Semiotics on the Representation of Healthy Skin Beauty in Somethinc’s Instagram Posts

Amanda Sintyaningrum, ABD Hannan EF, R Myrna Nur Sakinah

Abstract


As skincare becomes increasingly popular, beauty brands have begun to promote healthy skin as an important indicator of beauty through social media. This study aims to examine how healthy skin beauty is represented in Somethinc’s Instagram posts and to identify the beauty myths embedded within those representations. This research employed a qualitative approach using Roland Barthes’ semiotic framework of denotation, connotation, and myth. The data consisted of five image-based Instagram posts published on Somethinc’s official account in 2025 and selected through purposive sampling. The findings show that healthy skin is associated with gentle care and pH balance, deep hydration and plumpness, the control of skin imperfections and renewal, youthfulness and regeneration, and barrier protection and recovery. These meanings construct beauty myths that position healthy skin as an ideal standard of beauty and frame skincare practices as necessary to achieve and maintain that ideal.

Keywords


healthy skin beauty; Instagram advertising; Roland Barthes; semiotics; Somethinc

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v11i4.2863

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