• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Sure, beauty consumers still want to talk about skin-care breakthroughs. But lately, that conversation may be less about organic botanicals and PhD-level chemistry, and more about the growing world of bio-optics.

HigherDOSE, best known for its red-light facial masks and infrared body mats, is the latest example, now expanding into more than 400 Ulta stores.

The launch includes 22 products, with smaller items — like a red-light showerhead filter and a copper body brush — sold in stores, and larger pieces, including an infrared sauna blanket, available online.

Ulta is the largest beauty retailer, and landing on its shelves isn't just a coup for the brand, says Lauren Berlingeri, co-founder and co-CEO of HigherDOSE — it's a signal for the broader wellness category.

HigherDOSE's products are already sold at Sephora, Nordstrom and Amazon, but the Ulta expansion, she says, proves the category is moving deeper into the mainstream.

While the underlying technology isn't new, the brand (and its many competitors) point to a growing body of research supporting the role of light in mitochondrial repair and cell renewal as validation for that growth.

"It's really exciting to see how interest has picked up, particularly in the last two or three years," Berlingeri says.

Early adopters tended to skew older, drawn by red light's anti-aging claims, but that is shifting. "We're starting to see the younger generation adopt red-light therapy earlier on, not only for anti-aging, but overall skin health," Berlingeri says. "These products really are for everyone."

Ulta already stocks plenty of HigherDOSE's competitors, ranging from $800 microcurrent facial devices that promise to fight wrinkles to $66 blue-light devices that target acne.

That widening audience, Berlingeri says, creates an even greater need for education, as consumers try to make sense of acronyms and scientific claims dense enough to make an electrophysicist dizzy.

"Education has always been our first product," she says — which is why the Ulta launch marks a first for the brand: a dedicated field team trained to help Ulta employees better educate customers on red light therapy.

The technology's biggest selling point, in her view, is its low barrier to entry. "You can't really mess red-light therapy up. It's gentle and effective," she says. "But we want everyone to understand the technology and the suggested protocols to get the best results."

That emphasis on education has also made HigherDOSE selective about influencer partnerships. The brand looks for people who function as educators, and sometimes dermatologists, who are willing to explain what the products can and can't do.

That appetite for education has also opened the door to new product categories. "Red light is great for hair growth, so we've launched a cap," Berlingeri says. The new shower head, meanwhile, doubles as both a water filter and a red-light source. "We're not reinventing the technologies," she says. "We're finding ways to implement them into everyday routines. Rather than ask people to add on yet another thing, we try to incorporate it into something they're already doing — like taking a shower."

HigherDOSE's name is itself an acronym — for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins, says chief marketing and commercialization officer Ingrid Milman Cordy.  Marketing for the launch includes educational materials in-store, plus collaborations with influencers already embedded in Ulta's ecosystem. The idea that HigherDOSE's products make people "beautiful from the inside out," Cordy says, is a natural fit for a retailer built around skincare, makeup and haircare.

The brand is also planning a spa event for creators and, in September, an in-store activation featuring a tent wrapped in red light — enveloping shoppers the moment they walk in.