Key Takeaways:

• The UK beauty industry contributed £28.3 billion to GDP in 2025.
• A new British Beauty Council report reveals beauty’s wider social and economic value.
• Beauty businesses support high streets, local spending, employment, and consumer well-being.

The British beauty industry contributed £28.3 billion ($37.7 billion) to the UK economy in 2025, supported 595,000 jobs, and generated £8.8 billion ($11.7 billion) in tax revenues. But a new report commissioned by the British Beauty Council argues that the industry’s value extends well beyond its contribution to GDP, revealing the role beauty businesses play in sustaining local high streets, supporting social connection, and shaping consumer well-being.

Produced by Oxford Economics and supported by L’Orèal Groupe, The Impact of Beauty: Revealing Its Social, Cultural, and Economic Value builds on the Council’s previous economic research to examine the wider contribution of beauty and personal care to British society.

Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 2,116 UK adults and conducted by YouGov in July 2026, alongside a geospatial analysis of approximately 191,200 beauty and personal care establishments, the research positions beauty as part of the country’s everyday social and economic infrastructure.

The findings arrive as the British Beauty Council continues its efforts to strengthen the industry’s recognition within government policy, particularly around investment, skills, employment, and high-street regeneration.

Beauty’s Role in Keeping High Streets Alive

Beauty and personal care businesses are among the most prominent fixtures of Britain’s high streets, particularly in smaller towns and local communities where other forms of retail and leisure have come under pressure.

The report finds that beauty businesses are not simply benefiting from existing footfall but actively generating visits and additional spending for neighboring establishments.

• Beauty and personal care establishments account for almost one-third of leisure and recreation amenities across UK retail zones, rising to 36% on smaller high streets. 
• Hair and beauty salons alone account for 20% of leisure amenities on smaller high streets, equivalent to the combined share of pubs, bars, and cafés.
• More than half (55%) of respondents’ most recent personal care appointments took place on a high street or in a town center, with 86% reporting that the appointment was their primary reason for visiting.
• Half of the high-street personal care appointments were accompanied by spending at another local business, equivalent to 23% of all personal care appointments.

Unlike many retail categories that have increasingly migrated online, services such as haircuts, manicures, and aesthetic treatments require physical attendance. These recurring appointments provide consumers with a reason to visit town centers, creating opportunities for surrounding retailers, hospitality venues, and other service businesses to capture additional spending.

The significance of beauty’s physical footprint becomes more pronounced on the outside of major urban centers, where personal care establishments often represent a substantial proportion of the local leisure economy.

• The UK has approximately 191,200 beauty and personal care establishments, according to Oxford Economics’ geospatial analysis.
• Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) beauty and personal care amenities are located outside large cities, including 21% in towns, 8% in suburban areas, and 10% in rural areas.
• In 52 parliamentary constituencies, beauty and personal care account for at least 35% of leisure and recreation amenities, with all but one of these constituencies located outside London.
• Norwich North has the highest proportion of beauty and personal care amenities relative to its leisure economy, at 40.8%, followed by Mid Ulster (40.1%) and Newry and Armagh (38.9%).

Although Greater London has the largest absolute number of beauty establishments, at approximately 25,000, other regions have a higher concentration relative to their populations.

• Greater London has approximately 2.5 beauty and personal care amenities per 1,000 residents, compared with 2.9 in Greater Manchester. 
• Lancashire, Devon and Torbay, and North Yorkshire each have more than three beauty and personal care amenities per 1,000 residents. 
• Beauty and personal care represent at least 30% of leisure and recreation amenities in Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and Tees Valley, compared with 26% in Greater London.

These findings strengthen the commercial argument for recognizing beauty businesses within high-street regeneration strategies. Their contribution extends beyond the revenue generated by individual establishments to the footfall and spending they support across surrounding businesses. Millie Kendall, CEO of the British Beauty Council, said the research provides policymakers with a clearer picture of how dependent some communities have become on beauty businesses.

“Obviously we have long talked about the Value of Beauty in economic terms, but showing the impact of the industry on UK high streets and the lives of communities up and down the country offers a tangible view on the great social impact we make,” she told BeautyMatter. She added that the findings are particularly relevant for MPs representing constituencies where beauty and personal care establishments constitute a substantial proportion of local amenities.

“MPs across the nation represent constituencies that are literally being anchored by our businesses, and this deserves recognition.”

Beauty as Necessity, Not a Luxury

Beyond its physical presence, the report highlights the relatively protected position beauty and personal care occupy within household spending. Consumers increasingly regard personal care as part of their everyday expenditure rather than an occasional indulgence, with spending priorities placing the category ahead of several other discretionary purchases. 

• Only 7% of respondents described beauty and personal care as entirely a treat, while approximately one in five considered it more of a treat than a necessity.
• Consumers ranked beauty and personal care spending above gym and fitness memberships, streaming subscriptions, and eating out, placing it approximately on par with clothing and fashion.
• The average British adult spends £27 per month on beauty and personal care products and services, increasing to £35 among frequent users.
• More than half (53%) of respondents spend over £10 per month on beauty and personal care, while 27% spend at least £25 per month.
• The average British adult spends 13 minutes a day on beauty and personal care routines, reflecting the category’s integration into everyday habits.
• More than half (52%) of UK adults use skincare daily or most days, while approximately 4 in 10 use fragrance with the same frequency.
• The average adult visits a hairdresser or barber approximately every two months, with 53% attending at least once every three months.

The consistency of these purchases helps explain the industry’s economic scale. Rather than relying exclusively on high-spending consumers, beauty benefits from widespread, recurring demand across multiple product and service categories.

However, the report’s definition of beauty and personal care encompasses everyday hygiene products alongside cosmetics, grooming, and professional treatments. While the findings demonstrate the category’s importance within household budgets, they do not necessarily suggest consumers consider every beauty product or service as essential.

For Kendall, the challenge is not necessarily to persuade the government that beauty matters, but to provide evidence that can influence policy discussions. “I think, honestly, government does recognize the impact we make; it needed to be documented in this report,” she said. “It has culminated in a lot of very important senior-level discussions.”

She added that policymakers are themselves consumers of personal care products and services, but that quantifying the industry’s wider contribution is essential to advancing those conversations.

The Social Value of the Salon

Beyond their economic contribution, salons, barbershops, and other personal care providers serve as spaces for regular social interactions.

The report identifies a level of trust between consumers and service providers that extends beyond the practical purpose of an appointment, with many respondents discussing personal matters and life events during their visits. 

• Almost half (44%) of frequent beauty and personal care users reported having a meaningful conversation with a service provider during the previous six months. 
• Some 42% of frequent users said they discussed personal matters, life events, or concerns with a personal care provider during the same period.
• Women were more likely than men to report meaningful conversations with providers, at 52% compared with 32%.
• Nearly one in five (18%) frequent users said that in some weeks, visiting a personal care provider was one of the few times they interacted with others.
• Among frequent users aged 18 to 24, this figure rose to 28%, suggesting that younger consumers may be particularly reliant on these settings for informal social contact.
• Some 42% of male frequent users aged 18 to 24 reported that visiting a personal care provider was one of their very few opportunities for social interaction in some weeks, compared with 13% of women in the same age group.

The findings are particularly notable among young men, whose reliance on personal care appointments for social interaction challenges the assumption that loneliness and social isolation are primarily concerns among older populations.

For beauty businesses, the research highlights an additional dimension of customer relationships that is difficult to capture through conventional measures such as appointment frequency, transaction value, or customer retention.

Salons and barbershops can serve as familiar spaces for conversation and community engagement, suggesting that their importance to local economies cannot be measured solely by their commercial performance.

Confidence, Well-Being, and Consumer Participation

The research also examines the relationship between beauty and personal care, consumer confidence, and emotional well-being. While beauty’s economic contribution can be measured through sales, employment, and taxation, the report suggests that its influence on consumers’ everyday lives is considerably harder to quantify. 

• Three-quarters (75%) of frequent users said beauty and personal care products and services positively affected how they felt about themselves, rising to 81% among women and dropping to 66% among men.
• Nearly half (45%) of frequent users said they would not feel as confident about their appearance without personal care products and services.
• Some 48% said beauty and personal care helped them feel resilient when facing everyday challenges, compared with 14% who disagreed.
• More than half (52%) reported that their personal care or grooming routines helped improve their mood, rising to 62% among those aged 18 to 24.
• Two-thirds of frequent users said their skin condition affected their confidence in their appearance, rising to 76% among those aged 25 to 34.
• Some 59% of frequent users said skincare products helped them feel more confident about their skin and scalp, with that figure rising to 68% among women.

The report also identifies a relationship between appearance-related confidence and consumers’ willingness to participate in professional and social settings.

• More than half (54%) of frequent users said feeling good about their appearance made them more willing to attend social occasions, while 64% said it helped them enjoy those occasions more.
• Some 51% said using a personal care product or service had helped them feel more confident at a social occasion.
• In professional settings, 51% said personal care products or services had helped them feel more confident, while 56% believed taking care of their appearance helped them make a positive first impression at work.
• Men and women reported similar benefits for making a positive first impression at work, at 53% and 57% respectively.

These findings extend the discussion of beauty’s value beyond individual satisfaction to the role appearance-related confidence can play in consumers’ participation in everyday life.

However, the research measures consumers’ self-reported experiences rather than establishing a direct causal relationship between beauty consumption and improved well-being or professional outcomes.

Beauty and Self-Expression Among Younger Consumers

The relationship between beauty and personal identity is particularly pronounced among younger adults, who are more likely to view their routines as opportunities for experimentation and self-expression.

• Some 42% of frequent users said their beauty and personal care routines reinforces their sense of self, while 28% consider them an opportunity for creativity.
• Among frequent users aged 18 to 24, 55% said their routines reinforce their sense of identity, compared with 37% of those aged 55 and over.
• More than half (53%) of frequent users aged 18 to 24 viewed personal care as an opportunity to be creative and experiment with their appearance, compared with 16% of those aged 55 and over.
• Some 68% of frequent users aged 18 to 24 said concerns about their skin could negatively affect their mood, compared with 38% of those aged 55 and over.
• More than four in 10 (42%) frequent users aged 18 to 24 reported avoiding or delaying a social occasion within the previous six months because they did not feel able to present themselves as they would have liked. 

The findings reveal a more complicated relationship between beauty, confidence, and self-expression among younger consumers. While beauty routines can provide an outlet for creativity and identity formation, concerns about appearance can also affect mood and discourage social participation.

For brands, this presents a tension between the industry’s role in supporting self-expression and the pressures consumers may feel to meet particular appearance standards.

Making Beauty’s Case to Government

The report marks a further step in the British Beauty Council’s efforts to establish beauty as an industry of economic and social significance, rather than one defined primarily by discretionary consumer spending.

The council’s 2026 priorities encompass trade and exports, skills and talent, innovation and technology, investment and industrial growth, and policy and influence. The latest research provides an additional evidence base for its work across these areas.

By documenting beauty’s contributions to local spending, community interaction, and consumer well-being, the report offers a broader framework for assessing the industry’s importance in public policy. It also draws attention to the contribution of independent salons, barbershops, and other local service providers, whose values to communities may extend beyond the employment and revenue they directly generate.

However, Kendall warned that beauty businesses’ contribution to local economies is being undermined by rising employment costs and changes to business taxation. “The compounding impact of NIC rises, the change in the threshold, and the changes to business rates have had an enormous impact on small high street businesses,” she said. “The Treasury is aware, and we have made this very clear." 

She called for greater recognition of the pressures facing smaller operators and measures that would protect the industry’s employment capacity, particularly among young people and women.

“Regarding potential outcomes, I would like to see some recognition of the previous budgets' damage to our smaller businesses as well as beauty retail, and some measures that protect this extremely labor-intensive industry." 

Kendall also linked the industry’s future to the government’s efforts to tackle youth unemployment and economic inactivity, arguing that protecting beauty businesses would help preserve pathways into work for younger generations.

For the British Beauty Council, the next challenge will be translating that evidence into tangible policy recognition and business support. The industry’s £28.3 billion ($37.7 billion) economic contribution establishes its scale, but the latest findings make the case that its importance to British society cannot be measured through GDP alone.