Makeup brush-off: Beauty sales plummet after Covid restrictions ease…and we’re washing our hair less too!
- Women in the UK wear makeup on average 46% less than in 2017
- Lipstick sales fell by 40% and makeup sales by 19%
- Women also wash and comb their hair less often, research shows
Few of us bothered to put an effort into how we looked while working from home.
And it looks like the habits adopted during the pandemic have continued, as women now buy less makeup and wash their hair fewer times a week.
Last year, women around the world wore makeup 28% less on average than in 2019, according to retail analysts Kantar.
The fall in the UK has been bigger than anywhere else – over a longer period – with a 46% drop in 2021 compared to 2017.
Last year, women around the world wore makeup 28% less on average than in 2019, according to retail analysts Kantar. File Picture
products, they spend a lot less time in front of the mirror because routines get easier. File Picture” class=”blkBorder img-share” style=”max-width:100%” />
When women put on products, they spend a lot less time in front of the mirror because routines get easier. File Picture
The study found lipstick sales fell by up to 40% after the pandemic – and makeup sales as a whole have fallen 19% since 2019.
Going for a more natural look extended to hair care, women letting their hair grow out, while washing and styling it less often.
Kantar, who interviewed 300,000 women globally for the study, said: “Changes in consumer behavior and the culture of remote working have transformed the way shoppers shop for beauty products.
“More and more women are wearing their hair longer and washing their hair less frequently. On average, the frequency of hair washing dropped by almost 10%.
“More and more women are wearing their hair longer and washing their hair less frequently. On average, hair washing frequency dropped by almost 10%,” Kantar said. File Picture
Looking further ahead, there has been an 18% drop in the number of times UK women wash their hair weekly in 2022 compared to 2017.
At the same time, the proportion of those in the UK with a mid-length style fell from 61% to 66%.
And the number of people having their hair colored by a professional at a salon, which can be expensive, has fallen from one in four to one in five – although some have switched to at-home alternatives.
The study found that make-up abandonment began before the pandemic, saying: “The UK, for example, has seen the number of occasions for use fall by almost 50% since 2017…More two-thirds of women worldwide prefer to wear some makeup for a more natural look.’
And when women put on products, they spend a lot less time in front of the mirror.
Kantar said: “Routines are also getting simpler – people spend less time putting on makeup repeatedly.”
Advertisement
Comments are closed.