pinterest is one of the world’s leading beauty platforms, where millions of users search for new beauty ideas and go from inspiration to realization. In the comparison between 2020 and 2021, the number of searches in the beauty category increased by 35% in Spain. To continue enabling users to discover beauty inspiration that is relevant, unique and personalized to their tastes, Pinterest announces the expansion of the search by hair type to nine other countries. These include Spain France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.
The search by hair type is the most recent advance of this social network to guarantee that people feel represented using new technology created with Black, Latino, Indigenous and Asian users and creators. This allows you to look for inspiration for different types of hair.
Through object detection with computer vision technology, search by hair type allows users to refine searches with six different hair styles: protective, frizzy, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald. This means that when a user performs a broad search related to hair. Like “hairdos” or “hair color ideas,” you can narrow down your search by selecting one of six different hair types. Pinterest has detected a type of hair (protective, frizzy, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald) in more than 500 million images on its platform**.
You’ve also seen an increase in top hair searches on Pinterest that include a specific type of hair, such as “natural wavy haircuts with layers” (multiplied searches x20), “shaved natural hair” (x13) and “braids for protective hairstyles” (x8)***.
Pinterest’s Inclusive Products team is focused on bringing equity in AI and product development. In addition, he has worked with racialized users and creators. As Amika’s editorial stylist and global artistic director, Naeemah LaFond, to help create and design the product. LaFond, an expert in representing diverse hair, advised on the overall user experience and the language used in the product.
This new tool first launched in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in August 2021. It builds on Pinterest’s industry-first Inclusive Products feature, ranges of skin toneswhich was released in 2018.
Creating a substantial environment and product is more important than ever. Our mission is to help everyone feel like Pinterest is a place for them. That’s why we want users around the world to discover personalized, inspiring and relevant ideas that reflect their personality. For this reason, we created the hair type search with computer vision technology, to identify hair types in images. Thanks to this, we hope to be able to use technology for good and allow people, regardless of who they are, to find inspiration on Pinterest.
Annie Ta, Director of Inclusive Products at Pinterest.
Creating content on Pinterest allows me to inspire and reflect in some way the community I represent. I am Latina, with curly hair and medium skin, so having a tool that literally helps users feel identified with the content they consume, or search for on the platform, is the best thing both for them and for creators like me , for example. Lucy AlbastarPinterest creator.