Canada's most popular skincare Google searches and what they reveal about us
Ever find yourself turning to the trusty database that is the Internet after a particularly illuminating look in the mirror, hoping, praying, for a solution to some of those tiny imperfections? Me too. And, as it turns out, we're not alone. Canadians can't stop thinking about their skin; how to treat it, which products to buy and what preventable measures they can take to avoid issues like breakouts, sun damage or wrinkles. Need some proof? It's all over our Google searches.
According to trends recently pulled by Google, searches for skincare have reached an all-time high in Canada, which seems to indicate that we're getting serious — or at least seriously interested — about what we can do to get the healthiest skin possible.
By breaking down Google's findings, we can see that British Columbia over indexes in searches for skincare, topping Canada's other 12 provinces and territories by a pretty big margin. We already knew that B.C. residents have a penchant for getting sweaty (and zen!) in the yoga studio, so it's not a huge surprise that their focus on health and wellness extends to nourishing what's on the outside as well. Newfoundland and Labrador came in second in terms of their skin-related Internet inquiries, while Quebec seemingly couldn't care less, rounding things off with the least amount of searches over the last decade and a half.
It's difficult to say why exactly our country-wide interest in skincare has peaked over the last year, especially since our searches on this subject haven't neared levels like this since way back in February of 2004. Maybe we're regretting all those tanning beds we subjected our skin to in the early aughts and are trying to make up for it? Maybe our social media-fueled insight into the beauty products and regimens coveted by the world's most beautiful celebrities and Insta-stars has led us follow suit and seek out solutions? Or perhaps the DIY boom that's dominated sites like Pinterest has inspired us to experiment with what we have at home and create our own skin saviours?
A deeper dive into our search history points to some truth in at least one of those (totally unscientific) hypotheses. Google's results showed that out of all our skincare searches, "how to" inquiries were the most prominent, with Canadians looking for answers to common dermatological woes, like "how to get rid of acne", "how to get rid of puffy eyes" and "how to get clear skin." On YouTube, we asked similar questions, hoping to find out "how to get rid of pores," "how to remove blackheads," and "how to make a face mask."
After combing through the depths of interwebs to learn more about tackling all those weird things happening on our faces, Google's data showed that we searched for product reviews, browsed DIY solutions and sifted through step-by-step tutorials.
Of course, none of this really comes as a surprise to us here at CBC Life. We're big proponents of all things moisturizing, and love finding new techniques or products that will keep our faces fresh. We've dished on how to properly exfoliate your skin, reviewed products we love (and highlighted favourites of celebs like Drew Barrymore), examined our obsession with pimple popping and other gross out zit videos, discussed our go-to DIY treatments and have given tutorials on how to deal with issues like dark marks and hyperpigmentation:
We've even hopped on the Korean beauty bandwagon, which has taken Canada by storm recently — and it shows in our searches:
In the last five years, searches for Korean skincare have risen by 300 per cent, with products like all-natural collagen lip masks and sheet masks sweeping celeb Instagrams, and thus the nation.
While we might never know what sparked this rising interest in skincare, the upward trend of Google's findings shows that our searches probably won't be slowing down anytime soon. So here's to clear, fresh, healthy skin, Canada! May you get what you Google, and then some.