Abstract

Background and Aims:
Social media platforms have a great role as a source of information that affect different individuals considering their skincare and cosmetic choices. The aim of this study was to determine the level of impact of using of social media on the decisions of females on their choices considering skincare and cosmetic products.
Methods:
This study was depending on a cross-sectional design that used a self-reported questionnaire which was distributed among 407 Saudi females in the period between July and September 2023. The questionnaire used aimed to assess the sociodemographic factors of the participants as well as their social media usage, and its impact on their skincare and cosmetic choices.
Results:
The study included 407 female participants with most of them aged 19-24 years (40%), residents of western region (45.5%), and single (60.4%). Moreover, 42.5 % of the participants reported that they depended on social media as their primary source of skincare and cosmetic recommendations where TikTok was the most used one. Among the participants, most of them reported minimal improvement (61.7%) and 33.2 % reported having adverse reactions upon using social media-recommended products.
Conclusion:
The current study showed that social media has a significant role in determining the decisions of Saudi females considering their choices of skincare and cosmetic products. Although the high incidence of adverse reactions of social media- recommended products, there is a moderate to high level of trust among them.

Key words: social media, skin care, cosmetic choice, females in Saudi Arabia