2021 Twitter Trends: Personal Care

Conversation on Twitter about personal care products and COVID-19 related discussion decreased by 74% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Conversation on Twitter about personal care products and COVID-19 related discussion decreased by 74% in 2021 compared to 2020.

A study conducted by NetBase Quid has revealed the top Twitter trends in the personal care segment during 2021 and how those trends compared to 2020. The report shows a decrease in conversation overall but also reinforces established trends like ingredient consciousness, clean formulations and organic options.

Report: 5 Macro Ingredient Trends of the 2020s

Trends

The report indicates that conversation on Twitter about personal care products and COVID-19 related discussion decreased by 74% in 2021 compared to 2020. The conversation spiked in 2020 due to the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shampoo/body wash and dental hygiene were the most discussed personal care products last year, with shampoo/body wash especially peaking in February with more than 15k mentions.

There was a decrease in beard trimmer discussion compared to 2020, but it was still 18% higher than 2019.

Post-quarantine shoppers are more critical and they’re questioning the value, effectiveness and composition of their personal care products. This was reflected in three emerging Twitter trends this year: product detox, odor anxiety and ingredient obsession. Consumers want to use fewer products, but still want products that are clean and effective.

The states with the highest product detox mentions per capita (MPC) on Twitter in 2021 were Nevada (2.2 MPC), Louisiana (1.3 MPC) and New York (1.2 MPC).

In 2021, Twitter users discussed fear of bad breath or unpleasant body odor much more frequently than during the COVID-19 quarantine periods. Mentions of deodorant increased 75% and mentions of dental products increased 21%.

The move toward clean beauty is reflected in the 55% increase in tweets mentioning natural or organic and the 10% increase in mentions of natural and organic deodorant. There was also a 65% increase in tweets about deodorants that also relate to social responsibility.

Tips

Twitter and NetBase Quid had some tips for brands to take advantage of these personal care trends:

  • Explore opportunities to leverage a “30-day challenge” to replicate the experience of product detox.
  • Acknowledge the anxiety and incorporate moments of confronting and overcoming the anxieties that come with increasing socialization post-quarantine into marketing initiatives.
  • Emphasize the deep subject matter expertise that informs the formulation of products, including historical experience and ongoing refinement.
  • Share as much information as possible about ingredients and why they are included in a product.
  • Demonstrate investment in the development of natural and organic products.
  • Monitor skincare, product detox and DIY hygiene communities to discover future product innovation.
  • Instead of gendered branding, focus on emphasizing formula, longevity and quality.

Methodology

NetBase Quid conducted this research via the creation of key term queries that defined a global sample of matching English-language tweets from Twitter.

The date ranges Jan-Nov 2020 and Jan-Nov 2021 were compared to determine all YoY metrics.

The personal care CPG query included the following key terms and variations: deodorant, shampoo, hand soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, dental pick, shaving kit, shave, razor, facial scrub, etc.

Custom filters were created for product categories (hand soap, shaving, dental hygiene, facial wash, shampoo/body wash, deodorant), attributes (effective, ineffective, natural/organic) and behavioral (use dental products, use deodorant, not smell, product detox). 

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