Google’s top trending beauty searches of 2020 prove that the beauty industry is pandemic-proof
Google’s top trending beauty searches of 2020 are relatable, depressing, and dynamic all in one – a perfect summary of the year we’re leaving behind.
2020 is a year that will live in infamy, whether we like it or not. Along with a global pandemic came shifts in every aspect of our lives, and beauty was no exception. The end of any year brings summaries from Spotify Wrapped to YouTube Rewind to Google’s Year in Search.
Previous years saw trends in makeup, new salons and procedures, and red carpet fads. But this year, there was no need for a glam squad, no red carpets to walk, and no appointments to make. Confined to our homes and our laptop screens, it would have been easy for beauty to fall off the map completely.
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And yet, beauty thrived in ways it never has before. Google’s list of trending queries — the searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period — is dominated by the question we were all confronted with this year: how the f*** do I do my own hair?!
Eight of the ten top trends show Americans turning to Google, our most loyal and consistent friend, to learn how to cut, color, wash, braid, fade, trim, and style our locks. I fall right in there with my fellow Americans, with 2020 teaching me how to plop my curls and what a #3 means on men’s clippers. Also making the list is people asking Google how to wash their hands — which is something I pray they just needed a refresher on — and wondering about the wonders of dermaplaning.
Below, Google’s End of Year beauty list:
1. How to cut men’s hair at home
2. How to plop hair
3. How to color your hair at home
4. How to wash your hands
5. How to style curtain bangs
6. How to cut women’s hair
7. How to do knotless braids
8. How to fade hair
9. How to trim your own hair
10. How to dermaplane
So, what has 2020 beauty taught us?
That we can get s*** done ourselves.
Beauty took a forced turn from physical to digital, and we pivoted right along with it, keeping our hair glamorous and glossy for our endless Zoom calls. Here’s hoping 2021 brings a return to normalcy, with a retainment of everything we’ve learned this year – especially knowing how to wash our hands.