Shifting priorities have led to shorter daily beauty/grooming routines for both women and men. Daily hair washing and showering is now optional for many. Young German men are embracing grooming like never before, however. Not only do they style their hair more often than women, male makeup usage – particularly among Gen Z – has risen sharply. There is a big opportunity to target men with easy-to-use facecare and makeup, especially for budget brands.
We identify three key consumer groups for beauty brands: Glow Getters, The Goopers and Beauty Hippies. They are the most engaged with beauty routines, and the former two are the most willing to spend.
Climate-adaptive beauty and neurocosmetics are future areas of opportunity for brands. With climate change and more extreme weather events, brands can educate on weather-related needs and seasonal routines, boosting loyalty and smarter choices. 66% of Germans agree that spending time on one’s appearance boosts mental wellbeing. As Germans cope with a polycrisis, wellness-oriented beauty offers brands a chance to connect with stressed consumers and help improve mood and mental resilience.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Opportunities for beauty and grooming brands, such as men’s care, seasonal beauty and wellness
- How to cater to Mintel’s consumer personas
- Frequency of performing beauty and grooming tasks changes over time
- Amount of time spent on morning and evening routines and changes over time
- Beauty products worth spending the most money on
- Attitudes and behaviours towards beauty and grooming, including lifestyle, cost and time investment
- Key factors impacting the beauty market in 2025
Germans embrace shorter routines, but young men are driving the evolution of grooming. Climate-adaptive beauty, wellness and mood-boosting BPC are the future.
Susanne Krenz, Associate Director – Beauty, Personal Care and Household
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Target men with makeup and easy-to-use face care
- Multipurpose face care for men
- All-in-one face care inspiration from Asia
- Male makeup needs to be subtle
- Borrow inspiration from Asian men’s makeup
- Educate consumers about climate-adaptive skin care/beauty routines
- Educate consumers about changing skin/haircare needs
- Seasonal facial care resonates with German consumers
- APAC inspiration: seasonal beauty products
- Hotter summers make suncare even more crucial
- Younger Germans are better educated about UV-associated skin health issues
- Help consumers prioritise self-care/wellness
- Mood-enhancing ingredients captivate Germans
- Neurocosmetics redefine skincare and emotional wellness
- Mine the emotional connection between good skin and wellbeing
- Scented homecare for additional pampering
- Connecting inner and outer beauty
- Collagen powders are especially popular
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CONSUMER
- Beauty regime: consumer personas
- Identifying key beauty/grooming personas – cluster analysis
- Routines differ sharply from urban Glow Getters to rural Comfort Zoners
- Catering to Glow Getters and The Goopers
- Catering to Beauty Hippies, the No-Nonsense Crew and Comfort Zoners
- Frequency of performing beauty and grooming tasks
- Women pay more attention to their facial care, and men to cleansing their hair
- Skincare is a daily occurrence for the majority of Germans
- Graph 1: frequency of doing facial beauty/grooming tasks, 2024
- Women are more diligent than men with facial skincare
- More women than men use facial skincare and cleansers
- Younger men are much more face-care-oriented than older males
- Almost half of German men aged 16-34 use makeup
- Frequency of applying makeup is increasing, especially among younger men
- Graph 2: frequency of applying makeup, 2023-24
- Opportunities for subtle makeup designed for male skins
- Germans are more likely to brush or style their hair than wash it every day
- Graph 3: frequency of doing hair grooming tasks, 2024
- Men wash their hair much more frequently than women
- Personal grooming is shaped by convenience, perceived necessity and time commitment
- Graph 4: frequency of doing hand/body grooming tasks, 2024
- Germans like to use fragrance and bodycare; nailcare is a lesser priority
- Women go for less frequent but more elaborate nail care rituals
- Women are more likely than men to remove underarm/leg hair
- The daily showering tradition is losing relevance
- Graph 5: frequency of taking a bath/shower, 2020-24
- Time spent on the beauty routine
- Squeezing beauty routines into everyday life is most important to younger women
- Graph 6: importance of structuring a beauty/grooming routine to fit a daily routine, by gender and age, 2024
- Beauty routines are getting shorter
- Graph 7: time spent on appearance on an average day in the morning, 2020-24
- Graph 8: time spent on appearance on an average day in the evening, 2023-24
- Germans are spending less time on grooming in the morning
- Morning and evening routines are getting shorter
- Men dedicate less time to their daily grooming
- Graph 9: time spent by men on appearance on an average day in the morning, 2020-24
- Graph 10: time spent by women on appearance on an average day in the morning, 2023-24
- Evening routines shrink, but less so for women
- Graph 11: time spent by women on appearance on an average day in the evening, 2023-24
- Graph 12: time spent by men on appearance on an average day in the evening, 2020-24
- Women spend more time than men getting ready for special occasions
- Graph 13: time spent on appearance when getting ready for a special occasion, by gender, 2024
- Beauty products worth spending the most money on
- Germans are most prepared to invest in their oral health
- Graph 14: types of beauty/grooming products worthy of spending the most money on (ranked), 2024
- Face care has much higher priority among women
- For older Germans, oral care takes priority
- Graph 15: consumers who rank oral care as the most important beauty/grooming product worth spending money on (rank 1), by gender and age, 2024
- Government investment in oral health education is paying off
- Attitudes and behaviours
- Beauty serves as the ultimate lifestyle motivator
- Graph 16: level of importance of select lifestyle/lifestage aspects of a beauty/grooming routine, 2024
- The impact of lifestyle on appearance is widely accepted
- Graph 17: agreement with select attitudes towards beauty and grooming routines, 2024
- Ingestible beauty is on the rise
- Seasonal beauty routines are still in their infancy but are poised to become mainstream
- Graph 18: level of importance of select aspects of a beauty/grooming routine, 2024
- Overconsumption faces consumer disapproval
- Graph 19: agreement with select cost-related attitudes towards beauty and grooming routines, 2024
- Germans are critical and like value for money
- Germans take some convincing to buy new products
- Reduce waste with highly concentrated and multipurpose products
- Nearly half of Germans like to be ‘high maintenance to be low maintenance’
- Graph 20: agreement with select time-related attitudes towards beauty and grooming routines, by gender and age, 2024
- An investment-driven approach to beauty pays dividends
- Younger Germans believe most strongly that high-quality products reduce the need for cosmetic procedures
- Brands can educate consumers about their skin/hair needs
- e.l.f. Cosmetics x Anastasia Pagonis
- Long-term results can win over sceptical Germans
- Graph 21: agreement with select attitudes towards beauty and grooming routines, 2024
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MARKET DRIVERS
- 2025 will be a political and societal challenge
- Graph 22: consumer perception of the German cost-of-living crisis, 2024 vs 2025
- The cost-of-living crisis continues to worry Germans
- Graph 23: harmonised consumer price index, by category, 2022-24
- ‘Lipstick effect’ to the rescue?
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APPENDIX
- Abbreviations and generations
- Abbreviations
- Generations
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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