Latest news with #CryoGlow
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
‘I want to take you to a workout class': Influencers are turning brand trips into exclusive real-life fan experiences
Rather than sitting at home watching your favorite influencer unbox gifts from their all-expenses-paid brand trip, now the rest of us have a chance to feel like an influencer for a day. Last week, Brandon Edelman, the same TikTok creator who recently went viral for sharing his $768,000-a-year salary, launched his very own 'Bran Trip,' his version of the ubiquitous influencer brand trip. Attendees were chosen via video application using the hashtag #thebrantrip. Three of Edelman's lucky followers and their plus-ones were then transported to their own suites at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia for the weekend. The trip included tickets to a Phillies game, facials, and an IV lounge for recovery from the night before. @bran__flakezz I AM SO EXCITED #thebrantrip @Lindsay Anderson @carter @Tierra Mo'ney @Jocelyn Vargas @Drink Poppi @Beis Travel @GarnierUSA @Ferko's Fine Jewelry @Shark Beauty @Coastal Caviar @EVRY JEWELS @@KIND Snacks @TOPICALS ♬ original sound – bran_flakezz Of course, it wouldn't be an influencer-hosted trip without gifting from 30 different brands. This included gifted outfits from Abercrombie & Fitch, initial necklaces from Ferko's (a Westchester-based fine jewelry company), a $349 CryoGlow LED mask from Shark, and Béis luggage to get their goodies back home, Edelman told Glossy. @bran__flakezz #thebrantrip DAY ONE SETUP!! @UrInternetBF @Lindsay Anderson @Eli Rallo @corinna carter @Tierra Mo'ney @tykiadee @Jocelyn Vargas @Alexandria @Olivia Palacio #philly #philadelphia ♬ original sound – Penny B Hollywood While influencer fan meetups are nothing new, these events have evolved from the thousands-strong gatherings of the 2010s, where excited fans queued for hours for a quick hug and a selfie with their favorite influencer. Now, influencers are inviting followers in and building community in intimate settings that align with their personal brands. 'Just like some influencers have been taking their followers out for dinner, I want to take you to a workout class,' New York-based influencer Danielle Pheloung posted in April. The next month, Pheloung hosted 25 girls at the heated workout studio Fuze House in Tribeca. The event was on-brand for Pheloung, with early morning workouts a staple in her videos. After the free class, each attendee left with a bag full of items gifted by some of Pheloung's favorite brands including Smart Sweets, Lancôme, and Ouai. @daniellephe Such a special day! Cant wait to do more of these🥹🤍 ♬ evergreen – favsoundds These fan meetups are part of a larger shift in the creator economy and beyond, from online to offline. 'For years, creators chased virality online, but these days, influence is about access, not scale,' Casey Lewis, writer of After School, a newsletter about youth consumer trends, wrote in a recent Substack post. 'Follower count matters less than who actually shows up.' Often dubbed the 'loneliest generation,' Gen Z has figured out that the secret to making friends is organizing their own third spaces and meetups. According to a new study from Eventbrite, 95% of Gen Z and Millennials are interested in turning online interests into real-world interactions. Brands are noticing this shift, and platforms are stepping in to help facilitate meaningful community marketing opportunities. Last month, the youth research firm dcdx launched Offline, a platform connecting brands with real-life communities to co-host and sponsor events ranging from micro-community activations for dozens to meetups of hundreds. As Offline founder Andrew Roth told Forbes: 'Just as the Influencer rose to fame, so will the Host.'
WIRED
16-05-2025
- Health
- WIRED
I Scanned My Skin Before and After Using Shark's CryoGlow for 8 Weeks. I Was Surprised
Youth is wasted on the young, as the saying goes, and certainly my collagen reserves were wasted on me in my twenties. With no skin care routine in sight and a (now-alien) belief that sunscreen was merely optional, I just assumed that plump, glowy, fine-line-free skin would always stick around. Spoiler alert: It didn't, and now I'm trying everything to put things right. Red light therapy is one of the most discussed skin care hacks right now, in what is becoming an increasingly scientific, research-led space. It's not new, exactly—I was reading about its benefits five or more years ago, but it has crept slowly out of doctors' offices and into at-home devices. The Shark CryoGlow is one of the more recent launches in this space. As a US Food and Drug Administration–cleared mask, it has been developed with dermatologists and comes with its fair share of bold claims from clinical trials. It uses Shark's iQLED technology, which combines red, blue, and deep infrared light into two modes focused on blemish clearing and fine-line reduction. The quoted stats are certainly impressive—under daily use, Shark says, the mask has been clinically tested to improve acne, redness, and skin smoothness in four weeks, while wrinkles and skin luminosity were improved in eight weeks. Photograph: Shark The CryoGlow also has a little extra party trick up its sleeve, in the form of the under-eye cooling pads, which have three levels of chill to help tackle tired and puffy eyes. I decided to put all these claims to the test by stopping all active skin care and strapping the mask to my face every day for over eight weeks. While I planned to document the changes myself, I also thought it might be helpful to dig a little deeper into the condition of my skin, so I could better assess the changes (if any) that the CryoGlow delivered in the timeframe. I spoke to Sally Wheeler, who runs an aesthetics business and is a lead aesthetics nurse for the British Association of Medical Aesthetic Nurses. She recommended I try a device called the Observ 520x, an in-clinic skin-analyzing device that takes photos to assess skin health, both on the surface and below. I would do this before and after my review period of at least eight weeks to see how my results compare. My main skin concerns I was keen to tackle with the mask were fine lines, skin dullness, and puffy eyes, but as it turns out, the impact of the mask went deeper than that. Skin Deep Photograph: Verity Burns There are two main modes on the Shark CryoGlow—Better Aging (six minutes; red and infrared LED) and Blemish Repair (eight minutes; blue, red, and infrared). You can use either of these with or without the under-eye cooling on, plus there is also just a mode for the under-eye pads if you need a boost. The Skin Sustain mode, which also uses all three lights, is a shorter, four-minute program that Shark encourages you to use after completing one of the longer programs for at least eight weeks.
WIRED
01-05-2025
- Health
- WIRED
Simplifying the Science of Getting Red Light Therapy Right
How Shark Beauty's CryoGlow mask found the sweet spot between science and innovation. When Chris Hedges first saw the clinical results, he knew they had something special. After years of development with a team of engineers, product developers, and dermatologists, the results from Shark Beauty's CryoGlow LED mask clinical trial were in—and the data was impressive. After testing with two groups (with 59 and 60 participants each), subjects showed a 15% improvement in fine lines and a 37% decrease in acne after eight weeks. The stats demonstrated that with daily use, the mask increased radiance, reduced redness and roughness, and made skin feel firmer for users. Between these results and getting FDA clearance, Hedges—the VP of Design Engineering at SharkNinja—and the rest of the team felt like the years of development to create the CryoGlow mask's proprietary technology to bring medspa-inspired treatments into people's homes had finally paid off. Now, the Shark™ CryoGlow™ is the only LED anti-aging and acne-reducing mask in the US, with built-in under-eye cooling technology, that is also backed by clinically tested results and FDA clearance. iQLED Technology™ provides dermatologist-optimized treatments of red, blue, and deep infrared light. 'We use technology to solve real consumer problems; and for Shark Beauty™ that meant bringing a technological and engineering focus to skincare,' says Hedges. 'We aimed to create an at-home device that would have both instant and over-time results. The clinical results validated the hard work our team invested into creating CryoGlow, because nothing is more believable than a before & after photo,' says Hedges. Photobiomodulation (the technical term for LED therapy) works by kickstarting the body's natural restorative processes by giving mitochondria the energy they need to rejuvenate the body's cells. A key response this process triggers for anti-aging benefits is the production of collagen in the dermis. According to Hedges, the energy from the red light photons is used to produce more collagen in the dermis. More collagen creates more elasticity in the skin, and more elastic skin appears plumper and firmer—therefore, reducing the appearance of fine lines. But to achieve the benefits of LED therapy—such as those seen in CryoGlow's clinical trials—the dose of energy has to be just right. There can't be too little or too much energy emitted from a mask, or else the treatment won't be effective. LED therapy can only work if the device you're using effectively delivers energy. TL;DR: Not all LED masks are created equal. The CryoGlow mask combines technologies to find the sweet spot through three different factors: distance from the light source, wavelength of the light, and position of the mask. Using a proprietary technology called iQLED, each of the 160 tri-wick LED bulbs supplies three different sources of light, creating a total of 480 light sources that can give more even coverage with the right setback distance from the skin. Think about it like a room lit by three lamps versus a single spotlight. By setting the bulbs 15mm from the skin and 10mm apart, the CryoGlow mask can concentrate more energy into the skin through its tri-wick technology. 'Many LED masks on the market use alternating single color bulbs, but our iQLED technology uses tri-wick LEDs that are able to change between red, blue and infrared light to ensure maximum coverage across the face, without gaps or hotspots,' says Hedges. Since each light in the mask can produce blue, red, and infrared light, the frequencies are combined to create unique skin treatments—Skin Clearing, Better-Aging, and Skin Sustain—without any change in the arrangement of the light source. That means an anti-acne treatment using blue light has the same coverage and potency as a collagen-stimulating treatment combining red and infrared light. The final piece of the puzzle was dialing in the right wavelengths of light. The blue light CryoGlow uses for the Skin Clearing treatment is emitted at 415nm—the optimal wavelength to target Cutibacterium acnes, a bacteria proven to be the primary cause of breakouts. The mask's red light is emitted at 630nm, which stimulates cellular activity promoting collagen production in the dermal layer. Lastly, the infrared light (which is invisible to the naked eye) is emitted at 830nm, which can penetrate deeper into the dermis, producing collagen at different layers. 'CryoGlow only uses wavelengths of light that are proven to be clinically effective for the treatment of aging concerns and acne—red, infrared and blue. We partnered with a panel of dermatologists to determine the best sequencing of these colors for each skincare concern and aimed to create the most effective dosage in the shortest amount of time,' explains Hedges. Under-Eye Revive Projection on the Shark™ CryoGlow™ Mask. But perhaps the strongest indicator of an effective red light routine is just that: a routine. Like many things, consistency is key when using the CryoGlow mask. That's been considered and integrated into the user experience of the mask by design. The device keeps track of your use with a personal Progress Tracker, which is easily viewed on the mask's remote screen. Additionally, the under-eye cooling pad feature is built directly into the mask to soothe and visibly tighten under the eyes. Two metal plates shaped like eye masks provide InstaChill technology to all three pre-programmed routines, as well as a standalone treatment option. These cold plates use a combination of the Peltier Effect and fan technology to expel excess heat outward—creating instant cooling under the eyes that is just plain luxurious. Additionally, the fit of the mask is designed to be extra comfortable, with adjustable straps and foam to cushion around the eyes—inspiration for these features were taken from snow goggles and VR headsets to achieve balanced wear. A lot of thought went into the fit of this device to ensure comfort for all face shapes and sizes,' says Hedges. 'The mask even has a forehead sensor so the lights stay dim until it's fitted on the face to protect your eyes from the bright LED's.' From fit to light frequencies, the CryoGlow mask was created with innovation top of mind at every decision-making crossroad for the SharkNinja innovation team. And now they, and CryoGlow users, have the results to prove it.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Wellness Spending Hits New Highs, Analyst Backs These Stocks
BofA Securities analyst Alexander Perry today writes about the prospects of wellness companies and how prioritizing healthy ways and increased wellness spending will bode for the companies' stocks. Younger generations, particularly Gen Z and millennials, are embracing healthier lifestyles, boosting wellness stocks, said the analyst. This shift is evident in rising spending on fitness, activity-based leisure, and wellness products. Key trends include a surge in gym memberships, with Bank of America data showing fitness-related spending at a 19-month high. Additionally, leisure activities like pickleball are gaining popularity, and interest in healthy eating, recovery, and non-alcoholic beverages continues to grow, the analyst noted. Bank of America card data shows fitness center spending rose 7% year-over-year in February, marking the highest increase in 19 months. Also Read: While all generations increased spending, Gen Z and millennials allocate a significantly higher portion of their budgets to fitness. Gen Z households spend 2.8 times more than baby boomers on fitness, while millennials lead total spending, holding over 30% share. Higher-income consumers continue to drive this growth. The wellness sector continues to gain traction, with healthy eating, recovery, and anti-aging trends driving growth. Non-alcoholic beer and seltzer spending has outpaced alcoholic alternatives by 28pts since 2021, while fitness club foot traffic has surpassed bars and pubs by 22pts. Interest in cold plunges and red light therapy is rising, and pickleball participation has surged 46% year-over-year, reaching 20 million players, opined the analyst. The analyst's top wellness picks are LTH, PLNT, & SN. The analyst raised the price forecast for Life Time Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LTH) to $45 from $40, reflecting its pricing power and strong membership demand. The company is strategically positioned to benefit from rising wellness trends, including the expansion of pickleball and cold plunge offerings. Meanwhile, Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) ($115 price forecast) is seeing accelerated same-store sales in the first quarter. SharkNinja, Inc. (NYSE:SN) is expanding its product line with the launch of the CryoGlow red/blue light therapy mask, noted the analyst. SN ($140 price forecast) is the analyst's top wellness discretionary products pick. Read Next:Image via Shutterstock. Date Firm Action From To Jan 2022 DA Davidson Maintains Buy Jan 2022 Morgan Stanley Maintains Overweight Dec 2021 JP Morgan Maintains Neutral View More Analyst Ratings for PLNT View the Latest Analyst Ratings Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? PLANET FITNESS (PLNT): Free Stock Analysis Report SHARKNINJA (SN): Free Stock Analysis Report This article As Wellness Spending Hits New Highs, Analyst Backs These Stocks originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
17-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Julie Thurlow, whose career began by accident, is making waves at Reading Cooperative Bank
Now she has found a way to fill it, by merging with a smaller bank between those areas, Wakefield Co-operative Bank . The depositors of Reading Cooperative approved the merger last week, following a similar vote at the smaller bank. The deal is slated to close this spring, and will bring Reading Cooperative into Wakefield, Melrose, and Lynnfield. Wakefield chief executive Jeff Worth will join as president, and Reading Cooperative will have $1.2 billion in assets across 14 branches. With a few other midsized banks north of Boston getting swallowed up, Thurlow said, her team is in a good position to take advantage of the market disruption. Advertisement Even before these deals, Thurlow had become one of the most prominent women in the Massachusetts banking scene. Her career began by accident: She graduated college in the 1980s with a music degree, but school music budgets were being cut, and a career as a performer seemed out of the question. So she took a low-level job at a community bank in Winchendon and fell in love with it almost immediately. She then went to work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and helped manage its oversight of several local bank failures in the early 1990s, before returning to the private sector. One reason she's stayed at Reading Cooperative for so long: She has had freedom to try new innovations, such as starting to offer Venmo money transfer services on its mobile app in 2022, and becoming one of the state's largest writers of Paycheck Protection Program loans, early in the pandemic. The mutual ownership structure helps, without the quarterly earnings pressure and bottom-line focus of a publicly traded holding company. Advertisement 'I didn't have to leave to have an opportunity to experience new things,' Thurlow said. 'The beauty of mutual [ownership is] we can decide what we want to invest in without having to report to shareholders.' Always be diversifying SharkNinja could soon be coming to a supermarket near you. During an earnings call on Thursday, chief executive Mark Barrocas said the consumer products company is broadening its presence in sporting goods stores, such as with its portable grills and coolers. Some products, such as its slushie-maker and its cutlery, will show up in grocery stores, too. This follows a big push into beauty chains, particularly with the launch of CryoGlow, an antiaging face mask that sells for $350 — a new product that could account for $100 million in revenue this year. This is good news for the Needham headquarters, where SharkNinja's 1,100-person workforce keeps growing. A spokeswoman said SharkNinja has nearly 80 open positions to fill there, most of them new. The company has come a long way from the days when its primary focus was on Shark vacuums and Ninja blenders. Just last week, it launched a soft-serve ice cream maker, called the Creami Swirl, also with a list price of $350. Barrocas expects revenue to grow by at least 10 percent this year, a slowdown from the 30-plus percent increase reported in 2024, when the company generated $5.5 billion in sales. But the pace of innovation won't slow: The company is launching 25 new products in 2025, a similar amount to last year. 'We have 1,200 engineers around the world. We're constantly developing products across 36 different product categories,' Barrocas said in an interview. 'That's the secret sauce of SharkNinja.' Advertisement Rolling the dice on sports bets Did Wynn Resorts make the right call with sports betting at its Encore Boston Harbor casino? It didn't quite work out as planned, as Encore president Jenny Holaday explained during a wide-ranging discussion with Arun Upneja , Boston University 's dean of hospitality administration, at Responding to an audience member's question, Holaday conceded that Wynn executives thought sports betting would be more lucrative. Massachusetts lawmakers allowed casinos to offer sports bets on their premises DraftKings and the like. Wynn converted its 'Buffet' restaurant to a sports bar after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and that area 'We thought that 95 percent of sports betting would be done on the phone, and that 5 percent would be in person,' Holaday said. 'And we were wrong. Ninety-nine percent of it is done on the phone. So . . . we thought we would make more money than we have. We spent $28 million turning our Buffet into one of the coolest-looking sportsbooks. . . . Have any of you been there?' Holaday didn't seem surprised by the muted reaction to that question. 'It's really impressive [but] that thing is never going to ROIC, ever,' Holaday said, using the abbreviation for 'return on invested capital.' 'It's a great place to watch the Super Bowl, March Madness, a big event. But it is not what we thought it would be because, as I like to say, you can't compete with the couch.' Upneja asked how she persuades her 3,300-person team to provide a 'five-star' experience. Holaday attributed it to the employees' dedication, their pride in the building where they work, and the camaraderie they developed in the pandemic. (Staffing at the casino, which opened in 2019, still is short of its prepandemic level of nearly 6,000 people.) Advertisement Upneja also asked: How close are flicks like 'Casino Royale' to real life? 'It's just a very high-energy, intense, really really fun business, but it's not like you see in the movies,' Holaday said. Upneja, smiling, acted disappointed. 'Despite what you said, I still want to protect that image of that glitz and the glamour of James Bond,' he told Holaday. 'Next time I enter, that's kind of . . . what I'll be looking for.' To which she responded: 'Duly noted.' Berkshire, Pentera snag Super Bowl slots Instead of rooting for quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts on Super Bowl Sunday, some Greater Boston workers cheered on a Celtics star, Derrick White . Others applauded a CGI goat with computer hacking skills. Every year, a few slots are made available for ad slots in regional markets during the Super Bowl broadcast. These coveted slots cost nowhere near the $8 million price for a nationwide ad. This time, Berkshire Bank jumped at a regional slot during the game's third quarter, to highlight its Berkshire One digital suite of products — and its new agreement with White. Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Pentera unveiled Gary, the talking goat, walking through a standard corporate scene boasting about how he finds and fixes 'cyber exposures.' Or make that a talking GOAT, as in 'Greatest of All Time, in cybersecurity, not sports. Pentera even produced an online guidebook for IT pros, with quirky drawings of Gary at work. The company was started in Israel, opened a headquarters in Burlington a few years ago, and is building its name recognition here. The ad, 'Scapegoat to Cyber GOAT,' aired in the half-hour before kickoff on Boston's Fox affiliate, WFXT . Advertisement 'We couldn't hire a Tom Cruise or a Matthew McConaughey,' said Aviv Cohen , chief marketing officer at Pentera. 'We didn't want to do babies or cats.' So a Cyber GOAT it is. Much of the work was handled by Pentera's marketing team, with a script and co-direction by a Florida freelancer, Aron Fried , and digital effects from an Israeli firm, Shortcut Playground . Berkshire Bank also used some digital effects, though they're not as obvious: White stood in his Berkshire One uniform, expressing surprise at Berkshire One's numerous benefits on what appeared to be a basketball court, but was really a green screen shot in a Newton studio. White signed on with the bank last June, in an agreement that lasts until the end of the year. By that time, Berkshire will actually have a new name: The bank is merging with Brookline Bank , and the two banks plan to announce a new brand for the combined institution sometime in the second half of the year. In the meantime, marketing director Mark Pedrotti said, 'we'll have a lot more to come with Derrick in the next six or seven months.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
