Familiarity with beauty tech far exceeds actual usage among British consumers

Key findings:

Laser hair removal devices are the most recognised beauty tech product in Great Britain, with 71% of British adults aware of them.
Awareness is consistently higher among women than men across nearly every beauty tech category, particularly for laser hair removal devices (81% vs. 60%) and IPL hair removal devices (55% vs. 31%).
Despite relatively high awareness levels, active usage remains low across all categories, with no beauty tech device used by more than 9% of British adults.

Beauty tech devices have become increasingly visible within the wider beauty and wellness market, spanning everything from LED therapy devices to AI-powered skin diagnostics. While many of these products promise salon-style treatments at home, awareness of the category is still much higher than actual adoption.

New data from YouGov Surveys explores both familiarity with and usage of a range of beauty tech devices among British consumers, highlighting a significant gap between recognition and real-world engagement.

Laser hair removal devices lead awareness levels

Laser hair removal devices emerge as the most recognised beauty tech category, with 71% of British adults saying they know of the devices. Electric body massage devices follow at 57%, while LED light therapy devices (47%) and IPL hair removal devices (43%) also show relatively high awareness levels.

Women are consistently more familiar with beauty tech devices than men. More than four in five women (81%) say they are aware of laser hair removal devices, compared with 60% of men. Similar gaps appear for LED light therapy devices (56% vs. 36%) and IPL hair removal devices (55% vs. 31%).

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Usage remains limited across all categories

However, awareness does not appear to translate into widespread usage.

No beauty tech category reaches double-digit usage among British adults. Electric body massage devices have the highest reported usage at 9%, followed by IPL hair removal devices (5%) and laser hair removal devices (4%). Usage of newer or more specialist technologies remains particularly limited, including AI-based skin diagnostics (2%), cryotherapy devices (1%), and electric anti-cellulite suction devices (1%).

Even among women, who generally report much higher awareness of the category, active usage levels remain modest. While 56% of women are aware of LED light therapy devices, only 4% say they use them. Similarly, 55% of women know of IPL hair removal devices, but just 6% report usage.

Sarika Rana, Head of Consumer Insights UK at YouGov said, “The findings suggest that beauty tech has moved beyond discovery into familiarity, but not yet into habit. Despite strong awareness, especially in established categories like laser hair removal and LED therapy, adoption remains limited.

The real opportunity now lies in bridging the gap between curiosity and everyday use, by giving consumers a clear, compelling reason to make these tools part of their regular routines, rather than one-off experimentation.”

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Methodology:

YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on March 20-23, 2026, with a nationally representative sample of 2,006 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted.

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