With more than 20 million Americans following beauty-related accounts on Instagram, 38.5 million unique viewers of hair and beauty content on Pinterest and $80 billion spent on beauty products in 2015 in the US alone, it’s clear this this is a key area of focus for many, many people.

Social media has become a key hub for learning about new beauty products and techniques, and that emphasis also has flow-on effects into other areas of style and design. For example, if you knew that the latest fashion trend amongst your target audience was blue hair and piercings, you could incorporate that into your photo shoot – even if you don’t sell beauty products, that trend can still inform your decisions, and likely boost response.

In this context, Facebook’s latest research report has wider implications than it may seem. In order to get more of an understanding of the focus on beauty products and how they’re discussed on social, Facebook analyzed their own data, surveyed over 1,700 female Millennials and Gen Xers and commissioned Galileo Research to interview 31 women in New York and LA.

Their research uncovered the following insights, which are worth considering in your marketing plan.

First, Facebook looked at the Millennial market – which, in this context, relates to beauty buyers aged 18 – 24.

As noted, more natural make-up is in, but so is brightly colored hair. And while it’s little surprise that younger audiences are more adventurous, the trending hashtag listing from Instagram provides more specific insight into the latest bold looks – it could be worth experimenting with these trends within your own marketing.

For older Millennials (25-34) the story is vastly different.

There’s still creativity in those hashtags, but the look is more refined.

Facebook advises that:

“Older Millennial beauty lovers aren’t as up to date on the latest beauty tips and tricks as they were just a few years ago. Reach out with content that’s not only compelling but also helpful, like with a tutorial about how to apply a product or a personalized recommendation targeted to a key life moment, such as a wedding.”

And for Gen Xers (35-44), Facebook’s data shows that the change in life stages shifts their focus significantly, with the hashtags #kids, #fitmom, #yoga and #lovemyjob being much more prominent among this group on Instagram.

More natural looks, a simpler approach – again, no huge revelation there, but still, it’s important to note the specifics of these trends among your target market so you’re better able to provide content that fits in with their day-to-day experience.

Overall, most of the notes here reflect what you might expect at each of these life stages, but still, there are some key notes for anyone trying to improve their visual marketing in relation to the audience they’re seeking to appeal to.

If you’re a beauty brand, such insights will be immediately applicable, but even if you’re not in the beauty sector, it’s worth considering these trends on each platform as you go about constructing your social marketing plan.