Anti-Acne Skincare Sales Grew 26.5% in China in H1 2026

Skincare products sold on an anti-acne claim grew +26.5% in China in H1 2026, from CN¥ 3.8 billion to CN¥ 4.8 billion across three of the largest online marketplaces, against −1.0% for skincare as a whole, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, while face make-up grew +13.6% to CN¥ 31.9 billion.

This article covers the fourth chapter of the full report, which asks which skincare and make-up products grew in China in the first half of 2026, inside a skincare category that barely moved.

Key figures

• +26.5%: skincare sold on an anti-acne claim, H1 2026 on H1 2025
• −1.0%: all skincare over the same period
• 34%: moisturising's share of skincare sales, the largest claim, which moved −5.4%
• +13.6%: face make-up, from CN¥ 28.1 billion to CN¥ 31.9 billion
• +32.2%: setting spray, the fastest-growing face make-up product

Method and scope: observed online sales across three of China's largest online marketplaces, modelled by Moojing Market Intelligence from listings and captured prices, H1 2025 and H1 2026. Benefit claims are measured by the Chinese keywords in product titles, so the figures overlap. This is not the total market.

Which skincare claims are growing in China?#

Skincare products whose titles name a specific result grew fastest in China in H1 2026, led by anti-acne (祛痘) at +26.5%, blackheads at +16.3%, oil control at +10.6% and anti-wrinkle at +10.1%, against −1.0% for all skincare, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, while moisturising, the largest claim, moved −5.4%.

Our data do not carry a reliable field for what a skincare product claims to do, so we measured the sales of skincare products whose titles name each of eight benefits, across the three marketplaces, and because a product whose title names two benefits counts under both, the figures overlap and do not add up to the category, although each one is measured the same way in both years. Moisturising is still the largest claim by far, on products that took 34% of skincare sales, while the gentler claims of soothing and repair grew +7.5% and +3.4%. The keywords are Chinese title words, so a shift in how merchants word their titles could move them too, which is why we read the ranking rather than the exact rates.

Exhibit 16. Source: Moojing Market Intelligence, observed marketplace data across three online marketplaces, H1 2025 and H1 2026. Sales of skincare products whose titles name each benefit; a title can name several benefits, so the figures overlap. Not the total market.

Where is the anti-acne growth coming from?#

The growth in anti-acne skincare in China came from content-led commerce, where sales of anti-acne products rose by about two-thirds between H1 2025 and H1 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, while on the established marketplaces taken together they were broadly flat, at about CN¥ 2.2 billion in both halves.

We believe the growth is being driven by short-video and livestream selling, in which a visible before-and-after is the whole pitch, and that a claim a shopper can see working on camera suits the format in which these products are now bought.

Which anti-acne products sell the most?#

Serums and essences carry 31% of China's anti-acne skincare sales, at CN¥ 1.5 billion in H1 2026, followed by cleansers at 19%, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, and it is these two, a treatment and a wash, that most anti-acne routines are built around.

On the established marketplaces, where both years can be compared type by type, the claim is also spreading to smaller product types, with anti-acne toners up +34% and body care up +55%, although the body-care rise rests on a small base, while spot care and patches roughly doubled, on sales of only CN¥ 27 million across the three marketplaces.

Which face make-up products are growing in China?#

Face make-up in China grew +13.6% across three of the largest online marketplaces, from CN¥ 28.1 billion in H1 2025 to CN¥ 31.9 billion in H1 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, and the fastest growth came from the products that set, correct and shape a complexion, led by setting spray at +32.2% and concealer at +29.3%.

Highlighter grew +27.7%, contour +25.3% and blush +24.6%, while foundation, still the largest face product at CN¥ 7.3 billion, grew only +6.0%, and cushion, BB and CC products, growing +17.6%, are now almost as large. As with anti-acne skincare, the growth came from content-led commerce, where face make-up grew +25.6%, while on the established marketplaces taken together it was slightly down. To make the comparison fair, we matched each marketplace's face make-up categories by name into ten groups that exist on all three, combining products such as cushion and BB cream where a marketplace files them together, and left out make-up removers, sets, palettes and multi-use products, because the content-led marketplace's old and new category structures file them differently. Our earlier articles on China's make-up trends in 2025 and on the no-make-up look looked at the shift from heavy coverage to lighter, skin-enhancing products in 2025, on a different basis from this one.

Exhibit 18. Source: Moojing Market Intelligence, observed marketplace data across three online marketplaces, H1 2025 and H1 2026. Face make-up categories as classified by each marketplace, matched by name into ten groups. Not the total market.

What launched in the first half

The launches of the first half point the same way, towards light, skin-friendly make-up that does a second job. Caitang's Slim Tube Foundation 2.0 promises all-day soft-matte coverage with botanical skincare ingredients, EviDenS's Oxygen Sunscreen doubles as a primer that sits under foundation, NARS's Spring Peach collection brings sheer peach and apricot tones to eyes, cheeks and lips, and Lancôme's Éclat Lip Glaze offers a hydrating, low-saturation nude shine for a no-make-up look.

What this means for product teams#

For product teams in China, the first half of 2026 rewarded products that promise one clear result, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, and most of that reward went through content-led commerce, so the practical question for the second half is whether the growth spreads to the established marketplaces, where it has yet to appear.

The report's recommendation follows from that, which is to build ranges around one clear result, anchored in the serums and cleansers that carry most of the anti-acne claim's sales and extended to the toners and body care where the claim is spreading, and in make-up to favour the products that set and perfect a complexion, such as setting sprays, concealers and cushions, since a result that can be shown on camera suits the short-video and livestream formats in which these products are selling.

The composition of anti-acne sales by product type, and the method tests behind the keyword measure, are in the full report, and our China beauty market intelligence page sets out what else we cover in the category.