Beauty & Instagram: Your Inside Scoop 📸
Kaidron Community Insights — Beauty & Instagram Insights
Instagram is where our community discovers, deliberates, and decides — but it earns their trust on their own terms.
Beauty and Instagram have been intertwined for years, but the relationship has matured considerably. This week's survey reveals a community that is deeply embedded in Instagram as a discovery engine — most use it every single day — yet approaches it with a critical eye that brands and creators alike need to understand. Influence is real and measurable. So is scepticism.
The numbers on purchasing are striking: over four in five community members have bought a beauty product because they saw it on Instagram, and the platform influences the purchase decisions of the overwhelming majority. But when asked what would make them trust a recommendation more, the answer is unambiguous — real before-and-after results, positive comments from real people, and transparency about paid partnerships. Not slick creative, not celebrity endorsement. Evidence.
The open responses on what the community wants more of form one of the most consistent briefs we've seen in any survey. Authenticity runs through every answer — real people, real skin, real results, no filters, honest reviews that include the negatives. The message to brands, creators, and platforms is the same: the audience is more sophisticated than the content currently treats them as being.
How Deeply Instagram Is Embedded in the Routine
For most of this community, Instagram beauty discovery isn't a casual habit — it's a daily one. And the time invested is substantial: nearly a third spend more than an hour on beauty content every day.
Time spent on beauty content per day
Categories explored on Instagram
Share of total category selections — multi-select question.
The Influence Engine — How Instagram Drives Purchase
Instagram's commercial power is not theoretical. Four in five community members have bought a beauty product directly because of what they saw — and the platform's influence on decisions is overwhelming.
Have they ever bought because of Instagram?
How much Instagram influences their purchase decisions
"Before-and-afters, real comments, and transparency about paid partnerships — the three things that actually build trust."
Content, Format & the Trust Equation
Reels dominate format preference by a landslide. Product reviews lead content engagement. And trust in influencers is real but nuanced — high enough to drive purchase, careful enough to demand evidence.
Preferred content format
Content type engaged with most
Share of total content selections — multi-select question.
What Actually Builds Trust on Instagram
Real before-and-afters lead every other trust signal — the community wants to see evidence, not aspiration. The remaining factors form a near-equal tier that collectively describe a transparent, community-validated recommendation.
What would make them more likely to trust a product recommendation
Share of total trust-building selections — multi-select question.
The community is highly active, deeply influenced — and asking for something the platform rarely delivers: honesty at scale.
What the Community Wants More of on Instagram
We asked for one thing they wish there was more of. The answers speak with one voice — and it is the loudest brief a brand or creator could receive.
"Honesty. Everyone receiving gifted products says it's amazing. Real customers don't."
"Real transparent reviews without filters — pros and cons, not just glowing endorsements."
"More normal people with different skin. Everyone you see has amazing skin to begin with."
"Feedback from real customers instead of influencers — they get things for free, it's not the same."
"Longer-term results — show me three months of using this product, not just day one."
"Real before-and-after pictures — not taken in perfect lighting with full makeup on."
"More skincare for women in their sixties. More content for mature skin."
"I wish people of colour were more included — not just as an afterthought."
"More transparency about filter usage, professional lighting, procedures."
"Less paid content being pushed, more organic recommendations."
"More information about ingredients — fact-based, scientific, real claims."
"Content that explains why a product works for a specific skin type, not just that it does."
Want to reach an audience that actually acts on what they see?
This data belongs to a community of active beauty consumers — people who save, share, and recreate content daily. If you're a brand or creator looking to connect with them, let's talk.
Book a Call