skincare brand Aromatherapy Associates has launched a panel of six wellbeing Experts, each of whom specialises in enhancing and nurturing life balance, supporting self-belief, and encouraging healthy living.

The six Experts specialise in psychotherapy, somatics, exercise, communication, nutrition, yoga and laughter, and each Expert represents an Aromatherapy Associates collection aligned to their individual beliefs and specialties.

Tracey Woodward, CEO of Aromatherapy Associates, said that consumers are looking for products that nurture, improve and provide added benefits, rather than just beauty.

“Beauty products now don’t only encompass how you look, but embrace how you feel physically and mentally,” she explained.

The Wellbeing Experts are designed to help create that added benefit, and will coach through social media, offering ‘top tips’ on 21st century living as well as practical tools on how to de-stress, find inner strength, relax and revive – linking them each back to a specific Aromatherapy Associates product range.

The Experts include somatic coach Jonathan Ward and human potential specialist Karuna, who represent the Inner Strength line; personal trainer Nicola Addison, who represents the De Stress range; communication strategist Janet Taras, who represents the Support collection; health nutritionist and wellbeing expert Yvonne Wake, who represents the Revive line; and laughter yoga specialist Julie Whitehead, who represents the Relax line.

“We want to create a positively charged message through our social media channels – we want to be the non-judgemental brand on social media,” said Woodward. “We want to create a tribe where we are going to empower other people – this is the job of our Experts.”

The Experts will “educate all staff and consumers from the bottom up,” said Woodward.

“We don’t want only to look after the customers – of course they’re very, very important, but we have to look after the therapists, we have to look after the salon manager, we have to look after the spa managers, because if we don’t look after those individuals, they can’t look after the customers,” she continued.

Aromatherapy Associates will work with clients to offer staff workshops “so they’re more mindful, more balanced, and more connected,” said Woodward.

Woodward said the move is part of a new brand positioning focusing on self-belief and creating beauty from the inside out, and is also a way to continue the legacy of co-founder Geraldine Howard, who died earlier this year.

“We really wanted to focus on her legacy,” said Woodward. “What Geraldine and Sue (Beechey, Aromatherapy Associates co-founder) created was absolutely amazing, and it’s stood the test of time...For me, there really was no way to improve on those ten amazing oils, other than to bolt something else on it that would allow people to have a little bit more of an emotional connection.”