Is face cupping the new guasha? Daily Habits aims to offer Asia gentle alternatives to aesthetic treatments

Daily Habits was founded in 2019 by sisters Karol and Kamila Olivero. It launched in Asia in July 2023.

The Miami-based brand is a holistic skin care brand that aims to treat skin from the inside out with the help of facial tools and products formulated with natural ingredients such as herbal extracts.

One of its best-sellers is its Face Cupping Kit, which was inspired by the traditional Chinese cupping therapy.

According to Kamila, who has studied TCM and acupuncture, facial cupping “creates a small suction to lift the skin and allow blood to follow through”.​

This promotion of blood circulation helps to provide oxygen, vitamins, and minerals to the cells.

“Facial cupping helps with fine lines, wrinkles, and you can see the effects right away. It is like an alternative to Botox and fillers. There are so many aesthetic procedures available these days that it’s nice to offer an alternative,”​ she told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.​

She believes that facial cupping has the potential to become as big as facial guasha, another TCM technique that has become a staple in the modern beauty regime.

“Guasha and cupping actually complement each other very well. They offer very similar results. One is more invasive, but both are very gentle when done correctly. Also, it depends on the skin type – cupping is more for normal skin types, while guasha is better for sensitive skin.”​

The sisters believe their brand can tap into several big trends in beauty, such as the rise in skin sensitivity.

Karol, who is also an aesthetician, has observed firsthand the overuse of beauty products by younger people and believes the sensitive skin demographic is set to grow.

“With all these TikTok trends, you are seeing more and more young people – as young as 12 to 18 – damaging their skin by doing things like over-exfoliating. Nowadays, they already have a 10- or 12-step beauty routine.”​

Moving forward, the brand is set to launch a few more products related to sensitive skin.

Kamila added: “With our brand, we want to help people heal their skin barrier.”​

Asia expansion​

Today it is available in Asian markets such as South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In South East Asia, it is exclusively available to Sephora online.

“It has been very exciting. We are learning a lot about Asian consumers, their different approaches to skin care, their skin types, and how they consume skin care,”​ said Karol.

Karol told us that the company is seeing healthy growth in Asia, which is motivating the company to strengthen its presence here.

“Asia is amazing. It’s incredibly huge and has a lot of potential no doubt. We have noticed a great improvement in sales ever since we started here. We have just launched two more products and in 2024, we hope to place ourselves higher here in the Asian market for sure. We want to learn more about the market, the culture, and potentially formulate to cater to the skin types over here.”​

According to Karol, Korea has been its most successful market in Asia so far as it is available in offline retail.

“The growth is mostly in Korea because we are physically available in retail. That is such an advantage because people get to try the products out. So, our goal is to move into physical retail with the other markets. Then Hong Kong will be the next goal.”​