China’s skin care market: Chinese brands lead, and global brands compete on proof

Updated on 12 August 2026

Chinese brands now hold the majority of China’s cosmetics market, yet the strongest international brands are growing again by bringing clinical proof, luxury and local innovation.

By Daxue Consulting

In the first nine months of 2025, the best-selling skin care brand on China’s main e-commerce platforms was Kans (韩束), a Shanghai brand that sold more than RMB 4.1 billion on Douyin alone, partly by cutting its average order from RMB 239 to RMB 180 with bundles of full-size products and samples. Proya (珀莱雅) ranked second and L’Oréal third (Daxue Consulting, 2026 China Beauty Trends Report).

The ranking reflects a structural shift. Chinese brands held 57.37% of China’s cosmetics market in 2025 (Yicai (第一财经), May 2026). Yet seven of the top ten skin care brands by value remain international, and the leading global groups returned to growth in China in 2025 after two difficult years. This analysis of the skin care market in China examines how large the market is, why Chinese brands gained share, which foreign brands held or retreated, and what the new structure implies for international brands.

How large is the skin care market in China?

China’s cosmetics retail sales reached RMB 465.3 billion in 2025, up 5.1% YoY, after a decline in 2024 (Jing Daily, January 2026). These official figures cover large retailers only. Measured across all channels, cosmetics transactions reached RMB 1,104.2 billion in 2025, up 2.83% YoY, according to the China Association of Fragrance, Flavour and Cosmetic Industries (via Yicai). Skin care accounts for about 41% of the beauty market.

Exhibit 1: Consumption still grows, but at a single-digit pace and with strong concentration

Source: compiled by Daxue Consulting.

Growth of 5.1% is far below the double-digit years of the late 2010s. Official cosmetics retail sales rose from RMB 204.9 billion in 2015 to RMB 299.2 billion in 2019 (Qianzhan, 2020). The market is now mature in value terms, and growth comes mainly from share gains.

Chinese brands moved from herbal formulas to science and scale

The first generation of Chinese skin care brands, such as Herborist (佰草集), launched by Shanghai Jahwa in 1998, and Inoherb (相宜本草), sold herbal formulas as a cultural alternative to Western beauty. The current leaders sell efficacy and active ingredients.

• Proya (珀莱雅) built its growth on hero products with active ingredients, then on a portfolio. In 2025, the Proya brand made RMB 7.69 billion, down YoY, while its hair care brand Off&Relax more than doubled to RMB 744 million and its make-up brand Caitang reached RMB 1.26 billion (Xinhua, June 2026).
• Kans (韩束), owned by Shanghai Chicmax, is one of five beauty brands above RMB 10 billion in sales in 2025, with L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme, Estée Lauder and Proya (Yicai).
• Winona (薇诺娜) made sensitive skin a category. Its parent Botanee (贝泰妮) reported revenue of RMB 5.36 billion in 2025, down 6.58% YoY, its first annual decline since listing, with Winona at RMB 4.43 billion (Xinhua). Its earlier rise is analysed in How Winona became the #1 brand for sensitive skin in China.
• Lin Qinxuan (林清轩) was among the fastest-growing skin care brands online in early 2025, up 278% YoY (FBeauty via Winshang (赢商网), March 2025).

A domestic supply chain supports these brands. New raw materials filed in China rose 27-fold in five years, most of them developed by Chinese firms, with synthetic biology, green ingredients and Chinese botanicals as research priorities (Consumer Daily).

Global brands hold the top of the value ranking

International groups still take most top places by value. In the January to September 2025 skin care ranking, L’Oréal, Lancôme, Estée Lauder, La Mer, SK-II, Helena Rubinstein and Olay appear alongside Kans, Proya and Kefumei (Daxue Consulting, 2026 report). Per company, the gap remains wide: on average, a US company in China’s top 50 sells RMB 21 billion and a French one RMB 20.8 billion, against RMB 4.9 billion for a Chinese one (Xinhua).

L’Oréal reported 4.6% growth in North Asia in the first half of 2026, with mainland China as the main driver, led by its luxury division and by dermatological beauty brands such as La Roche-Posay and SkinCeuticals (L’Oréal half-year results, July 2026).

Other brands retreated, mostly in the mass and mid-price segments where Chinese brands now offer similar efficacy at lower prices.

Exhibit 2: Most exits came from mass-market and mid-priced foreign brands

The data suggests two risks for foreign brands: a mass positioning without a clear reason to pay more, and a brand built on a national trend, as K-beauty was, that weakens when the trend fades.

Skin care is sold on screens first

In January and February 2025, skin care generated RMB 56.7 billion on the five main platforms (Tmall, Taobao, JD, Douyin and Pinduoduo), up 16.9% YoY (FBeauty via Winshang).

• Douyin (抖音) drives growth through 24-hour livestream rooms, short dramas and tiered price bundles, as the Kans case shows.
• Tmall and Taobao (淘天) remain the reference for luxury and imported brands and for official prices.
• Pinduoduo (拼多多) grew fastest: its beauty sales rose 291% YoY in early 2025, and seven of its top ten beauty brands were Chinese, including Pechoin and Proya (Winshang).
• Xiaohongshu (小红书) is where consumers check ingredients, compare “dupes” and read routines before buying on another platform.
• WeChat (微信) mini-programs and private groups serve loyal customers and beauty advisors.
• Offline is recovering for brands with their own stores and for Sephora.

Consumers buy efficacy, repair and protection

• Ingredients. “Ingredient fans” (成分党) compare concentrations and patents; 171 new raw materials were registered or filed in 2025.
• Sensitive skin and repair. A category built by Winona and reinforced by dermatological brands.
• Outdoor protection. Sunscreens, repair masks and hand creams sell strongly as outdoor sports grow (Daxue Consulting, 2026 report).
• Personalisation. China opened a pilot for personalised cosmetics in 2022 and a second one in 2025; SkinCeuticals, COSE and Bloomage Bio have launched custom or AI-based services.
• Lower-tier cities. Brands open flagship stores in premium malls of tier-3 cities and rely on distributors beyond.

The CSAR raised the compliance bar for imported skin care

The Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR), in force since January 2021, replaced the 1989 hygiene rules. It reduced “special use” categories from nine to six, removed mandatory animal testing for many imported general cosmetics when safety documents are provided, and required full product safety assessment files from May 2025 (China Briefing, November 2025). In November 2025, the regulator set the goal of making China a “cosmetics manufacturing powerhouse” by 2035 (Consumer Daily).

How the market has changed over the past decade

Exhibit 3: From foreign-led growth to a mature market led by Chinese brands

Daxue Take: implications for international skin care brands

The Chinese skin care market now resembles the Japanese or Korean markets, where local brands are strong and global brands win in specific roles.

1. For luxury brands, demand is recovering, led by brands that develop products locally and sell more than half online. Where a brand relies only on its global plan, local competitors with faster product cycles may take share. This holds as long as luxury spending does not weaken again.
2. For dermocosmetics brands, growth remains strong, but the main competitors are Chinese brands using the same language of clinical proof. Brands with clinical data generated on Chinese skin are better placed than those relying on global studies alone.
3. For mass-market brands, the competition is on price and efficacy. Where a foreign brand cannot show a clear advantage, the Revlon, Garnier and Innisfree cases suggest that a niche or a partnership may be more realistic than a broad presence.
4. For new entrants, compliance files, Douyin traffic and KOL budgets are paid upfront, and about 26,900 brands left in 2025. Testing through cross-border e-commerce before full registration is one option, suited to brands that are not yet sure of their price point.
5. For all brands, price gaps are visible. The same product is compared on four platforms at once, so a large difference between China and other markets is likely to be noticed.
6. For brands with a single hero product, the Proya and Winona results of 2025 show that leadership can erode within two or three years; a portfolio or a pipeline reduces that risk.

Questions for leadership teams: Which proof (clinical, heritage, ingredient) justifies the price in China? How much of the product pipeline is developed for Chinese consumers? Which channel carries the brand’s price reference?

What to watch next

• Full-year 2026 cosmetics retail sales from the National Bureau of Statistics.
• The Singles’ Day (Double 11) beauty rankings on Douyin and Tmall.
• Results of global groups in China for the second half of 2026.
• Further CSAR implementation rules on safety assessment and new raw materials.

FAQ about the skin care market in China

How big is the skin care market in China? Official cosmetics retail sales reached RMB 465.3 billion in 2025, up 5.1% YoY, and skin care is the largest category, at about 41% of the beauty market.

Are Chinese skin care brands bigger than foreign brands in China? In total, yes: Chinese brands held 57.37% of China’s cosmetics market in 2025. Foreign groups remain larger per company, and luxury brands such as Lancôme, Estée Lauder and La Mer stay in the top ten skin care brands.

Which skin care brands sell the most in China? On the main e-commerce platforms, the top ten from January to September 2025 were Kans, Proya, L’Oréal, Lancôme, Estée Lauder, La Mer, SK-II, Helena Rubinstein, Kefumei and Olay.

Which foreign beauty brands have left China? Revlon and Attenir left in 2013 and Garnier in 2014, while Innisfree cut its store network and closed its Tmall Global store in 2025.

Do imported skin care products still need animal testing in China? Not for most imported general cosmetics since the CSAR came into force in 2021, provided the brand supplies the required safety documents. Special-use products such as sunscreens follow stricter registration.

About Daxue Consulting

Daxue Consulting is a market research and strategy consulting firm focused on China. For beauty brands, Daxue Consulting estimates e-commerce sales across Tmall, Douyin and other platforms, analyses Xiaohongshu content and consumer reviews, benchmarks Chinese and foreign competitors on price, ingredients and channels, and tests products before launch. The market is also tracked in the 2026 China Beauty Trends Report and the C-beauty brands report. Learn more about our consumer research services or contact our team.

Author: Daxue Consulting