Chrome nails, no-heat hair and cut-crease make-up among top Pinterest beauty trends

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 5, 2017

Pinterest has released its annual beauty trends report with mirror-finish nails, silver-toned hair, defined socket lines and almost-permanent eyebrows all near the top of the list.

The trends, based on users’ searches and pins last year showed that mirror nails are key. The ultra-polished metal manicure look (whereby metallic powder is pressed onto the nail to create a mirror finish) was worn by Gigi Hadid at the Met Gala. And while she had a $2,000 manicure, Pinterest is seeing a lot of interest in cheaper alternatives like nail stickers. Interest in chrome nails has risen 570% on the site with a 50% increase every month since the summer.

No-heat hairstyles and natural hair looks are also gaining traction with more consumers interested in styling their hair while avoiding potentially damaging heated tools. Pinterest expects this interest to gather pace this year. It said that searches/pins for natural hair rose 35% and its saw a 188% increase in searches/pins for natural-look shag cuts. This also leads on to an increased interest in braided topknots, which rose 125% last year.

Also for hair, balayage (an increasingly popular colouring technique that is a kind of more subtle ombré effect) was big news on the site in 2016 and especially in silver or true grey tones. Ash tones are expected to trend upwards this year.

And searches for headscarves have risen 25% as Pinterest users look for ways to cover their hair as well as enhance it.

On the cosmetics front, cut-crease eye make-up has generated huge interest, boosted by being seen on Rihanna, the Kardashians and Adele. Although the name is relatively new, the technique is actually tried and tested having been used in the1930s (most famously by Greta Garbo) and also being popular in the 60s. But the new version is an evolution of the socket line shading of the past with the crease defined by ‘cutting’ across it with a contrasting eyeshadow colour and doing only minimal blending.

Also big for make-up were multitasking lip and cheek stains that allow women versatility to get more from their products and offer them ultra convenience as they only need to carry one item.

With power brows a major trend, microblading, a kind of tattoo but one that is less painful and that eventually fades (in around three years), has seen increased engagement on Pinterest. The technique’s fine strokes that look like individual brow hairs, and the personalised design for each individual, helped it to rise to the top of searched-for or pinned trends.

As far as beauty ingredients are concerned, charcoal masks that are claimed to draw out skin impurities, and skin- and hair-boosting jojoba oil, have also generated rising interest, Searches for the former were up 333% last year.

And another skin-boosting activity that is also claimed to help general health proved of interest to a larger number of Pinterest users. Cold showers or a cold blast at the end of a regular shower was a popular search term. There has been lots of discussion in the past year about how such cold showers can help skin, hair, the immune system and the body’s metabolism and Pinterest users seem convinced.