Anti-pollution skincare sales to grow in UK - NPD

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 22, 2017

Skincare may not be showing the same kind of growth rates as make-up is, but one area of the market is powering ahead, although it’s still small at present, a new report shows.

The market for anti-pollution prestige skincare in the UK rose 30% in the first half of this year according to The NPD Group. An emerging category in the women’s skincare sector, the market for these products was valued at £3.1 million.
The strongest growth was seen in anti-pollution face masks with a 112% surge, while moisturisers with the same properties saw a healthy 62% uplift. Cleansers and eye creams targeting pollution also saw double-digit growth.

Pollution has increasingly become a focus with a recent Braun survey showing that it matters to men as well as women. And a Kline study earlier this year also predicted that pollution will be the focus of product messaging more often in the years ahead.

While such products are more widely used in Asia, in the UK the market it is still relatively young. But products that protect and defend the skin with antioxidants and SPF are more frequently being marketed as anti-pollution and often feature terms like ‘urban’, ‘city skin’, ‘shield’, ‘protector’, ‘defence’ and ‘environment’ in their names.   

June Jensen, Director, NPD UK Beauty said: “The trend for anti-pollution skincare emerged a couple of years ago and has made a significant impact in the prestige beauty market. At first, just a few brands launched targeted anti-pollution products, but now, as the market develops we are seeing more brands introducing products that are specifically designed to protect the skin from pollution.”

More widely in the prestige beauty market, products which support a healthy skin regime have also reported a rise in sales. Face masks and cleansers in particular, which are regarded as essential for ‘detoxing’ the skin have seen impressive growth in the first half.

Face cleansers grew 7% to £1.6 million and skincare face masks (not specific to pollution) grew 42% to £2.2 million. Within that category, clay and mud face masks, regarded as the most effective deep cleansing and detoxifying of products, grew by 102%.

Make-up products that protect the skin have also risen with SPF foundations up 11%. Those with SPF 20 and over have seen low-double-digit growth while those with SPF50 have risen 30%.