Tracking Long-Term Trends in Beauty and Skincare
Over the past several years, there has been a significant shift in consumer prioritization and demand for clean beauty — the powerful combination of macro trends that includes natural ingredients, holistic wellness, social ethics and environmental responsibility (Prospector, 2020).
As stated by personal care and cosmetics industry expert George Deckner, “consumers are becoming increasingly conscious, better informed and more concerned about the safety and efficacy of products or ingredients they are putting into and onto their bodies” (Prospector, 2020).
With the increase in natural-minded consumers, the clean beauty industry is projected to grow to $22 billion by the year 2024.
As a result, smaller boutique brands that specialize in sustainable and natural-based products have seen a rise, and most big-name beauty and skincare companies have had to rethink their offerings in order to meet consumer demand. And this demand is not expected to go away any time soon – in fact, quite the opposite. With the arrival of Covid-19, the demand for clean beauty has accelerated and is only projected to further strengthen (Cosmetic Design, 2020).
The pandemic and resultant quarantine have encouraged people to reevaluate their once-complicated makeup and skincare routines. Driven by enhanced hygiene concerns, social distancing and remote working, consumers are moving away from heavy cosmetics, opting instead for simpler, cleaner products (LS:N Global, 2020).
As noted by board-certified dermatologist Raechele Cochran Gathers, M.D., “at home and on lockdown, the pandemic has stripped us of our typical armor [and] made us really focus on our health. Also, we’ve begun to really grasp the idea that health is beauty. Beautiful skin and beautiful hair come from the health within.” (Mind Body Green, 2020).
As such, consumers are increasingly forfeiting complicated makeup and skincare and are instead choosing to let their natural skin shine through, in what is often referred to as the “new glow-up” (Real Simple, 2020). This “glow-up” is achieved by using clean beauty products that marry skincare with makeup. This marriage is also known as derma beauty, or cosmeceuticals – beauty and skincare products that contain biologically active ingredients formulated to improve the health of the skin.
Pre-pandemic, with clean beauty already on the rise, Euromonitor International research found that “natural” was the most widely used product claim across online global beauty and personal care in 2019.
However, bolstered by the societal and cultural effects of the pandemic, people are now placing greater emphasis on the efficacy and health benefits of these natural products – in other words, post-pandemic, it may not be enough to simply be natural (Cosmetic Design, 2020).