REPORT
Insight
Beauty Regulation in Japan: Now and in the Future＜ampule magazine Vol.05＞
This survey was excerpted from the October 2022 issue of ampule magazine Vol. 05.
To read the article in question and the full magazine, please visit the back issues of the electronic version of ampule magazine.
▼ampule magazine
https://ampule.jp/magazine/
ampule magazine Vol.05「Changing Beauty Regulations」
The theme of “ampule magazine Vol. 05” is “Changing Beauty Regulations.We will look at the latest changes in beauty regulations in the following four areas: tattoos, where awareness differs greatly between Japan and the rest of the world; body hair, where many people have problems; color makeup, which is a trend; and cosmetic surgery, which is becoming more and more familiar in recent years.
＜Survey Summary＞
Survey by Trenders
Survey period: August 3-4, 2022
Target: 607 men and women in their 20s to 40s who responded “highly interested in beauty” in a preliminary survey
Method: Internet survey
In this issue of “Beauty Regulations Changing,” we have dealt with the four themes of “tattoos,” “body hair,” “color makeup,” and “cosmetic surgery,” and conducted a survey to find out what Japanese sei-katsu-sha think about each of them. In addition to exploring changes in sei-katsu-sha values, this report also analyzes how Japanese beauty regulations, or “expressions of beauty,” will change in the future.
＜positive：64.4％＞
It makes me feel cheerful (29-year-old female)
I became more interested in color makeup as I got older because it lifts my mood (39-year-old female).
I can show off my individuality and express myself in the fashions I like (25 year old female)
＜negative：15.3％＞
Because it’s eccentric and floaty (28 yrs old female)
I don’t have the courage (27 year old female)
I think it’s fine if the style suits the TPO, but I don’t think that makeup that is too unique is appropriate for the audience.
(47 year old female)
＜unknown：20.3％＞
＜positive：36.7％＞
自然のままの自分を認めてあげることはとても良いことだから(38歳男性)
一般的に不潔だというイメージが強い脇毛などをあえて伸ばしたままピンク色などに染め
るおしゃれもあるため(23歳女性)
欧米で流行っているから(38歳男性)
＜negative：30.0％＞
清潔感がないと感じるから(48歳男性)
男性なら良いが、女性だと見た目が悪い気がする(48歳女性)
アジア人は体毛の色が濃いので目立つ(36歳女性)
＜unknown：33.3％＞
＜positive：49.8％＞
I think it’s good if you know the risks because you can be whatever you want to be (29-year-old woman)
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be beautiful, and I think it’s great that people can work hard for it (30-year-old female).
In the past, people used to hide it, but now more and more people are declaring it (45-year-old woman)
＜negative：21.1％＞
I should not surgically tamper with the body I was given by my parents (44 year old female)
I want to make the most of my innate goodness (41 yrs old female)
I feel resistance to having a scalpel inserted into my body (45-year-old male)
＜unknown：29.1％＞
＜positive：29.5％＞
Because they are common in other countries (34-year-old female)
I think it’s a form of self-expression and it’s cool (24-year-old female)
I think it’s like makeup (34 yrs old female)
I think it’s cute because there are more fashion tattoos now than in the past (24-year-old male)
＜negative：46.8％＞
Because of its antisocial image (43-year-old woman)
Some facilities don’t allow it, and I still think it’s more likely to be looked at with a white eye (31-year-old woman).
It’s something that will hurt you (29 year old female)
＜unknown：23.7％＞
More than 60% of the responses were positive for “color makeup,” indicating that many people are embracing it. Many said that it “brightens up their mood,” and some said that they “became more interested in it as they got older. There is an increasing number of efforts by manufacturers to let people enjoy makeup regardless of age, and this may be a factor in this trend.
The “body hair” category was split almost equally between positive, negative, and don’t know responses. There was a large difference in responses by gender, perhaps due to the fact that hair growth tends to differ between men and women. Positive responses were about 10 ppt lower for women, which can be taken to indicate that women have a strong belief that they should remove or shave their hair. On the other hand, more than 20% of men had negative opinions, in other words, negative opinions about making use of body hair. Since the survey did not attempt to separate men and women, it is possible that the results may differ depending on whether the respondents were thinking of men or women, and more research may be needed.
About half of the respondents answered “cosmetic surgery” positively. The reasons for the responses indicate that plastic surgery is not only for the purpose of eliminating complexes, but has also spread as an effort to become more beautiful.
In contrast, nearly half of the respondents answered negatively about “tattoos,” the highest percentage among the four themes. Some say it is fashionable and stylish, but the two main reasons for the large negative group are “anti-social image” and “social restrictions.
While both “cosmetic surgery” and “tattoos” have in common the act of scarring the body, there is a big difference in image. However, “cosmetic surgery” used to have a negative image. Recently, however, the culture of sharing information about plastic surgery on social networking services has become more active, and plastic surgery is no longer something to be hidden. Of course, this can be attributed to technological advances in the cosmetic surgery industry and the dissemination of information, but the role played by SNS is also significant. SNS may contain hints as to how the beauty regulations will change in the future.
※Multiple answers
Individual hairstyles (high color, etc.) 53.0％
Men’s makeup 46.6％
Individual makeup (color makeup, etc.) 46.1％
Cosmetic surgery 45.8％
Cosmetic surgery (other than cosmetic surgery) 36.6％
Tattoos 19.3％
Body hair (dare not remove hair or shave) 19.1%
Body piercing 16.5％
Others 2.1％
While the previous pages asked how the respondents themselves felt about each theme, we also explored the level of acceptance to see what the public thought about it. The results showed that “color make-up,” “body hair,” and “tattoos” were significantly lower than the numbers that individuals felt were positive, highlighting the gap between “I personally think it is good, but I feel the public does not see it that way. It is undeniable that this gap may be preventing the spread of beauty regulations in Japan. On the other hand, “cosmetic surgery” is the only one of the four themes with a low gap figure, and may be an example of how the public and individual reception of the topic have spread in tandem. The number of “men’s makeup” topics that have increased over the past few years is surprisingly high, with nearly half of the respondents saying that it has become a common practice in Japan. As a theme that is undergoing a major change in Japan’s beauty regulations, we will continue to pay attention to it in the future. As you can see, while there are some areas where steady change can be seen
The next question asked about the Japanese beauty industry. The next question explores the barriers to the expansion of Japanese beauty regulations.
Yes：58.8％
No：14.5％
Don’t know：26.7％
※複数回答
Many people are concerned about how the world and their surroundings will react to them 52.1％
Strict rules at school, work, etc. 49.9％
Many people are conservative about beauty 48.5％
Few people see beauty as an expression 40.3%.
Lack of information to try new things 17.6％
Not enough items or places to try new things 13.2％
Don’t know: 2.0％
Others: 0.6％
Agree：64.9％
Don’t think：9.1％
Don’t know：26.0％
<Why do you think it should be spread out? ＞
I think the models are all the same.
The models are all the same kind of people, and I think the image of them is being planted (29 year old female).
I think that at the root of the problem is the strong pressure of homogeneity in Japan. This limits the choice of various variations (29-year-old woman).
It limits the choices of various variations (47 year old female).
I want a world where people can enjoy fashion without worrying about what others think (27-year-old female).
I think it’s good to have various forms of beauty like in other countries (24-year-old woman)
I think there are many ways to pursue beauty.
Many companies have too strict rules, so I am told that my hair color is too bright (29-year-old female).
From a foreigner’s point of view, Japanese people all look the same. Of course, it may be a racial thing.
but I think one of the reasons is that we all wear the same makeup and fashion.
(45 year old female)
When compared to the rest of the world, it was found that approximately 60% of respondents feel that the expression of beauty in Japan is restricted or bounded. Looking at the reasons for this, it seems that public opinion and peer pressure are major barriers to the expansion of beauty regulations in Japan. Many school and company rules are skeletal, and it is conceivable that motivation to enjoy self-expression may wane as people are suppressed without being convinced. If this is the case, there will be no significant change in Japanese beauty regulations. However, it is true that as many as about 65% of respondents would like to see more variation in the expression of beauty. The survey also revealed that 65% of respondents would like to see a world in which people can enjoy dressing fashionably without worrying about what others think. This survey gave us a glimpse into the current state of beauty regulations in Japan. Some of the changes are positive, while others are not. However, many sei-katsu-sha seem to believe that “beauty has more possibilities. We would like to continue to consider what we can do as a beauty industry so that we do not neglect this hope.
Trenders Inc.
Planner / SNS Analyst
Yukina Sato
After working as a content planner at a web production company, Yukina Sato joined Trenders K.K. in 2014. Currently, as a communication planner, she provides marketing support to a wide range of industries including food and cosmetics, and specializes in analyzing consumer insights and SNS trends.
