Identifying the Women Consumer Insights Behind Beauty Trends

In 2024, skincare isn't just about products; it's about people. The rise of year-round SPF use and the continued dominance of Korean Beauty (K-Beauty) aren't just abstract trendlines. They're driven by disparate social media conversations, with real consumers behind every post, hashtag, and skincare haul.

At Infegy, we are about to release our Health & Beauty Trends eBook 2025, a deep dive into what's shaping beauty conversations this year. Using Infegy Starscape and AI Assist tool, we surface emerging skincare, cosmetics, hair care, and wellness movements, including the evolving expectations around sunscreen and the global spread of K-Beauty routines.

But this blog goes one step deeper (and so can your research).

Identifying a trend is just the beginning. To take meaningful action—like launching a campaign, improving a product, or choosing the right influencers—you need to know who’s driving the trend. That’s where Infegy’s persona analysis makes the difference.

Today, we're focusing on skincare, specifically those women consumers participating in conversations about SPF and sunscreen. Thanks to Infegy's persona summarization widget, you don't have to sift through thousands of posts to find them manually; our AI does that work for you.

Our Approach: From Trend to Persona

Our trend discovery process starts broad. Using Infegy Starscape's AI Assist, we ask questions like:

"What are the top skincare trends from January 2024 through February 2025?"

From there, we follow a tree-like structure, breaking each macrotrend into smaller, nested subtrends (like "glass skin" or "skincare minimalism") to identify what's growing, what's fading, and what's connecting across categories.

But what makes this approach genuinely actionable is the next layer: personas.

Figure 1: Nested Skincare Tree With Four New Personas Identified

Infegy's Personas Analysis

Once a trend is identified, Infegy's AI Personas widget automatically analyzes the people behind the conversation. It scans hundreds of thousands of social profiles, grouping them into distinct persona types based on shared behaviors, tone, interests, and demographics.

Because Infegy collects data at the author level, the widget can build rich, aggregated profiles that go beyond a single post. These personas aren’t predefined, they show what people consistently talk about, how they communicate, and what values or topics they care about across categories.

The SPF-Driven Skincare Personas of 2024

Now that you know how our personas analysis works and how it fits into our broader trend detection analysis, let's look at the real people behind one of the year's most consistent skincare movements: the push towards year-round sunscreen. (If you’re interested in learning more about how that trend develops, make sure to read the whole explanation in our upcoming eBook.) Whether it's sunscreen use in winter, product layering in glass skin routines, or medical messaging around sun protection, here are the four standout personas shaping the conversation.

1. Beauty and Skincare Influencers

Figure 2: Infegy-Derived Beauty and Skincare Influencers Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

These creators are some of the most vocal and visible participants in the sun protection conversation. Primarily female, they focus on skincare tutorials, product reviews, and aesthetic lifestyle content that presents SPF use in a highly aspirational, positive light.

Figure 3: Source Bio Topics Attributed to Skincare Influencers (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Their bios make this focus clear. As seen in Figure 3, these accounts frequently self-identify using terms related to skincare, beauty techniques, and promotional activity, words like "spa," "clinic," and "shop" appear alongside references to skincare routines and content creation.

2. Natural and Organic Skincare Advocates

Figure 4: Infegy-Derived Natural and Organic Skincare Advocates Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

This persona has seen a sharp rise in activity, growing by 33.7% over the time frame we analyzed (Figure 5). This indicates how much ethical and ingredient-conscious skincare is resonating in today's beauty conversations.

Rooted in wellness, sustainability, and personal health, these individuals approach skincare as a form of holistic self-care. They favor clean, plant-based, and environmentally safe products, often highlighting mineral or reef-safe sunscreens as part of a broader commitment to natural beauty. Product origin stories and ethical sourcing claims are common themes in their content.

This persona signals a clear expectation for brands: sustainability and transparency aren't optional; they're essential. Your products and messaging must reflect genuine care for people and the planet to connect with this audience.

Figure 5: Post-volume growth for the Natural and Organic Skincare Advocates Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

3. Medical Skincare Professionals

Figure 6: Infegy-Derived Medical Skincare Professionals Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

This persona emerged from the broader SPF and sunscreen conversation, identified as the type of account tagged with bio terms. Their post volume has grown by 76.1% over time (Figure 7), signaling increased interest in skincare routines, sun protection, and clinical guidance.

This group comprises dermatologists, cosmetic physicians, and medical skincare specialists, bringing authority and scientific credibility to sun protection conversations. Their tone is professional, precise, and grounded in evidence. Rather than presenting SPF as part of a beauty routine, they position it as a medical necessity for long-term skin health.

These professionals frequently mention skin cancer, UVA/UVB exposure, and patient education in their content. Certifications like "MD," "Board Certified," or references to clinical practice often appear in bios, reinforcing their trusted role in the conversation.

For brands, this persona represents a high-credibility partner. Whether you're launching a derm-backed skincare line or rolling out new clinical claims, these voices lend trust and legitimacy in a category where medical endorsement increasingly drives consumer confidence.

Figure 7: Post Volume Growth About Medical Skincare Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

4. Aesthetic Treatment Providers

Figure 8: Infegy-Derived Aesthetic Treatment Providers Persona (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

This persona includes hands-on skincare professionals like estheticians, laser techs, and medspa providers who deliver real-time care and post-treatment guidance. Their influence comes from direct client relationships, and their SPF recommendations often tie into broader skincare protocols designed to preserve and enhance in-office results.

Their tone is professional and approachable, balancing clinical expertise with clear, actionable advice. These professionals regularly reference treatments like facials, microneedling, peels, and laser services, often emphasizing the importance of sun protection in post-procedure recovery and skin maintenance.

Hashtag data further supports this, with terms like #facials, #microneedling, #chemicalpeel, #medspa, and #UVProtection appearing frequently alongside SPF-specific terms such as #SunSafety, #SPFProtection, and #protectyourskin.

Figure 9: Top Hashtags Associated With Aesthetic Treatment Providers Personas (January 2020 through December 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Apply This Method Across Beauty (or Any Trend!)

While this blog focuses on SPF and skincare, the approach we've outlined, starting with a broad trend, drilling into subtopics, and identifying the personas behind them, can be applied to virtually any industry or conversation.

Infegy Starscape allows this type of persona-driven trend analysis for any topic. Whether looking at fashion, food, fitness, tech, or travel, our tools help you move beyond post volume and into people-based insights, giving you a deeper, more actionable understanding of who's shaping the conversation and why.

Identifying the right trend is powerful, but understanding the people behind that trend turns insight into strategy. With tools like Infegy Starscape's AI Assist and Personas widget, you don't just see what's trending; you understand who's driving it, how they speak, and what they care about.

Putting Persona-Driven Insight Into Practice

This opens up a range of practical applications for your team. Use Infegy’s persona insights to tailor creative briefs, shape influencer partnerships, validate product positioning, or uncover overlooked segments that deserve more attention. Instead of guessing what matters to your audience, you can build strategies on a foundation of lived behavior, tone, and interest, backed by data.

If you would like to know more about how Infegy Starscape can improve your trend identification and marketing strategies, schedule a demo.

Key Takeaways:

1. Trends Are People-Powered

Skincare trends like year-round SPF use aren’t just stats, they’re driven by distinct consumer personas, each with unique motivations, tone, and influence.

2. Personas Make Insights Actionable

Infegy’s persona analysis moves beyond trend detection to uncover who is driving the conversation, enabling smarter campaigns, influencer targeting, and product decisions.

3. SPF Is Shaped by Four Key Personas

From aspirational influencers to medical professionals, understanding these four personas, who they are, how they talk, and what they value.