The O-Word
Beauty’s New Clean Slate: The Rise of the Instagram Grid Wipe
BEAUTY OPINION
EXPERT OGAKI
TOPIC SOCIAL MEDIA
There’s a new kind of clean beauty trend - and it’s not about ingredients. It’s about Instagram. The grid wipe has become the new product drop: a reset, a tease, a narrative pivot and a reminder that sometimes, the boldest statement a brand can make is starting from zero.
In this month’s newsletter, we’ll explore what this is, why brands are doing it, and when you should consider this strategy for your own feed.
The Feed Wipe = The Digital Dramatic Pause
In a content world that never stops talking, silence has power. A wiped feed instantly cuts through the noise. It signals change, sparks speculation, and invites your audience to lean in and listen: What’s next?
MERIT has wiped its grid four times since 2022 - most recently on October 17 - each time preceding a major product expansion or new category drop. Rare Beauty cleared its feed ahead of its fragrance launch. Patrick Ta reset its feed ahead of their Luxe Shimmer Eye Shadow launch on September 28. Even skincare disruptor The Inkey List hit “select all → delete” before unveiling its No BS campaign. It’s no accident. It’s strategy - minimalism as marketing.
Why Brands Are Doing It
A Visual Reboot
When algorithms flatten everything into sameness, a wiped grid resets the visual language. It’s a clean canvas for a new aesthetic, campaign, or creative direction.
A Narrative Shift
The wipe says, “We’re telling a new story now.” It’s a punctuation mark that closes one chapter and opens another, perfect for repositioning moments or new category entries.
A Buzz Generator
A brand disappearing overnight from Instagram is clickbait gold. It earns coverage, drives DM chatter, and reawakens dormant followers.
The Risks
The clean-slate strategy isn’t for everyone. A full wipe erases not just posts, but provenance. For newer brands, that’s fine. For legacy houses, where heritage and continuity are part of the brand’s DNA, it could be risky.
A blank grid with nothing to say is just… blank. There needs to be purpose and strategy behind the wipe. And it’s important for paid social to align with the organic strategy as well. When paid profile views land on a feed with zero posts, the user journey stops cold.
Our Takeaway
A feed wipe works when it’s part of a larger strategy, but it needs to be intentional, not impulsive. It should mark the opening of a new brand chapter, not descend into digital chaos. Done well, the silence itself tells a story - building anticipation, returning with content that feels elevated and cinematic, and standing as a confident statement rather than a cry for attention. Luxury doesn’t need to shout; sometimes, it just needs to clear the noise.
