JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Teens and young adults increasingly utilize the internet and social media for health information. Skin, hair, and nail supplements are commonly advertised on social media sites. Such dermatological supplements may be pharmacologically active and pose risk for adverse effects. Instagram is a popular social media platform, used by influencers to promote products.

Objective:

To evaluate the popularity, ingredients, marketing, and health claims of Instagram posts advertising skin, hair, and nail supplements.

Methods:

Instagram was searched between April and May 2021 for posts with the hashtags “skin supplement[s],” “nail supplement[s],” and “hair supplement[s].” Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied until 100 posts from March 2021 were collected. Posts were evaluated for popularity metrics, ingredients, health claims, marketing strategies, and endorsements.

Results:

Posts had a median of 30 likes and 0 comments, with only 4% of posts made by verified accounts. Only 1% of posts contained a visible Supplement Facts label. Nearly 1/5 of posts made no mention of what ingredients are contained in the supplement. Approximately 1/3 of posts mentioned vitamins and 1/4 mentioned minerals without specifying which ones. The most common health claim was “make skin glow” and hair loss/growth and acne were the conditions mentioned most frequently. 22% of posts featured influencers, 6% of posts included a giveaway, and 7% of posts included a promo code.

Conclusions:

Dermatological supplements on Instagram contained various active ingredients and made far-reaching health claims, addressing skin conditions as well as arthritis, cardiac issues, and weight loss. The FDA does not regulate the safety of dietary supplements, nor evaluate the validity of such claims. Ingredients such as vitamin A found in posts often did not include the dose, which is important in evaluating teratogenic risk. More generally, many supplement posts failed to show a clear image of the Supplement Facts label, as well as which vitamins and minerals the supplement contains. Other potentially dangerous ingredients included saw palmetto and biotin. Posts endorsed by an influencer or with a greater number of likes or comments may lead to greater consumer trust in the product, though only one influencer identified in this study was a board-certified dermatologist. As such, social media represents an underutilized tool by dermatologists, which could be useful in debunking health myths. To accurately counsel patients, who may already retrieve health information from Instagram, it is important for the dermatology community to be familiar with the marketing and claims made by products on social media.