very dry. Your scalp may be very vulnerable and irritated with all of the chemistry. Your pores are clogging, and that’s also hindering healthy hair growth.”

Her 12-unit product range works on the scalp, hair and on the dietary level. There’s the Activated Charcoal Scalp cleanser with a brush in-built; a serum without alcohol; products with vitamins, and gummies with collagen, as an example.

“Our philosophy is basically to work from the within out,” said Gonzalez.

And to get to the purpose on Instagram and Facebook.

“[Women] respond very positively to our promoting,” she said. ”They don’t want us to beat across the bush. Each time the ad or the communication says ‘hair look after mature hair’ or ‘for ladies over 45,’ they get it and click on on it. Our highest click-through rates are those that directly say what we’re.”

Beyond skin and hair care, makeup for Gen X has its own set of challenges for corporations.

Gen X women are “on the lookout for brands that provide you with inspiration, that don’t feel they’re too young for you and make you are feeling cool — or a bit bit greater than protected,” in response to Trinny Woodall, the British TV personality who launched her upscale Trinny London color cosmetics collection in October 2017.

“They’re also rethinking their routine,” said Woodall. “I feel we are able to do our makeup in stages of 10-year stints, after which we get up and think, ‘Hmmm, my face has modified. Can I still try this smoky eyeliner I learned after I listened to Debbie Harry, age 13?’ And I feel there may be way more in regards to the woman today wanting to feel totally ageless — not younger.”

Woodall prefers creams over powders and fashioned little transparent pots that click into stacks. Customers select their colours and foundations based on questions on their eyes, hair and skin, then construct up their very own stacks or buy pre-made sets with names like Statement Lip.

At launch, Woodall thought the typical basket can be about 55 kilos, nevertheless it was closer to 75 kilos, with women buying two or three items before returning to buy more.

The majority of Trinny London’s business is online, nevertheless it has three brick-and-mortar locations.

Rawness is very important to Woodall, who says her brand’s media feed isn’t perfect and features women of all ages. “I feel that makes women feel very comfortable in the event that they see someone like themselves,” she said.

Together, Woodall and Trinny London’s social media platforms have about 1.5 million followers. On YouTube, the brand’s average watch time is 14 minutes. “I feel it’s all within the content, telling a story. It’s so little in photography,” she said.

Woodall has real women try the brand, then images of which can be posted on social, which she believes helps others buy online. The “Trinny Tribe” look book features 83 women, ages 16 to 81.

“You select someone who looks such as you, and then you definitely can see 5 – 6 different looks on each woman. That works thoroughly; quite a lot of women buy through that,” she said. “I feel what you wish as a lady on this Generation X [is] to walk in a room and feel the energy in your face. You don’t look drained, just feel great. You don’t feel like someone else.”

More from WWD.com:

Prada, L’Oréal Sign Beauty License

Rowse: A Newfangled Influencer Beauty Brand

Digital Download: How Telemedicine Meets Beauty