The company released its report Wednesday on what Twitter users have been discussing in the personal care arena.
The three bigest trends in the report are explored below:
Some consumers are dumping shampoo and deodorant
Netbase Quid found that consumers discussed removing deodorant or shampoo from their beauty routine, called the “no-poo movement”, more frequently in 2021.
Research published by Mintel in early 2021 found that, though consumers purchased soap more often, they also used deodorant less frequently, and some high profile figures like music artist Lizzo have made the no-deodorant movement more public.
The no-shampoo or no-poo market has been getting press since the mid-2010s, including in the New York Times Magazine and the Guardian.
“These shampoo-free, and in some cases, deodorant-free, success stories inspire other consumers to experiment with eliminating products from their personal care routine,” the report said.
Along with that movement, Netbase Quid found consumers are talking more about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of products, with an 18% increase in mentions of personal care effectiveness. The number of posts about effective and ineffective products are approaching the same level as well.
Those things tie into increased mentions of “product detoxing”, which saw 19% more posts in 2021 than 2020.
Netbase Quid recommends using the “30-day challenge” model and monitoring skincare, no-poo and DIY skincare communities to best leverage these movements and find whitespaces and innovations.
Odor is an issue and gendered deodorant isn’t as important
As consumers left their homes after COVID-19 lockdowns and started going back to restaurants, classrooms and offices, they also got increasingly concerned about their odor, and deodorants and oral care in conjunction.
The analysis found a 5% increase from 2020 of posts about body odor or breath. A tweet Netbase Quid pulled for an example complained that the poster had to smell their own breath in their mask after lunch.
Research and Markets estimates the oral care market will grow just above 6% annually through 2026.
Posts indicate that consumers were more anxious about their body odor and breath in 2021 than 2020 and posted about dental care products 21% more often and deodorant 75% more often.
In response to that trend, Netbase Quid recommends brands emphasize how common odor anxiety is and focus more on formulas, longevity and quality of products instead of marketing to specific genders.
Share some of the R&D process to meet consumer ingredient, naturals interest
It’s likely not a surprise to the beauty industry that consumers are becoming more interested in ingredients, but Netbase Quid found that interest narrowed down into a 55% increase in posts about personal care products mentioning “natural” or “organic”.
“Concerns about additives, irritants, and synthetic substitutes in personal care products drive consumers to seek out natural and organic alternatives, which are considered to have a lower risk of adverse effects,” the report said. “Even the active ingredients, such as the aluminum in some deodorants, can be considered nonessential or undesirable.”
While the natural and organic personal care market was estimated at $7 billion in 2020, it’s estimated to hit $23.6 Billion by 2027, according to GlobeNewswire.
Natural deodorant was of particular interest on Twitter, with a 10% increase of tweets about natural or organic deodorant and a 9% increase in tweets about deodorant relating to social responsibility, sustainability and the environment from 2020.
Netbase Quid recommends sharing as much about ingredients in products and the R&D process as possible to help consumers understand the existing formulation and to demonstrate investment in natural and sustainable products, and engage with those issues, even if there’s “no direct brand connection or marketing angle.”
“Don’t take the risk of a customer misinterpreting product labels,” the report said.
