Poll: Nearly 60% of U.S. women check beauty products for harmful ingredients
SEATTLE — Nearly 60% of American women examine beauty product labels before purchase, according to all-natural beauty brand Kari Gran’s Green Beauty Barometer survey, released Wednesday.
The survey also indicated that nearly 40% of U.S. women intend to increase spending on all-natural beauty products.
"For the last several years shoppers have become more conscious about what they put in their body through food consumption, and that's spilled over to a greater awareness for what they put on their body," Lisa Strain, co-founder of Kari Gran, said.
Also Strain helped found the brand with an intent to fill a niche for all-natural-minded consumers, these products are growing in popularity.
"This is mainstream,” she said. “This is where beauty is going. Consumers are more aware and cautious as ever about chemical ingredients, and it's not going to be business as usual for the category."
The survey revealed the following highlights, according to the company:
When asked to identify which ingredients they look for on beauty labels that would deter purchase, the most watched for ingredient was sulfates. Nearly three in ten women (29%) seek to avoid sulfates, followed by parabens (22%), synthetic fragrances (18%), PEG compounds (15%) and mineral oil (11%).
When it came to age, 65% of women ages 35-54 claim they read beauty product labels, followed by 63% of women 18-34, 59% of women aged 45-54, 55% of women ages 65-plus, and 52% of women ages 55-64.
Regarding future habits, 39% of women claim they will buy more all-natural beauty products in the next two years than they currently do. The intent to "only purchase" or "purchase more" all-natural products ranked highest for the skin care beauty category (39%), followed by nail care products (33%), fragrance (31%), makeup (20%) and hair care products (18%).
Millennials (women aged 18-34) are the most likely to spend more on all-natural beauty products in the next two years, with half of them claiming they will. This is compared to 44% of women ages 35-44, 34% of women ages 55-64, 31% of women ages 45-54 and 30% of women ages 65-plus.
When asked how important it was to purchase all-natural products among particular beauty categories, skin care came out on top, with 54% of women claiming it is important their skin care product purchases are all natural. This was followed by all-natural hair care at 49%, makeup at 40%, fragrance at 31% and nail care products at 26%.
Nearly one in four women (24%) noted it was "very important" their skin care product purchases are all natural, while some one in three (30%) ranked it "somewhat important." Among those who deemed it important, Millennials led the charge at 63%, followed by women ages 35-44 at 58%. Geographically, 62% of women in the Western U.S. claimed it was important, followed by 54% of those in the South, 51% of those in the Northeast and 48% in the Midwest.
When it comes to beauty product retailers, women are most disappointed in the volume of natural beauty products found in department stores. Of those who purchase beauty products in department stores, 17% say they are "not very" or "not at all" satisfied by the volume of natural beauty products found there. This is compared to 14% of beauty product shoppers in specialty drug and grocery stores, 13% in mass market drugstores and 8% of shoppers in specialty cosmetic retailers.