A recent Cynosure Lutronic survey highlights both the differences and similarities in skin concerns—and their impact on self-confidence—among men and women across various age groups.
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KEY FINDINGS
Improving confidence” was the #1 reason for undergoing a treatment.
The desire to improve Confidence outweighed special offers, or even peer recommendations.
90% of respondents suffered from at least one skin concern.
The majority of these skin concerns were focused on signs of ageing, and included fine wrinkles, dark circles, and scarring.
Younger age demographics are highly aware and invested in skin health.
Participants in their 20’s or 30’s were already using preventative treatments to mitigate signs of ageing or seeking early treatment of chronic conditions such as acne.
Men were mostly focused on ‘medical’ skin conditions.
These include conditions such as acne, eczema and rosacea.
Women were mostly focused on traditional anti-ageing or rejuvenation categories.
They were concerned about conditions such as wrinkles, sagging skin and dark circles.
One in four participants felt their skin concerns impacted their mental health and lifestyle.
This included their level of self-confidence, having their photo taken, feeling they had to cover up with make-up, and even their willingness to socialise.
Laser hair removal can be seen as the ‘gateway’ treatment.
This treatment had natural high awareness amongst participants and could act as the stepping stone to other procedures.
Consumer awareness and education about aesthetic treatments is low.
One in five respondents were unaware of any of the listed treatments from the survey.
Nearly 50% put fine lines and wrinkles as their top problem.
This was followed by Dark Circles (39%) and Scars (47%)
THE SURVEY
Our survey covered consumers from 25 to 64 years old, allowing us to reveal the differences and similarities across the age groups.
One of the biggest growing trends was within the 25–34-year-old age group. Both male and female showed a higher level of anxiety towards their skin health and appearance, with younger males willing to wear makeup to improve the look of their skin and boost their self-esteem and confidence.
As age increases, the group showed less anxiety. The reason for this could be a shift in priorities and self-perception as we grow older, and a bigger focus on overall health. Older consumers also have less societal pressures in comparison to our younger audience such as social media and peer pressure. This reduced anxiety also means our older audience are less inclined to actively search for aesthetic treatments and are therefore less aware of the treatment options available to them. This provides a great opportunity for clinics to educate this audience about the benefits of energy-based aesthetics, and the positive effects it can have on their confidence and lifestyle.
The group most concerned with skin conditions were 25–34-year- olds. Almost 25% of 25–34-year-olds avoid going out due to skin concerns.
Young men were particularly affected by skin confidence.
Only 6% of 25–34-year- olds stated “no concerns” compared to 13% in the oldest group. Acne concerns decrease in line with age with 41% in the 25–34 age group to just 11% in the 55–65 age group.
The oldest category is the least negatively affected by skincare concerns, with their main dislike having their photos taken.
25-34
Top concern is dark undereye circles (49%)
Acne and uneven skin tone (41%)
(When it comes to acne, this group were twice as concerned as the other age categories (41% vs. an average 18% in other groups [FC1]) Interestingly, The British Association of Dermatologists recently published an article citing that Acne diagnosis is on the rise in the UK (https:// www.bad.org.uk/diagnosis-of-acne-on- the-rise-in-the-uk-and-globally-since-1990.
This age group were the most concerned about scars from cuts/burns or surgery versus other age categories.
45-54
Top rated skin concern was fine lines and wrinkles (50%)
Dark circles (39%) and scarring (30%)
Least concerned with acne / acne scarring and severe pigmentation (11%)
35-44
Top concern is fine lines and wrinkles (41%)
Dark circles (40%)
Secondary concerns are evenly spread between acne, eczema rosacea, large pores and sun damage.
Least concern for this age group is severe pigmentation and spider veins – as these conditions can be more prevalent in older patients.
55-64
Top rated skin concern was fine lines and wrinkles (58%)
Sagging skin (40%) – both categories representing the highest proportions vs. the other age groups.
This age group were also the most concerned about spider veins – with 23% of respondents citing this as a current concern.
Gender Divide
It will be no surprise to learn that our research showed that women overall are more concerned about their skin than men. Only 6% of women said they have no skin concerns compared to 21% of men.
However, this is not a straightforward divide as men are shown to be more deeply affected by their skin concerns and more likely to take action to address them. With the changing perception of masculinity, better grooming habits, and evolving gender norms, aesthetics is fast becoming a mainstream solution for both young men and women.
Although this new behavioural trend will have a ripple effect amongst older consumers, the focus of older men is still for ‘medical concerns’, and ‘aesthetic concerns’ for women. In fact, only 6% of women claimed to have no skin-concerns.
The report did highlight many differences, but the one concern that both genders stated was for Spider-veins. This was the one skin condition that both male and female were equally concerned about.
As with the survey findings based on age, there is a huge opportunity to educate both genders around the benefits of aesthetics on their mental wellbeing.
UNDER THE SKIN of male concerns
Males were less concerned than women about skin health and anti-ageing concerns. One in five men reported ‘no concerns’ about their skin compared to only 6% of women.
Men are more focused on ‘medical’ concerns such as acne, eczema and rosacea rather than aesthetic.
63% of men said their concerns didn’t negatively affect their life. The remaining men who did experience an impact seemed to have a significant response; particularly focused around their mental health and reducing their desire to go out. In both these categories, the men scored more highly than women.
Almost one in five men also stated the need to cover up with makeup – showing that traditional gender norms on the issue of ‘makeup free healthy skin’ are very much evolving.
UNDER THE SKIN of female concerns
Only 6% of females claimed to have ‘no concerns’ about their skin.
The top 3 concerns for women were:
• fine lines & wrinkles (53%)
• dark circles (44%)
• sagging skin (33%)
They are more focused on ‘aesthetic’ concerns such as wrinkles, sagging skin and dark circles rather than medical.
Women are less likely to want their photos taken and feel the need to cover up with makeup.
UNDER THE SKIN of skin types
Within the survey, all 6 of the Fitzpatrick Skin types were researched. Overall, skin groups 1-4 showed no distinct differences, and were primarily focused on fine lines and wrinkles. However, Skin type 1 showed the highest level of concern across each skincare condition.
WHY HAVE AESTHETIC ENQUIRIES RISEN BY NEARLY 60%
There are many factors into the increased call for aesthetics, but COVID has had a huge impact. As a result of the pandemic, people began remote working, increased their use of video calls, and were exposed to the realities of their own face more than ever before. This led many to become more critical of their skin appearance and enhanced their feelings of insecurity ordissatisfaction. (https:// www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54651078)
Combine the ‘Zoom Boom’ phenomenon with an overall increase in the use of social media, and highly curated images portraying flawless skin, the awareness and demand for aesthetics have grown hand in hand, resulting in this huge leap in enquiries.
This increased focus on the self has amplified the consumers’ need to feel confidence about the appearance and condition of their skin, and clinics can play a huge role in empowering patients to find that confidence they are looking for.
A third felt they needed to cover up with makeup to improve their confidence.
53% of respondents overall stated that they had some degree of negative life impact because of their skin worries.
One in four participants felt their skin concerns affected their mental health.
40% of respondents didn’t like having their photograph taken.
14% of the sample would actively avoid going out with friends or colleagues.
THE CONFIDENCE CURVE
How do skincare concerns affect the confidence of our participants?
This question gave participants a sliding scale of reaction – 1 being ‘not at all’, and 10 being ‘extremely’. Although the median response was 6, the highest response category overall was 8/10. This was selected by 15% of the participants and shows a high level of anxiety due to the appearance of their skin.
More men responded in the 1-3 categories of skin concerns not having much impact on their confidence.
A higher proportion of women scored themselves in the 7-10 range.
The youngest age group was the most likely to select the ‘extreme’ impact score of 10.
The majority of the oldest age group were in the lower end of the score scale at 1-3.
MOTIVATIONS AT A GLANCE
61% of respondents stated ‘improving confidence’ as their main motivation.
Special offers and pricing were the second biggest motivator.
Men were more likely to be swayed by pricing and offers (56% men vs. 43% women).
They were almost twice as likely to undertake treatment for a special occasion (46% male vs 26% female)
They are also more motivated to have preventative treatment compared to women (49% male vs. 36% female).
After ‘improving confidence’, the youngest age group said pricing was the most important motivator.
Although price conscious, and with less disposable income, 25–34-year- olds are still most likely to invest in skin treatments.
25–34-year-olds were most likely to book a treatment for:
• Special occasion (e.g. wedding or big holiday).
• Preventative purposes.
The younger age group reflects the ‘Pre- juvenation‘ trend evident across both the consumer skincare industry as well as aesthetics.
Practitioners are reporting an increase in younger patients seeking to avoid or circumvent traditional signs of ageing by investing in skincare and aesthetic treatments from an early age.
In contrast, the oldest age category (55- 65) was the most motivated to undertake treatment to address specific skin concerns.
The older age group were more focused on the ‘here and now’, and value a more solution-based approach.
Older groups are more focused on the ‘here and now’ and value a more practical, solution-based approach to their needs.
The 55-64 group are less likely to book a treatment for preventative reasons, or special occasions.