To hear many social media influencers tell it, a proper skincare routine requires dozens of expensive lotions and potions applied in complex, multistep sequences multiple times a day, and an understanding of advanced chemistry that would put Marie Curie to shame.
As customers stock up on all the creams, toners, masks and acids the epidermis supposedly requires, companies are cashing in. According to a 2024 report from the business consulting firm McKinsey & Company, global beauty-market sales reached $446bn in 2023. By 2028, sales are expected to reach $590bn.
