Beautified Britain: The Skin Report by Dr Yusra Clinics is unveiled at Aesthetics United Charity Conference

Aesthetics and wellness clinic releases ultimate analysis of Britain’s post pandemic beautification landscape

Dr Yusra unveiled Beautified Britain: The Skin Report at the 2021 Aesthetics United Charity Conference (AUCC), assessing the impact a year of lockdowns has had on UK consumers and their skin habits. The Skin Report analyses data from Google search, Google trends, news stories, professional industry bodies, consumer surveys and social media trends to give a comprehensive study of Britain’s post pandemic beautification landscape.

The report focuses on the UK Skincare boom in the UK, illustrating how in a pandemic ridden world, consumers embraced beauty with Google searches for products, treatments, and industry influencers all on the rise:

• 309% increase in searches for ‘Skin care’
• 50% increase in search for ‘Tweakments’ and ‘Aesthetic treatments’
• 89% increase in searches for ‘Best skin care’

The Skin Report also ranks the biggest skin trends, tweakments and skinfluencers. It states the 10 biggest skincare trends so far in 2021 have been:

1. Tweakments Time Our appetite for ‘tweakments’ has grown dramatically during the pandemic and natural-looking tweakments have become big business this year. Demand has grown for procedures that rejuvenate the appearance without going under the knife or hours of recovery time. The aim is not a plastic-filled look, rather one that gives the appearance of great health and lots of sleep. Microneedling and chemical peels are the most commonly provided non-invasive aesthetics treatments and the most popular invasive treatments are dermal fillers and botulinum toxin (Botox).
2. Zoom Boom Months of screen time and video conferencing during lockdowns resulted in increases in demand for procedures and created a whole new vernacular to describe perceived flaws:

• Zoom Face: search increased by 3,100% April 2020 to July 2021
• Skin Anxiety: not previously searched, searching started August 2020
• Tech Neck: search increased by 170% Jan 2020 to July 2021, 1300 searches a month

3. Resting Stress Face Despite there being less pollution, less need for make-up, the stress of living through three lockdowns, staring and squinting at screens and disrupted sleep patterns has resulted in the phenomenon of Resting Stress Face (RSF).
4. Desperately Seeking Glow The first half of 2021 was dominated by the quest for the ultimate glowy finish, fresh and radiant skin that is as shiny and smooth as possible, reflected in an increase in search volume on social media:

• Pinterest – glowing skin is a trending topic in the UK
• TIKTOK – Glow up #glowup 29.6Bviews, Dolphin skin #dophinskin 1.9m views, Cloud skin #cloudskin 37.7K views and TikTok glow filter #glowlookfilter 33m views
• INSTAGlow up #glow-up 5.3m posts, Dolphin skin #dophinskin 1,000+ posts, Cloud skin #cloudskin 500 posts, TikTok glow filter #glowlookfilter 100 posts

5. The End of Instagram Face There has been a shift away from the overdone look or ‘Instagram Face’. Search results suggests the public has realised that ‘more’ is not necessarily more:

• 323,000 YouTube lip filler removal video results
• 113,000 YouTube chin filler removal search results
• 134,000 YouTube cheek filler removal search results

6. No Make-Up Selfies From JLo to Gigi Hadid and Beyoncé to Adele, the no makeup selfie trend, rooted in loving yourself the way you are, natural and pared down gathered momentum in the world of celebrity in 2021, and then echoed across the influencer-sphere.

• 5% increase in search Apr 20 – Jul 21
• #nomakeupselfie instagram: 601,000, TikTok 333,800 views
• #nomakeupselfies instagram: 14,800
• #nomakeupnofilter 7.1m TikTok views

7. Skinimalism brings together makeup and skincare for a natural, minimal look where real skin shines through – celebrating pores, hyperpigmentation and spots. Pinterest predicts that 2021 will become the year of skinimalism as consumers simplify their skincare routines.
8. Hybrid Treatment Models Post-lockdown, clinics are working more virtually:
   • 1 in 5 consumers moved online for virtual hair or beauty consultations during COVID-19
   • 94% of patients would prefer a virtual consultation to reduce contact time
   • 70% increase in requests for virtual consultations
9. Tech As The New Skincare Frontier At home and in-clinic beauty tech is booming and is set to be the new frontier in the advancement of beauty. The United Kingdom (UK) Aesthetic Devices Market is set to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% over the next 5 years. At home skincare tools that have been hitting the headlines in 2021 include:

• LED Masks
• Facial Cryotherapy
• Cleansing Wands
• Ultrasound Devices
• Mask devices
• Electrical Muscle Stimulation

10. Skin-Psyche Connection Following a sustained period of living with stress due to the pandemic, the connection between how our skin behaves and how we feel emotionally has become an emerging conversation around the brain-skin connection. It is well known that many dermatological problems can be made worse by stress, but the pandemic has accelerated the links being made between stress and how it disturbs the equilibrium in the body and skin, with conditions such as Pandemic Droop being identified by Dr Yusra.

Dr. Yusra says “The findings of the report show that 2021 really has been The Year of Skin, with an enormous increase in people searching for and engaging with skinfluencers, skincare brands, ingredients, products and new technologies. With the stresses imposed by months of lockdown, it is no surprise that, in a pandemic world, more people have been prompted to look to restore their glow.”

Dr Yusra Al-Mukhtar

Dr Yusra is a distinguished dental surgeon and a skilled medical aesthetic clinician with a wealth of experience in maxillofacial head and neck surgery and skin cancer surgery. She holds an impressive academic background, having graduated with first-class honours in Medical Science and Healthcare Management from Imperial College London and earned Honours and Distinction as a dental surgeon from King’s College London. Dr Yusra is a Level 7 Trainer in medical aesthetics, in line with Ofqual guidelines, and is renowned for her expertise in providing natural-looking non-surgical facelifts and a range of aesthetic treatments. Her commitment to patient well-being and safety is unwavering, making her a trusted practitioner in the field.

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