www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 25 With fewer restaurants and fastfood places to frequent during the lockdowns, many families learned to appreciate eating home-cooked meals together. Some even explored baking whole-grain breads, growing sourdough starter and kombucha and experimenting with healthier ingredients and recipes. Their conversations focused on the true nature of organics, home-grown fruits and vegetables, healthy carbs, herbs and foods high in vitamin C. Savvy self-educated shoppers became label readers, knowledgeable in identifying and critiquing product ingredients. One commonality during this time might be that despite major lifestyle interruptions prompted by the COVID pandemic, most men and women still cared about their looks. When the pandemic closed beauty salons, the latter group responded with an increased interest in natural do-it-yourself beauty care. Online sales increased across the board for healthier skin, nails, hair and bathand-body products. According to the NielsonIQ report, in 2021, 15% more hair cutting was being done at home, while 19% of multicultural consumers were choosing a more natural look and 26% were wearing less makeup overall. Both the African American and the Hispanic communities have traditionally spent more on beauty products compared to other minorities, and the closure of so many beauty salons during the pandemic only increased the desire for at-home hair, nail and skin care. The result has been a steep rise in
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1