The Gen Z Effect: 6 Ways Generation Z is Changing the Beauty Industry Forever

As Gen Z grows up and becomes more financially independent, industries are starting to pay more attention to what makes the younger generation try a new product, put faith in a brand, and ultimately spend their money continuously on said bran.

Gen Z is particularly influential in the beauty industry, where not only their dollar impacts trends and decision making, but their voice and leadership as well.

While some may view beauty as a fun teenage girl hobby, the $511 billion beauty industry (up from $483 billion in 2020) is expected to be a $784.6 billion industry by 2027, according to the Common Thread 2021 Beauty Industry Trends & Cosmetics Marketing report. The influence of Gen Z within this industry can’t be overstated.

In an industry that often attempts to make things appear different than they are, members of Generation Z demand authenticity, accountability, and action.

Check out the 6 main ways that Generation Z is making waves in the beauty industry:

1. Gen Z Cares About Ingredients

In skincare, hair care, and makeup, consumers have begun to take initiative to learn about the ingredients that are in their products. Many Gen Zers love active ingredients, including niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and salicylic acid.

When a brand puts in the effort to not only list the ingredients on the product packaging, but also explain what each one is and what it does for you, a Gen Z consumer is more likely to trust the brand and give the product a try.

Whether the Gen Z consumer is concerned with clean/natural beauty ingredients or hunts after only the most active ingredients, they want to know exactly what’s in their product and what it will do for their skin. Gen Z consumers have no shortage of products to choose from, which is why they put an emphasis on efficacy and stick with products that get results.

2. Gen Z Want Brands Made for Them

Gone are the days where “one size fits all” products survive on the shelves. While one might marvel at the amount of beauty options out there, Gen Z celebrates the fact that there are products made to target their specific hair care, skincare, body care, and makeup needs. Instead of trusting legacy brands off the bat, Gen Z consumers are happy to explore new and smaller brands to see what they have to offer.

For example, Gen Zers love Fenty Beauty, a makeup and skincare brand founded by Rihanna. It might not be a shock that consumers love a brand created by a world famous singer, but Fenty also continuously shows up for Gen Z in so many ways.

In regards to products, Fenty Beauty is dedicated to creating makeup for those who feel like they've been ignored by the beauty industry; for too long, women of color have dealt with products that were not created with them in mind. To combat this, Fenty Beauty launched with 40 different foundation shades at the outset– a number so high it was unheard of at the time of launch.

The brand now has 50 different shades in hopes that a person of any color will be able to find a shade that works for them and makes them feel not only beautiful, but also seen within the beauty industry.

3. Gen Z Expects More than Just Great Products

While Gen Z does demand beautiful ingredient lists and effective products, they expect more from the brands they put their support behind. These expectations lie in speaking out about current issues: police reform, social justice, mental health and other hot topics.

As mentioned, Gen Zers love Fenty Beauty. While it's partially about the products, admiration for the brand also comes from the fact that Fenty consistently speaks out about and takes action in regards to social justice issues. In June 2020, all Fenty online stores were closed on June 2 to recognize Blackout Tuesday after the death of George Floyd.

Brands often use their platforms to speak about important topics, but Gen Z knows actions speak louder than words, and will call out brands that are all talk.

Sustainability is an extremely important issue to many Gen Zers, and the beauty industry has long been culprits of creating excessive, unnecessary waste. When it comes to taking action, Gen Z expects brands to not only be talking about sustainability, but taking creative, actionable steps in reducing their negative impact on the world.

4. Gen Z Claims Leadership

Gen Z is not just active in the beauty industry as consumers, but is changing the game from the inside through leadership efforts.

For example, Olamide Olowe and Claudia Teng, cofounders of the skincare brand Topicals, started their popular skincare brand when they were only 23.

Topicals arrived on the skincare scene in August 2020 with a goal to tackle two “unsexy” skincare issues: hyperpigmentation and eczema. While the two initial products, Like Butter and Faded, are for all to use and enjoy, the Topicals brand is for Gen Z by Gen Z through and through.

The brand not only has effective products with beautiful ingredient lists, but has aesthetically pleasing Instagram feeds, extremely Gen Z packaging, and fun, engaging website content.

As a part of their mission, Topicals aims to change the way people feel about their skin by taking focus off having clear or “perfect” skin and celebrating flare-ups. The brand even uses their social media to promote “Spotty Hottys”, aka people with acne, hyperpigmentation, or eczema flare-ups.

5. Gen Z Wants Authentic Marketing

With the boom of content marketing, Gen Z cares more about information your brand can provide for them than ads making them feel insecure, which explains why content marketing has boomed in the beauty industry

While Gen Z wants an authentic brand they can relate too, they also don’t mind an aesthetically pleasing social media profile.

"Social media feeds are the new teen magazines, and the ultimate source of inspiration." –Hannah Tales

Beauty fans of past generations had to wait for their favorite magazine to be delivered, but Gen Z has the luxury of heading right to the Instagram page of their favorite beauty brands and influencers.

Topicals has also mastered the art of creating relevant, engaging content that is the perfect fit for their consumer audience. In addition to Topical's mission of wanting consumers to feel comfortable in their skin, the brand also hits the nail on the head when it comes to showing up authentically for social justice issues. While some brands were posting black squares to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Topicals created a guide on tear gas and how to handle symptoms that might occur if it comes into contact with your skin.

6. Gen Z is Changing Beauty Standards

Gen Z loves to use makeup not as a way to cover up flaws, but to express themselves. No matter whether their style is the “no makeup” look or bright, bold colors, all styles are accepted and celebrated.

What might shock beauty enthusiasts of past generations is that Gen Z is embracing what people taught them were flaws, like acne or hyperpigmentation; the “acne positivity” movement took a note out of body positivity’s book, celebrating pimples and debunking myths that come with having acne.

The Gen Z Effect

While brands will begin to shift their strategies to meet the upcoming generation’s expectations, Generation Z will be able to tell whether or not the efforts are authentic ways to attract, engage, and delight them. And even further, they'll be able to sniff out weak, ineffective products in the blink of an eye.