The New York Times published an article almost exactly a year ago titled ‘Welcome to ‘Healing Girl Summer.’ The piece cited Helena Honey Selassie, a content creator who adopted the phrase early on and went on to create a healing girl summer series for other people to do the same. After recovering from a binge eating disorder and posting a video of herself jogging, “someone commented ‘OK hot girl summer’ and it didn’t really resonate with me,” she said. “I felt like my summer needed self-care, learning to love myself and unlearning behaviors that were causing me stress and anxiety. I said ‘no, it’s a healing girl summer’ and it kind of stuck.”
There’s something about the warmer weather that inspires people to better themselves. Since the Covid-19 pandemic had robbed many of us from enjoying Summer ’20 and essentially the rest of the year, it instilled a renewed motivation in people to make 2021’s the best one yet. “Healing girl summer” captured the essence of the season, and like Selassie, people ventured on a journey of TLC that focused on holistic healing of their minds and bodies, unpacking past traumas, and for those who were single, abstaining from casual dating or hookups.
Fast forward a year later, the hashtags #healinggirlsummer and #healedgirlsummer have since picked up again, garnering over 83.3 and 16.4 million views on TikTok respectively, and with hundreds of people vlogging their experiences on Youtube over the last couple of months. We, armed with our Culture AI, wanted to explore how the trend has since developed and the nuances of it in 2022.
Solo Adventures
Heartbreaks and hardships are driving many people to adopt this trend and it’s pushing them out of their comfort zones. With most countries opened and travel inching back to pre-pandemic levels, this year’s healing girl summer is all about adventure. People are looking for a change in scenery and have more free time on their hands, due to the breakdown of relationships or losing their jobs. They are then taking the opportunity to go to their bucket-list destinations. Some of them are traveling through Europe, particularly France and Italy, and romanticizing their adventures online, while others are attending wellness treats and spending time in nature in places like Tulum and Bali.
Time away from the monotony of everyday life is good for one’s mental wellbeing, and traveling alone is a time to reflect and the opportunity to meet new people, so it’s no surprise that this has become a part of the trend’s “healing” process.
The Scent of Emotions
There seems to be a strong correlation between scent and this trend, with “perfume”, “fragrance” and “how to smell good” being some of the most popular words extracted from our AI analysis. “Healing girl summer” is very closely associated with other trends like “clean girl summer” and the “that girl” aesthetic, which places a big focus on beauty and lifestyle items.
Of all the top categories that make up fragrances, search data in over 7 countries reveal that consumers look for perfumes the most, then candles. In the US alone, there are over 6.5 million searches for fragrances every month, with 83.47% of them being perfumes. (For more search data insights, check out our fragrances dashboard)
There are a number of videos on the platform of people recommending the best fragrances to nail these trends, with some of the most popular types of smells cited being fruits, like coconut and citrus, and “clean notes” like subtle florals and herbs, and a tinge of sea salt. They all evoke a sense of freshness, rejuvenation, and starting anew. Scent, emotion, and memories are deeply intertwined, so many followers of this trend are using scents to inspire and transform their moods, and set the tone for the season.
The Human Experience
The best part about healing girl summer is that it’s for everyone. Self-love is at the very core of this trend, which every single person could do with a little more of. While some TikTok trends can be alienating to certain groups, this could be adopted by almost anyone, regardless of race or sexual orientation.
Women of color are reclaiming it as their own and building their own interpretations that are specific to their communities’ experience, like unpacking societal traumas or incorporating their own cultural nuances into their healing. In fact “black pride”, “black feminity” and “queer girl summer” were amongst the top three most popular phrases detected by our AI. Through this trend, women of all shapes and sizes are also challenging hierarchical beauty norms and learning to love their bodies as they are.
Changing Habits of Our Youth
Healthy habits are absolutely essential to this trend. People are taking care of their bodies by eating nutritious food, working out and getting enough sleep. They are also spending their time meditating, journaling and picking up wholesome new hobbies like baking and gardening.
It’s a far cry from what one might expect from young people over the summer. It’s the antithesis of 2019’s ‘Hot Girl Summer’, a loud proclamation of living life to the fullest and embracing hookup culture. Instead of partying, drinking, and partaking in other vices, they are searching for simplicity, quietness, and reflection. If the trend continues to evolve, brands catering to this demographic should keep watch of their changing behaviors and priorities, and evaluate how their products can cater to their needs and the messages they use to communicate with them.
While the attitude of Healing Girl Summer may only last the season, it’s definitely a commentary on the state of our youth today. The past few years clearly haven’t been easy for many. The societal changes we’ve faced have left many young people having to face difficult decisions and confront their own issues. They are tired and worn out, but more importantly, are proving to be resilient and willing to put in the work to improve themselves. Young people are also generally more open to sharing their vulnerabilities on their social media platforms, and in turn are normalizing it for others.
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