The men's grooming market in China needs to balance the functional demands of different categories and diverse preferences and adopt a strategy of differentiation to enhance market appeal.
Daisy Tong, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
Men’s grooming routines refers to the activities of cleaning, grooming and caring for different parts of the body. The consumer research in this Report covers multiple beauty and personal care categories, with a particular focus on facial skincare and makeup products. The market size only covers facial skincare products exclusively for men and includes the following:
- facial cleansers
- facial toners/softeners
- facial moisturisers/emulsions/lotions
- facial serums/essence/concentrate
- facial sprays (eg mineral water sprays)
- facial oils
- facial masks (including sheet masks, rinse-off masks and sleep masks)
- suncare products (excluding colour cosmetics with suncare function, eg BB cream)
- eye creams/serums
- lip care (eg lip balm, lip mask)
- shaving care (including shaving creams and aftershave)
- deep exfoliation/scrub products
- special treatments (eg nose strips)
Excluded
Neck care products (eg neck mask), deodorants etc.
Market size is based on sales through all retail channels, including direct to consumers, but excludes the professional sector (such as beauty salons) and consumer-to-consumer channels (eg WeChat business and Taobao). It does not include products for women or unisex products, products specifically designed for or aimed at babies, medicated products and suncare products.
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Executive summary
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market size forecast for the men’s grooming facial skincare products market in China
- Market factors
- Companies and brands
- Consumer needs
- Keys to success
- What we think
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- Men’s facial skincare market has stabilised after seeing a decline
- Graph 1: retail sales and growth rate for men’s facial skincare market, 2020-25
- Men’s grooming market expected to stabilise or grow at a slower rate
- Graph 2: best- and worst-case forecast of retail sales for men’s facial skincare market, 2020-30
- Market factors
- Post-COVID-19, the cosmetics market saw a slight rise amidst fluctuations, but slower growth is now the reality
- Graph 3: year-on-year growth rate of total retail sales of cosmetics, 2015-25
- Usage rates for men’s beauty and personal care remain stable
- Graph 4: usage of men’s beauty and personal care products, 2024-25
- Share of higher-priced men’s grooming sets steadily increasing on both major ecommerce platforms
- Graph 5: price of men’s skincare products and men’s skincare sets on main ecommerce platforms, 2025
- Graph 6: share of sales of men’s grooming sets on main ecommerce platforms, 2022-25
- Demographic changes among male consumers may present dual challenges
- Graph 7: attitudes towards beauty and personal care – consumer segments, 2022-25
- Graph 8: purchasing decision makers, by consumer segment, 2025
- Trend of male consumers trading down in personal care products
- Graph 9: plans to trade up/down in men’s skincare, 2021-25
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Competitive landscape
- On Tmall, high-end overseas brands have firm grip on top spots, with domestic brands jostling for position
- On Douyin, domestic brands still dominate, with considerable movement overall in the rankings
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The consumer
- Basic grooming to refined care: men’s grooming behaviours are stratified and evolving
- Widespread awareness and acceptance of need for image management and basic grooming among men
- Graph 10: ways to stay good-looking, 2025
- Increasing autonomy among male consumers in grooming decisions
- Graph 11: purchasing decision-makers, 2023-25
- Differentiation in attitudes to grooming; Image Management Veterans stable but rising proportion of Indifferents
- Graph 12: attitudes towards beauty and personal care – consumer segments, 2022-25
- Veterans value self-discipline; Apprentices want novelty; Indifferents care about convenience
- Graph 13: attitudes towards beauty and personal care – strongly agree, by consumer segment, 2025
- Veterans have a greater awareness of self-care, while Apprentices tend to experiment more
- Graph 14: ways to maintain appearance, by consumer segment, 2025
- Distinct differences in purchasing proactiveness based on image management awareness
- Graph 15: purchasing decision makers, by consumer segment, 2025
- Profiles of the three main demographic groups
- Image Management Veterans: helping men to create a high-quality image through brand professionalism and a premium grooming experience
- Awakening Apprentices: fun content and demonstrations help them to experiment with grooming methods
- Self-image Indifferents: activate basic grooming demand by focusing on the need for minimal effort, multifunctional products and convenience
- Ingredients and efficacy the priority in men’s grooming; key purchasing factors vary by category
- Haircare, bath and styling products have the widest penetration and are high-frequency essentials
- Graph 16: usage of men’s beauty and personal care products, 2024-25
- Price is a key purchasing factor across all categories, as well as ingredient formulation and benefits
- Graph 17: factors when purchasing beauty and personal care products, 2025
- Ingredients, benefits and price are the most appealing factors for both hair care products and facial skincare products
- Haircare products: urgent need to address a range of pain points related to oil control
- Graph 18: top five hair and scalp issues, 2025
- Haircare products: draw from skinification narrative to enhance perception of product efficacy and memorability
- Bath/shower products: scent enhances basic care and increases the value of the product experience
- Hair styling products: long-lasting hold and styling effects remain the key demands
- Graph 19: top five issues encountered when using hair styling products, 2025
- Hair styling products: use water-based formulas to provide a fresh feeling texture and long-lasting hold
- Facial skincare: focus on pore and dryness pain points and expand reach through upgraded formulations
- Graph 20: top five skin issues, 2025
- Facial skincare: focus on efficacy and ingredients to create enhanced value for basic and advanced men’s grooming
- Products designed for men build trust with precision formulas; universal products create value with expertise
- Products designed for men are more predominant in fragrance, facial cleanser and hair styling categories
- Graph 21: preferred product type, 2025
- Unisex products have advantage in formulation and benefits; products for men need to improve on variety, try-out options and marketing styles
- Graph 22: perception of unisex products, select options, 2025
- Graph 23: perception of unisex products, select options, 2025
- Win acceptance from men with gentle and professional attributes, and expand the value of unisex products
- Optimise in-store experience and category segmentation to increase purchase intention and brand recognition
- Veterans and Apprentices prefer products designed for men, Indifferents tend to choose unisex products
- Graph 24: preferred product category, by consumer segment, 2025
- Image Management Veterans focus on product formulations and benefits, Awakening Apprentices actively explore products for men and look at a variety of factors
- Graph 25: perception of unisex products, select options, by consumer segment, 2025
- Graph 26: perception of unisex products, select options, by consumer segment, 2025
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New product trends
- Global key markets: facial skincare focus in Asia; fragrance products have higher share in European and American markets
- Graph 27: proportion of major men’s grooming categories, October 2024-September 2025
- New facial skincare products in global key markets: South Korea has highest proportion of anti-ageing claims; UK market has higher share of long-lasting and sustainability claims
- Graph 28: popular claims in new men’s facial skincare products, October 2024-September 2025
- Increasing share of face/neck care products in new launches in the China market
- Graph 29: distribution of major categories’ share of new men’s facial skincare products, October 2020-September 2025
- New face/neck care products: time/speed claims rising, steady increase in functional claims such as vitamin/mineral fortified and anti-ageing
- Graph 30: popular claims in men’s face/neck care products, October 2020-September 2025
- Bath/shower products: rapid growth in convenience and functional claims, rise in fragrance-related claims
- Graph 31: fast-growing claims in men’s bath and shower products, October 2020-September 2025
- Haircare products: noticeable growth in anti-dandruff, scalp health and convenience-related claims, balancing efficacy and practicality
- Graph 32: fast-growing claims in men’s haircare products, October 2020-September 2025
- Hair styling products: ease of use, long-lasting and time/speed remain the core claims, noticeable rise in gentleness-related claims
- Graph 33: fast-growing claims in men’s hair styling products, October 2020-September 2025
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- Methodology: consumer survey
- Methodology: TURF analysis
- Abbreviations
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