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Pinterest Launches ‘Hair Pattern Search’ Option to Boost Inclusion and Utility in the App
Pinterest is taking another step towards maximizing inclusion, with the addition of a new, first-of-its-kind hair pattern search option, which will enable Pinterest users to search for hair products and ideas based on varying hair types.
There’s regular search, and then there’s ✨Pinterest search✨. Finding inspiration for your hair isn’t always easy, so we’ve created something to help fix that. ???? Now you can search by hair pattern and see results that look and feel like you. ❤️ #SeeYourself pic.twitter.com/JjLLqs8ryM
— Pinterest (@Pinterest) August 18, 2021
As you can see in this example, similar to Pinterest’s skin tone search qualifier, Pinners will now also be able to discover ideas based on their specific hair type, which will help narrow down their results with more personalized, useful matches in the app.
As explained by Pinterest:
“Through computer vision-powered object detection, hair pattern search enables Pinners to refine hair searches by six different hair patterns: protective, coily, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald. Over the coming weeks, Pinners can search for a broad hair term like “summer hairstyles”, “glam hair”, or “short hair” and narrow their results by selecting one of the six hair patterns to find hair inspiration that is most relevant to their style and preference.”
And there’ll be a lot of ideas to choose from – Pinterest also notes that its system has detected a hair pattern in over 500 million images, ensuring that users will be able to get results based on their personal selection.
The easy-to-apply filters will make it much easier to find more specific matches for each user, and as noted, add to Pinterest’s broader focus on maximizing inclusion, and catering to a broader range of people with functional processes to help guide their discovery process.
And hair, specifically, is an important element of interest for Pinners.
“In the past month alone, there were over 120 million searches for hair and over 5 billion Pins were created related to hair on Pinterest. We’ve also seen that top hair searches on Pinterest are personalized – for example, “natural hair twists protective” (15x) and “best haircuts for thick wavy hair” (13x).”
It may not seem like a major, functional addition, but facilitating more inclusion, on all levels, can be a big help for specific people and groups, and it’s another key step forward, which will no doubt be replicated by other apps.
And from a marketing perspective, that could also inspire more brands to consider the level of representation and inclusion in their Pin listings, with users now able to hone their results into more specific matches. If you want to maximize your opportunities, you may also want to ensure you have images that relate.