What We Want to Know About the Future of Beauty at BeautyCon
As BeautyCon heads back to school, we’re asking what its new curriculum can teach us about expertise, inclusivity, and the future of beauty culture
Credit: growgood.beauty | Courtesy
Beauty lovers and consumers have access to more beauty information than ever. We have TikTok tutorials, GRWM reels, dermatologists and estheticians on Instagram, professional makeup artists sharing their techniques, celebrity beauty brand founders, and influencers offering endless product recommendations. This year’s BeautyCon is being marketed as BeautyCon University, a one-day event in Los Angeles on September 19, with the convention largely focused on education. Think masterclasses, creator conversations, immersive brand activations, and insider knowledge they claim you won’t find on your For You page. It’s like a crash course in beauty—with big-name professors including Keke Palmer and Cardi B.
We can’t help but wonder whether this BeautyCon repositioning represents a real shift in beauty culture. Are we finally moving away from (or beyond) “influencer” beauty culture and back to actual expertise? Social media has made everyone an expert these days—or at least made it easy to appear like one. But BeautyCon University seems fully focused on education and learning.
The internet is saturated with beauty information and recommendations, so it’s hard to know what’s real. BeautyCon is also partnering with Curly Con LA, “expanding the curriculum with even more creators, conversations, and community celebrating the full spectrum of hair and beauty.” The curriculum is being broken down into five essential courses: The Art of Beauty, The Business of Beauty, The History of Beauty, The Science of Beauty, and Beauty & Wellbeing. BeautyCon is asking attendees to treat this as their syllabus for the season—so grab a fresh notebook and a favorite pen, and get ready to take in all the knowledge experts will be dropping throughout.
If you plan on attending, there’s a lot to look forward to, from a masterclass in technique with Beyoncé’s makeup artist, Sir John, to Cardi B leading a hands-on haircare masterclass tied to her Grow-Good Beauty brand. Keke Palmer will also serve as the university’s Pilates instructor, leading a one-hour mat class.
But like every good student, we recommend coming prepared—not just to take notes and capture content, but to ask the questions that could offer a little more clarity about where beauty culture is headed. Here are a few questions that might be worth asking if you plan on being there:
What does celebrity beauty look like when celebrities actually have something to teach us?
1
Cardi B isn’t simply appearing at BeautyCon this year—she’s leading a hands-on haircare masterclass focused on her Grow-Good Beauty brand and what she’s learned throughout her own hair care journey. A few years ago, we saw celebrities lending their names or image to brands and products. But now more and more are becoming founders, launching products inspired by their own relationship with beauty. In creating Grow-Good, Cardi has learned not just what works for her hair, but also about everything from ingredients and formulation to product development and more. Her haircare story is also deeply connected to Dominican beauty practices and remedies, many of which she used while trying to repair her heat-damaged curls.
What does celebrity beauty look like when celebrities actually have something to teach us?
2
Cardi B isn’t simply appearing at BeautyCon this year—she’s leading a hands-on haircare masterclass focused on her Grow-Good Beauty brand and what she’s learned throughout her own hair care journey. A few years ago, we saw celebrities lending their names or image to brands and products. But now more and more are becoming founders, launching products inspired by their own relationship with beauty. In creating Grow-Good, Cardi has learned not just what works for her hair, but also about everything from ingredients and formulation to product development and more. Her haircare story is also deeply connected to Dominican beauty practices and remedies, many of which she used while trying to repair her heat-damaged curls.
How is the industry teaching consumers how to make better choices rather than simply giving them more things to buy?
3
With so many beauty products being marketed to us—from skin cycling, peptides, exosomes, growth factors, red-light therapy, skin barrier repair, scalp care, supplement culture, aesthetic treatments, and at-home devices—it’s hard to tell what actually works and what’s simply trending right now. Are we becoming more knowledgeable about beauty and what we’re buying, or is it just making us more overwhelmed?
Who is defining what beauty expertise looks like now?
4
BeautyCon’s previous programming emphasized inclusivity and diversity, constantly challenging mainstream beauty standards. But today, with so many people considering themselves beauty experts online, how do we know whose knowledge is actually legitimate expert beauty knowledge? Is it estheticians, makeup artists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and hair stylists? Or should we include beauty brand founders and creators too?
When will Latina beauty finally start being recognized for the cultural influence it has always had?
5
R29’s Somos will be at BeautyCon this year with an immersive installation; it’ll show how iconic Latina beauty trends have shaped LA culture, beauty and politics–from Pachucas to the chola aesthetic of the 1900s. Are we finally entering an era where Latina beauty traditions are being recognized for their history, influence, and expertise rather than as the latest beauty trend? Who is getting the credit when Latina beauty becomes mainstream?
