Launched as part of British Beauty Week 2025: The Future of Beauty, SLG Brands has partnered with the British Beauty Council to release Beauty Pulse 2025, an annual industry report* designed to better understand how consumers view the impact of the beauty industry on their wellbeing and wider representation in society.
Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, said: “The UK beauty industry has always been a vibrant tapestry of creativity, entrepreneurship, craftsmanship and ambition. Let this report be a stepping stone toward a more trusted and responsible future for beauty in Britain and beyond.”
Social media has both positive and negative influences with 48% of consumers finding it to be a help when learning more about beauty products and techniques and a third of people saying it makes them feel more confident about the way they look.
However, the report also reveals that 80% of women have felt negatively about their own appearance after seeing edited beauty content online, with 24% feeling direct pressure to look a certain way due to social media.
Alongside these emotional pressures, beauty can have a negative financial impact: 39% of respondents link financial stress to trying to afford the latest beauty trends.
Perhaps most strikingly, only 10% of consumers say they fully trust beauty brands to be honest about product claims, despite the UK proudly driving STEM innovation within a highly regulated environment to protect consumer safety.
Lucy Beresford, Managing Director at SLG Brands, commented: “The beauty industry plays a major part in the lives of consumers across the world and is a source of empowerment and self-expression for many. It also contributes over £30bn to the UK economy, supporting a vast number of sectors. By sharing these insights openly, our aim is to spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and encourage the industry at large to respond with honesty and innovation. This report is a resource for our partners, peers, and the wider industry as we collectively navigate the future of beauty.”
Within the study when we asked consumers directly about the role beauty products and routines play in their self-care and wellbeing, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Hundreds of comments highlighted how beauty helps people feel better, more confident, and cared for. In fact, only 3% of the feedback carried a negative sentiment.
Additional key statistics from the report:
Only 26% of people feel well represented in the beauty industry today
77% of 18–34-year-olds believe brands shouldn’t use AI in advertising
71% of consumers think beauty brands should focus their sustainability efforts on removing unnecessary chemicals
It’s clear the industry is at a crossroads — while innovation and creativity are at an all-time high, so too are concerns around trust, inclusivity, sustainability, and the influence of social media.
To download the report please go to Trend Reports - SLG Brands. For more information, imagery, or press enquiries, please contact our newsroom: pr@slgbrands.com
* Source: SLG Brands Attest Survey, 22 August 2025, 350 females aged 18–44
About SLG Brands
SLG is a global beauty brand owner and incubation platform partner who has developed, and launched some of the most exciting, vibrant and authentic beauty brands available around the world; all housed in the company’s integrated award-winning laboratory, design studio, and workspace in Cheltenham UK.
Founded in 1985, SLG is led by creative pioneer Miles Dunkley, alongside industry visionaries Lucy Beresford and Richard Buckland, and their team of experienced specialists. They have harnessed the perfect synergy between bringing indie-brand adaptivity and future-thinking cool, with global authority, innovation and industry-leading expertise, built over 4 decades.
Their portfolio of purpose and insight driven brands includes: COLAB Dry Shampoo the most followed dry shampoo on social media in the world; Johnny's Chop Shop #2 male grooming brand in the UK; Rhyme&Reason the first and only eco-minded hair care brand to use no new plastic in both their bottle and cap; Velvotan the original patent owned tanning mitt and most recently the Happy Hair People range, supporting mental health signposting service Project Healthy Minds in the USA.
SLG also operates as an international brand incubator platform and is particularly reputed in the industry as being design driven and fuelled by fashion and trend, strategically designing and creating brands, collections and product ranges in partnership with global retail multiples such as Boots, Target, Walmart and Ulta, and for some of the biggest and most well-known fashion, lifestyle, celebrity, and influencer brands and personalities of the last 15 years.
These include the earliest breakthroughs in social media and influencer brand creation with Zoella and Gleam Future management, fashion powerhouses such as White Fox, Superdry and Julian McDonald, through to British icons in talent and entertainment such as Little Mix and Fearne Cotton, alongside iconic brands PS by Paul Smith, Radley and Laura Ashley.
As a boutique business, SLG accelerate creativity and innovation with pace and control, free from the organisational bureaucracy of large corporate companies. SLG react quickly to the desires and demands of consumers, partners, technologies and marketplaces, ensuring they operate as a bold, agile and exciting partner.
SLG is a global beauty brand owner and incubation platform partner who has developed, and launched some of the most exciting, vibrant and authentic beauty brands available around the world; all housed in the company’s integrated award-winning laboratory, design studio, and workspace in Cheltenham UK.
Founded in 1985, SLG is led by creative pioneer Miles Dunkley, alongside industry visionaries Lucy Beresford and Richard Buckland, and their team of experienced specialists. They have harnessed the perfect synergy between bringing indie-brand adaptivity and future-thinking cool, with global authority, innovation and industry-leading expertise, built over 4 decades.
Their portfolio of purpose and insight driven brands includes: COLAB Dry Shampoo the most followed dry shampoo on social media in the world; Johnny's Chop Shop #2 male grooming brand in the UK; Rhyme&Reason the first and only eco-minded hair care brand to use no new plastic in both their bottle and cap; Velvotan the original patent owned tanning mitt and most recently the Happy Hair People range, supporting mental health signposting service Project Healthy Minds in the USA.
SLG also operates as an international brand incubator platform and is particularly reputed in the industry as being design driven and fuelled by fashion and trend, strategically designing and creating brands, collections and product ranges in partnership with global retail multiples such as Boots, Target, Walmart and Ulta, and for some of the biggest and most well-known fashion, lifestyle, celebrity, and influencer brands and personalities of the last 15 years.
These include the earliest breakthroughs in social media and influencer brand creation with Zoella and Gleam Future management, fashion powerhouses such as White Fox, Superdry and Julian McDonald, through to British icons in talent and entertainment such as Little Mix and Fearne Cotton, alongside iconic brands PS by Paul Smith, Radley and Laura Ashley.
As a boutique business, SLG accelerate creativity and innovation with pace and control, free from the organisational bureaucracy of large corporate companies. SLG react quickly to the desires and demands of consumers, partners, technologies and marketplaces, ensuring they operate as a bold, agile and exciting partner.