Top Three Beauty Innovation Trends

Euromonitor International identified three key innovation trends in beauty and personal care in 2024, utilising the new Passport Innovation portal. Innovation in curly hair care, proactive skin care, and multifunctional sun care are helping drive product launches and trends in the beauty and personal care market. Our AI-powered Innovation platform measures the incidence of new brand and sub-brand launches at online retailers across 54 fmcg categories and 32 countries. 

Embracing natural hair textures: Curly/coily/Afro-textured hair care

There is an ongoing global movement to embrace natural hair textures, especially curly, coily or Afro-textured styles. According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, fielded June-July 2024, more young people report having curly hair than older generations, and almost a quarter of global consumers reported having curly hair in 2024. Because consumers with curly/coily/Afro-textured hair tend to seek out products specific to their hair type, the past few years have seen the debut of new brands exclusively for curly hair – a welcome shift, since many markets are still dominated by products that cater to straight hair.

Across 32 markets, L’Oréal Groupe’s Kérastase leads innovation of curly-positioned hair care products. New curly hair-specific launches from Color Wow Curls, Revolution and Bondi Boost and Redken are increasing the availability of products positioned for curly hair in many Western European markets.

Curly hair-positioned products incorporate protective ingredients, such as lipids, shea butter, olive oil and sesame oil, that have been formulated specifically for curls, anti-frizz, and thermal-protecting benefits

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Proactive skin health: Active ingredients and concentrated formulas in skin care

Skin care brands are focusing on multifunctional, multi-benefit products. More consumers are looking for specific ingredients and clinical formulations in skin care to address leading skin care concerns, motivated by an underlying demand for safety, transparency, and healthy living.

Newer skin care launches will take a more proactive approach to skin concerns, such as elevated anti-ageing claims, driven by consumer demand for more concentrated formulas and serums. This aligns with patterns behind consumer usage of facial serum, facial oil and emulsion, which increased in 2024, according to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, fielded June-July 2024.

More consumers are opting to use facial moisturisers that contain SPFs, as they are seen as an affordable substitute for sun protection for consumers who wish to simplify their beauty routines and reduce their discretionary spending.

Facial moisturisers and treatments lead skin care launches, with more than 4,800 new brands and sub-brands launched since January 2023

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The industry has responded with moisturisers and treatments that are differentiated by day products conducive to layering with make-up and night products that are more concentrated as skin cells regenerate. Acne treatments lag behind other skin care categories in product innovation, but opportunities exist, especially in adapting products to work with make-up more seamlessly, or launching new products in the form of patches, which have proven popular with Gen Z consumers.

Everyday essential: Multifunctional, ethical sun care

Consumers are using products with sun protection more frequently. Weekly/regular usage rates of multi-benefit day cream with SPF and specialised sun protection products with SPF have increased globally for all SPF ranges, according to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, fielded June-July 2024.

As consumers become more aware of the advantages of using sun protection year-round, product variety in sun care continues to expand.

Sun care launches have grown significantly in the past two years, with many having a multifunctional or ethical positioning

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Mineral-based sun protection products are becoming increasingly popular, as is self-tanning as an alternative to UVA and UVB exposure.

Learn more about Euromonitor’s Product Innovation tool in our report, Product Innovation in Beauty and Personal Care, to see how launches from specific players and retailers are contributing to trends in the beauty and personal care industry.

At Euromonitor International, we track new product launches at online retailers across 54 fmcg categories and 32 countries. Contact us here to see which new products have been gaining ground in your category.