International beauty day: Nigerians prioritised bone straight, flat tummy despite pandemic

Google celebrated this year’s edition, by revealing the beauty and fitness related searches that captured the interest of Nigerians over the past 20 months.

As the International Beauty Day is observed today, data from internet giant, Google, has revealed that in the last 20 months, Nigerians searched more for ‘Hairstyles for ladies’ and in particular, ‘Bone straight hair’.

The International beauty day, which is observed on September 9, is described as an annual celebration of the “outer and inner beauties of individuals across the world”. Google celebrated this year’s edition, by revealing the beauty and fitness related searches that captured the interest of Nigerians over the past 20 months.

Questions like ‘How to grow natural hair’ and’ how to decrease belly fat’ including phrases like ‘hairstyles for women and bone straight hair ‘ have been among the most googled beauty terms used by Nigerians since the Covid-19 epidemic started. This indicates that Nigerians were more conscious about how to feel beautiful and stay fit as they journey through the pandemic.

‘Butterfly braids’ was noted as a breakout search that sprung up in Nigeria over the past years by users, on the other hand searches for ‘bone straight wigs’ increased over 4,000 percent. Also ‘ jungle braids’ however was a breakout search in Nigeria for the past few months.

By location, Bayelsa state was identified as the top state in Nigeria in terms of beauty-related searches during the last 12 months.

To preserve mental health, Google’s statement noted that experts have recommended to users, self-care techniques to cope with these stressful conditions, which people faced during the pandemic, and self-care has become more important, globally. For instance, a study, conducted by the skin-care company Rodman+fields on the mental health implications of adult acne discovered that a skincare regimen might significantly decrease stress.

Here are top beauty and fitness questions for the past 20 months in Nigeria:

1. How to make carrot oil?

2. How to reduce belly fat?

3. How to lose weight fast?

4. How to grow natural hair?

5. How to put on makeup?

6. How to get rid of stretch marks?

7. How to use rice water to grow hair?