Skincare: What are the facts?
“57% of Americans left work early or
skipped work due to a bad skin day.”
— OnePoll
Role: UX Researcher | Skincare user research for mobile app design
It’s the morning of a big presentation
and you discover a giant breakout.
Quick!
Jump online and search how to shrink it.
Wait, which article do I read?
There’s too much information available.
“64% of Americans feel lost and have no idea what they’re doing in terms of skincare”.
-OnePoll
Have you ever felt confused when using skincare? If you answered yes, you are not alone.
There’s a lot of skincare information online making it challenging to learn and create positive skincare habits.
As a teenager I had acne and still manage it as an adult today. I feel your pain! Skin problems can negatively impact one’s self-esteem and quality of life.
“The global skin care products market
is valued at 134.8 billion”.
- Grand View ResearchCustomers feel bombarded by hundreds of product advertisement claims.
How can customers feel informed to make purchases?
Research Summary: Two Month Research Project to Find Challenges in Skincare
Goal
Two month remote research project
Goal: Uncover challenges in users skincare to design a mobile app
Role: UX Researcher and UI/UX Designer
Research Tasks
Secondary Research Interviews
Research Plan Affinity Diagram
Screener Survey Empathy Map
Interviews Persona
Research Insights
People are motivated to use skincare to prevent acne
Identifying safe skincare ingredients is a challenge
Finding skincare articles from credible sources is hard
Why ask people about their skincare?
I became interested in skincare while overcoming my own acne from adolescence and into adulthood.
I want to help others overcome their skin issues and feel confident in their own skin.
Step 1: Secondary Research to Discover Skincare Space
Why did I start with secondary research on skincare?
To understand the skincare space, popular topics, and challenges
Understand what is already known in skincare
Themes found from Secondary Research
People struggle to use their skincare routine consistently
Volume of skincare information available can overwhelm users
Expect new habit formation to take about ten weeks with daily repetition of desired action
Step 2: Research Plan - Stay Organized & Identify Participants
I created a formal research plan to:
Stay organized
Set research questions
Set timelines
Identify desired participant characteristics
Serve as research artifact to share with teams
Target Audience
Users aged 18-50
Uses web and mobile services regularly (3+ times a week)
Owns a smartphone
Users who are interested in topic of skincare
Step 3: Screener Survey Finds People Interested in Skincare
The main qualifying characteristic was participant interest in skincare.
Survey participants were asked to indicate their knowledge level with skincare.
If participants submit the first choice as their answer: “I am not interested in skincare” their survey ended.
This question was intended to save both researcher and participant time.
Step 4: Interviewed Six Participants about their Skincare
Goal
To ask open ended skincare questions: identify potential users and discover pain points in their skincare
Method
Interview six participants remotely via video call with interview script to ensure consistency
Six participants were interviewed in the case one participant was unable to provide responses
Step 5: Used Affinity Diagram and Found Themes in Skincare
Sticky notes imply they can and should be rearranged into categories based on relatedness
Diagram works as a living document that can be updated
during the research and design process
Each note had an interview statement written on it and clusters represented themes in information
Key Learnings from Interviews
People practiced skincare when they “were being good”
If they were busy or forgot they would skip skincare
Skin is something every one sees, wants to prevent acne with skincare products
Low motivation to change products and does skincare research online
Trusts advice from dermatologist over advice from friends
Priority is skin health and safety of product use long term
Skincare Interview Insights
Research
There is too much information on skincare online and some are conflicting.
Acne
Dating can be hard when they have acne and makes them feel self conscious.
Safety
Concerned if skincare ingredients are safe to use long term.
Trust
They trust skincare information from their Dermatologist.
Interview Quotes: “When I don’t use it, I get crazy acne.”
“I have a bad memory and I don't write things down. I do skincare everyday unless I forget.”
-Interviewee #1
“It's still hard to do [skincare research] there is confusing information.”
-Interviewee #2
Step 6:
Empathy Map
This map helped me visualize my users as a whole person with needs, personality, and the challenges they experience.
What did I learn from this map?
This map impacted how I created the persona of the main user. The map highlighted inconsistencies in their goals compared to their actions:
Interviewee “says” they want acne free skin but sometimes forgets or doesn’t feel like practicing their skincare routine.
They care about the appearance of their skin for both vanity and health purposes.
There are feelings of fear attached to skincare from past experiences with skin health issues, doctors and information online. Trust was important to interviewees that is a core need within the persona.
Step 7: The Persona: Olivia wants clear skin!
A persona keeps me focused on my user and their needs.
Introducing Olivia
“I want to keep my skin clear of acne by using safe products that I can research online!” -Olivia
I will refer to this persona as a truth and tool while designing.
Olivia is a 23 year old software engineer at large tech company. She lives with her family and shares a bathroom. She wants to maintain clear skin because she feels self conscious about her skin when dating. She is always on her phone using the latest apps.
Olivia’s Goals
1. Identify which skincare products are safe for her to use
2. Research skincare online from credible sources
3. Consistency with practicing her skincare routine
Next Steps:
How might we help Olivia?
I will use Olivia’s persona and research insights to help her achieve her goals.
Since Olivia is tech savvy and uses her phone frequently, I will design a mobile application for her skincare experience.
These are questions I will ask to inspire collaboration across teams:
How might we help Olivia identify which skincare products are safe?
How might we help Olivia research skincare from credible sources?
How might we help Olivia practice her skincare consistently?
I’m excited to share my recommendations with you!