Beyond picture-perfect: the marketing impact of “real skin” in health care and beauty influencer culture

Purpose This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of real skin and authenticity in the beauty space, focusing on what drives this increased shift, the role of social media both for supporting and impeding this phenomenon, consumers’ response to authenticity over perfectness and differences between engagement by influencers who use the aesthetic of “real skin” against others who maintain the “picture-perfect” aesthetic. Design/methodology/approach In this bibliometric cum qualitative study, a two-phase analysis was carried out to extract viewers’ comments based on selected keywords related to real skin and authenticity. In Phase I, extracted comments were analyzed using Keyword analysis, and in Phase II, patterns and sentiments were further analyzed from the shortlisted comments to understand viewers’ psychology and emotions. Findings The study shows that beauty influencers play a critical role in shifting perceptions and have a major influence on buying decisions. Research limitations/implications The study provides critical insights that beauty brands, influencers and social media sites can draw upon in their pursuit to adapt to new changes in beauty standards and consumer expectations. Originality/value It fills an existing gap in the literature by looking at how influencers who are pushing for real skin impact consumer perception and practice.