Designing confidence for Health & Beauty brands
In an industry built on trust, transformation, and personal care, the health and beauty sector has a unique UX challenge: how do you make people feel seen, supported, and confident from a screen?
Whether it’s booking a treatment, finding the right product for sensitive skin, or navigating weight loss support, great UX in this space goes beyond “ease of use.” It’s about creating experiences that feel personal, inclusive, and reassuring - and that drive repeat business by making people feel good about their choices.
Recent research from the Baymard Institute backs this up. In their comprehensive Health & Beauty UX benchmark study, they analysed 3,500+ UX performance scores across 13 major brands. The results? Most health and beauty sites still suffer from significant usability issues, with 60% of sites failing key product browsing and mobile navigation guidelines.
Here’s how the best brands are raising the bar.
1. Personalisation is power
From skincare diagnostics to supplement plans, users now expect tailored recommendations based on their goals, lifestyle, and identity.
Great UX here combines smart data use (like skin quizzes, AI match tools, and usage tracking) with an empathetic voice. It’s not about pushing product, it’s about building a relationship.
Example: Brands like Skin + Me or Function of Beauty allow users to co-create their regimen, turning personalisation into a loyalty engine.
2. Simplify the journey - especially on mobile
Health and beauty journeys are rarely linear. A user might browse a blog, compare ingredients, check reviews, try AR try-on, and then abandon their basket - twice.
The fix? Wayfinding UX that anticipates uncertainty. Think:
Persistent shopping tools (wishlist, skin profiles)
Smart filtering (by benefit, routine step, sensitivity)
Seamless app-to-store experiences
Baymard’s report found that over 50% of users struggled with mobile navigation and search on health & beauty sites, highlighting a critical opportunity for improvement.
3. Trust is your best asset
Selling products that go on your body - or change how you feel in your body - demands trust at every touchpoint.
Yet many brands still bury important info (like side effects, ingredients, or trial terms) behind slick visuals.
Modern UX means being transparent by design:
Clear subscription terms
Visible real reviews (with filters for skin type or goals)
Evidence-backed claims and plain-language health warnings
Especially in regulated spaces like weight loss injections or supplements, good UX = informed consent.
4. Inclusive by default
Beauty is deeply personal and historically exclusionary. Inclusive UX goes beyond a diverse model shoot.
It means:
Product finders that reflect real ranges of skin tone, texture, gender and ability
Onboarding flows that ask the right questions without assumptions
Accessibility across vision, mobility, and cognitive needs
Inclusive UX is profitable UX - it opens the door to underserved users and builds genuine community.
5. Post-purchase is the new battleground
What happens after the checkout matters more than ever. Retention depends on:
Smart use of data for follow-up recommendations
Easy access to reordering, subscription controls, or product support
Integrating loyalty, content, and community seamlessly
According to Baymard, 60% of sites lacked meaningful post-purchase engagement, missing a major opportunity to build brand love and repeat business.
In summary:
Health and beauty UX is no longer just about selling products - it’s about guiding people through personal, often vulnerable journeys with care, clarity, and confidence.
The brands that win? They don’t just focus on how it looks. They obsess over how it feels to be a user - at every step.
Ready to make an impact? Get in touch with our UX team and start your journey to better customer experiences.