Secaucus, NJ—Consumer focus on beauty—and the role of diet in appearance—increased during lockdown, according to new research from Lycored.

The company surveyed 562 consumers in the U.S. and U.K., according to a press release. Highlights:
  • 35% said their focus on looking after themselves had increased during lockdown, compared to 28% who said it had decreased.
  • 48% of U.S. consumers said their physical appearance had become more important to them, while only 21% said it had become less important.
  • 53% of Americans surveyed said they had thought more about the relationship between their diet and their overall health.
  • 53% had reflected more on the relationship between their diet and their physical appearance.
  • Over half of the U.S. respondents said spending more time on video calls had made them think about their appearance.
  • Most common concerns were smoothness of the skin (31%), appearance of hair (27%), skin tone (26%), and the glow or radiance of their skin (17%).
In terms of behavioral changes, 34% of respondents had tried a new hair care routine due to the ‘Zoom effect,’ while 29% had tried different beauty or grooming products. 40% said that spending more time at home had meant they were more able to comply with a long-term skin care or beauty routine.

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Zev Ziegler, Vice President of Brand & Marketing at Lycored, said: “When lockdowns were a new thing, there was this idea that people would just give up on self-care. Our research shows that the opposite was true for many consumers, perhaps because the pandemic has made clear the duty of care we owe ourselves, as well as others.”

Looking into the future, 38% of global consumers said they expected to purchase topical skin care products more often, while 10% said they would do so less often. 32% said they would purchase more ingestible skin care products.

Ziegler added: “It’s unsurprising that so many consumers plan to purchase more beauty-from-within products in the future. Ingestible skincare is firmly in the mainstream and, as this research shows, interest in the link between diet and beauty has increased during the pandemic.”

Lycored offers Lycoderm, a proprietary blend of tomato phytonutrients and rosemary leaf for skin care.

This research is published in a new white paper, available here.