The Business of Skin: Inside a Market Headed Toward $235 Billion

For Skincare Awareness Month, a look at how companies across medical aesthetics, consumer products, AI and prevention are competing for share of one of wellness’s largest categories.

The global skincare treatment market reached an estimated $142.69 billion in 2024 and is on track to hit $235.25 billion by 2035, according to Introspective Market Research. Size alone is not the story. The more notable shift is how many different business models are now competing for that spending.

Professional treatments sit alongside daily skincare. Medical aesthetics is converging with longevity and broader healthcare. Data and AI are reshaping how products are developed and matched to consumers, while prevention remains a steady anchor of the category.

For Skincare Awareness Month, companies tracked in the PRISM Wellness Index offer a cross-section of that shift, spanning Hydrafacial and aesthetic dermatology, consumer skincare, sun protection and technology.

SkinHealth Pushes Further Into Clinical Skin Care

For SkinHealth Systems (NASDAQ: SKIN), skincare is the core business. Formerly The Beauty Health Company, it repositioned this year as a clinically driven medical aesthetics company built around Hydrafacial, SkinStylus microneedling and other professional skin-health technologies.

The company recently presented clinical data on monthly Hydrafacial treatments across Fitzpatrick skin types I-VI, reporting statistically significant improvements in hydration, roughness, wrinkles, elasticity and pore size. It has also added treatment enhancers targeting exfoliation, extraction, hydration and the skin barrier.

Professional treatments increasingly compete with retail skincare for the same consumer spending, and measurable clinical outcomes are becoming part of the pitch.

ODDITY Brings Data and AI Into Skincare

ODDITY Tech (NASDAQ: ODD) comes at the market from the technology side, building beauty and wellness brands around data and personalization. Its portfolio includes IL MAKIAGE and SpoiledChild, while ODDITY LABS applies biotechnology and AI-driven molecule discovery to product development. Through METHODIQ, a platform initially focused on dermatology, the company is also moving closer to healthcare.

In beauty, technology is no longer limited to helping consumers choose among existing products. It is increasingly used to understand individual needs and develop products around them.

Honest Builds Around Everyday Skin Health

The Honest Company (NASDAQ: HNST) sits on the consumer side of the market, but its skincare line is becoming more targeted. This year it launched Hydrorich Cream for dry and extra-dry skin and Sensitive Rich Cream, formulated to support the skin barrier and address dryness and visible redness. Both are dermatologist tested.

The launches fit Honest’s focus on higher-margin growth platforms. Second-quarter organic revenue rose 6.7%, and the company raised its full-year 2026 outlook.

For all the attention on clinics and technology, much of the market still runs through products consumers use every day.

Sun Protection Keeps Prevention in the Picture

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC) represents the preventive end of the category through its sun and skin-care portfolio. Following the divestiture of its Feminine Care business, the company is now organized around Wet Shave and Sun and Skin Care, a segment that also includes Grooming.

Sun protection occupies a different part of the skincare market than injectables, facials or anti-aging products, but it remains one of the category’s most established forms of prevention.

In the fiscal third quarter ended June 30, Sun and Skin Care organic net sales rose 5.0%, led by mid-single-digit Sun Care growth in North America and strong global Grooming and Skin Care performance, while Wet Shave declined 1.9%. Total organic net sales increased 1.1% as North America returned to growth, and the company narrowed its full-year outlook while holding the midpoints for adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA.

SBC Shows the Scale of Medical Aesthetics

SBC Medical Group Holdings (NASDAQ: SBC) shows what clinical aesthetics looks like at scale. The company is a medical services organization providing management support to medical institutions in Japan and abroad. Its support and partnership network reached 287 locations as of June 30, up 13% from a year earlier. Over the last twelve months, supported clinics recorded 6.9 million patient visits across 2.2 million unique customers, both up 10%.

Aesthetic dermatology remains a significant part of the business. First-half transaction value in the category rose 19% year over year, driven by adoption of higher-value treatments among existing customers. Average spend per visit rose 9% to $287 in the second quarter.

SBC is also extending beyond the traditional clinic model. It has released AI tools for patient inquiries, multilingual interpretation, site selection and internal knowledge sharing, with an AI-enabled call center planned for release in 2026 and marketing AI rolling out in phases. The company is expanding non-aesthetic healthcare as a second growth engine and preparing to enter the longevity market, with a dedicated center planned for 2027.

Nu Skin Adds Another Layer of Technology

Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS) adds a device-and-data layer. This year the company launched Prysm iO, an AI-powered platform that uses noninvasive scanning to measure carotenoid levels and deliver nutritional wellness insights. Euromonitor has ranked Nu Skin the world’s No. 1 company for beauty and wellness device systems for the third consecutive year. The technology reaches beyond skincare, but it shows how established beauty companies are looking past the product bottle for new ways to engage consumers.

Second-quarter revenue fell 17.1% to $320.1 million, and customers declined 14%. Excluding non-cash impairment and tax charges, EPS was $0.20 compared with $0.43 a year earlier. Management expects full-year revenue of $1.28 billion to $1.35 billion, down 9% to 14%, and pointed to the Prysm iO rollout and a planned formal launch in India as priorities while it realigns organizational resources.

A $235 Billion Market With Fewer Boundaries

Not long ago, a moisturizer, a facial and a dermatology visit belonged to separate categories with separate economics. Today, the companies behind them are reaching into each other’s territory. SBC is preparing to enter the longevity market. ODDITY is moving into dermatology. SkinHealth is building a clinical evidence base for a treatment many consumers still associate with the spa.

As those lines blur, the competition is shifting toward who can serve the same customer across more of the category.