This week, I checked in with stakeholders in the scar-care category, which includes tapes, silicone patches, creams, gels and a variety of OTC and in-office treatment solutions. Scar care is currently trending on social media and is estimated to grow at an 11.8% compound annual growth rate over the next five years to nearly double in size. Additionally, Estée Lauder Companies announces another premium beauty storefront on Amazon, Laneige pops up at L.A.’s most popular outdoor shopping destination, and fragrance manufacturing juggernaut Givaudan unveils its plan to bolster sales in China.
The scar-care category could double in size by 2030
The scar-care marketplace includes a variety of topical OTC products designed to diminish the look of surgical scars, including C-section scars, acne scars, stretch marks, keloids and burns, among others. Most offerings available today target pigmentation, redness and texture through scar tape, silicone patches and other pressure dressings, or topicals meant to soak in, like gels and creams.
According to market research company Grand View Research, the global scar-care category is valued at $1.7 billion today and is estimated to grow at an 11.8% compound annual growth rate to reach $3.3 billion by 2030, nearly doubling the size of the category in the next six years.
Broken out by region, the U.S. market is tracking at 11.4% CAGR. North America, as a whole, makes up the largest market share with around a quarter of all sales, according to Grandview Research.
According to a peer-reviewed study published in the “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” in 2022, most Americans surveyed had at least one visible scar with most surveyed having between five and six scars that are at least 10 years old. The study found that the most common locations of scarring were on the stomach and face. It marked the first international study on the prevalence of scars and, according to the report, the study “revealed that scars are much more frequent than thought initially.”
This growth coincides with an uptick in scar-related mentions on social media, according to market research company Spate. For example, top concern-related hashtags trending alongside scar searches on TikTok this month include acne and acne scars, which garnered around 100 million tags over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, tags for stretch marks and keloids earned 36 million and 14 million additional views on TikTok since last year, respectively.
A portion of the aforementioned growth will come from the existing skin-care category with retailers like Sephora betting big. For example, brands like Topicals, The Ordinary and Paula’s Choice all offer hero SKUs at Sephora formulated to temper acne scarring thanks to ingredients like arbutin and niacinamide, as well as tranexamic and azelaic and alpha-hydroxy acids. But there are also breakout categories at Sephora like an acne-scar-filling primer from Topicals, makeup designed to cover scars from brands like Basma, and a range called Luna Daily, released this summer, meant to aid new mothers with scar care and other needs — it’s backed by Unilever Ventures. Meanwhile, Ulta Beauty offers many acne scar-focused creams and serums from brands like Differin, Good Molecules, Rosen and many more.
When it comes to social media chatter, scar tape — which works by protecting scars from the sun while maintaining pressure for smoother healing — is the leading breakout category, according to Spate.
“Scar care is evolving with a strong focus on specific formats like fillers and tape, which have seen notable search growth,” Spate co-founder Yarden Horwitz told Glossy, referencing year-over-year growth at 136.5% and 10.4%, respectively. For example, over the past quarter, views of scar tape on TikTok have grown 82.6%.
However, Horwitz pointed out that scar tape is trending online for more than one use case.
“[One part of] the rising popularity of scar tape [is as] an affordable alternative to wrinkle patches, … [which] indicates consumers are looking to scar-care products not only for scars, but also as affordable alternatives to existing skin-care products,” Horwitz said. Similarly, silicone scar sheets are proving to be an affordable alternative to wrinkle-reducing products and are being used like “wrinkle patches” which hold skin in place overnight to prevent the repetitive movement believed to cause wrinkles.
Scar tape and silicone scar sheets are both widely available on marketplace sites like Amazon, often sold as generic offerings without name brands, as well as through pharmaceutical-focused consumer brands like Mederma and Nuvadermis.
More recently, Maesa, the 25-year-old beauty incubator behind Kristin Ess Hair, Fine’ry fragrances and TPH by Taraji P. Henson, bet on a scar tape startup called Motivo Scar Care for its second Maesa Magic incubator program.
Motivo Scar Care founder Jadis Montijo plans to use Maesa’s $35,000 grant for scar-tape clinical testing, for which early testing seems very promising. To wit: A 2021 study published in PubMed found that “non-stretch tapes, for the prevention of linear surgical scarring, are effective in reducing scar characteristics of height, color and itch.”
Montijo’s brand was formed after he was unable to find a product to heal scars from surgery that was also well-suited for his medium complexion — it’s the same issue that once plagued the bandage industry before more inclusive shades were adopted.
He partnered on the line with surgeon Dr Jonathan Keith, MD, a fellowship-trained and board-certified plastic surgeon based in New Jersey.
“No one’s really trying to step out of the box,” Montijo said about the scar tape category, which Motivo joined in 2023 with scar tape in a variety of sizes and colors. “We want to not only be known as experts in scar care, but we also want to promote overall skin health, internally and externally.” So far, the line offers tapes and skin- and body-care products for smoothing and lightening scars.
Surgery is one of the largest motivators to seek scar-care solutions. This includes elective and cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, tummy tucks, eyelid surgery and breast augmentations. According to the JAAD study referenced above, 33.9% of respondents attribute their scars to surgery.
It’s a problem Dr. Mark Mofid, MD, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon in California, is also working on. He believes surgery scars can be better prevented with better wound closure products — another category being innovated now.
“It’s kind of an open secret among surgeons and healthcare professionals that there are very high rates of allergic skin reactions associated with a lot of the post-operative surgical dressings we use,” he told Glossy. “Essentially everyone knows someone that’s had a C-section or a knee replacement [where the person had] some sort of a bad reaction.” An allergic reaction to wound glue, which he told Glossy is common, can cause poor healing and more scarring.
To help mitigate surgery scar prevalence, Dr. Mofid launched a pharmaceutical device company called Sylke last year with a hero silk wound closure product used in operating rooms by surgeons and other healthcare providers.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Nakhla, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon, told Glossy that he often uses wound closure techniques in his practice that infuse human-derived stem cell media onto skin to prompt better healing.
Dr. Nakhla, like many physicians, is skeptical of the efficacy of OTC creams and tapes on scars, especially raised keloid scars from surgery. However, for the brands striving to reach this growing cohort of shoppers, he recommends betting on silicone sheets and sunscreen as the most efficacious and worthy of investment.
“Silicone patching has been around for a very long time and continues to be the only thing that reduces the redness of scars, but it doesn’t necessarily have such great results on hypertrophic or thickened scars, or keloid scars,” he said. “Nothing works better than a shot of cortisone or a pulse dye laser for a scar.”
Executive moves:
- JuE Wong, the former CEO of Olaplex, is the new CEO of Performance Beauty Group, parent company of beauty brands like Grande Cosmetics, Bondi Boost, Babe Original and Nutraluxe. Performance Beauty Group is owned by Gauge Capital private equity.
- Jane Lauder, the chief data officer and executive vp of enterprise marketing at the Estée Lauder Companies, will step down from her role at the end of the year but will remain on the ELC board. Her replacement has not yet been named. Lauder is the granddaughter of founder Estée Lauder.
News to know:
- Fragrance manufacturing juggernaut Givaudan opened a new creative hub called L’Appartement 125 in Shanghai on Friday. The space was designed to bolster fragrance sales in China by creating a place for the Swiss manufacturer to collaborate with Chinese brands on new scents.
- Beyoncé teased the launch of her next fragrance, called Cé Lumière eau de parfum, last week with a sneak peek at the bottle on social media. Cé Lumière features black pepper, mandarin, jasmine, rhubarb, patchouli and musk and is a follow-up to last year’s Cé Noir scent. Timed for the holidays, the scent is available for preorder DTC now. The star has launched more than a dozen perfumes since her first scent debuted in 2010.
- Unilever, which owns beauty and wellness brands like Dermalogica, Hourglass, Living Proof, Liquid I.V. and Olly, reported a 4.5% sales increase during its quarterly earnings call on Thursday. Sales growth charted at 3.5%, making it the biggest sales increase for the company since the first quarter of 2021 when the conglomerate reported 4.7% sales volume growth.
- Estée Lauder is the latest brand from parent company Estée Lauder Companies to enter Amazon through a premium beauty store. The brand also debuted its new Virtual Foundation Tool on its Amazon homepage to help consumers find their shade of Double Wear foundation, one of the line’s hero products.
- Artemis Patrick, CEO of Sephora North America, garnered headlines this week for an interview at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Southern California on Wednesday. “It’s not by accident that a lot of the hot brands that are trending, that are only sold at Sephora, are on TikTok,” she said during the interview, in which she shared ways in which Sephora shapes the biggest beauty industry trends through its online marketing.
- Laneige is the latest beauty brand to launch a pop-up at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. The brand popped up in the Caruso-owned property’s Glass Box space this spring and, thanks to its success, is trying its hands at a longer tenure. The new, temporary storefront opened last week and will run until mid-January. The space sells holiday sets, best sellers, branded merchandise and exclusive K-beauty SKUs, and it will market through GWPs, discounts, a photo booth and various consumer-focused activations.
Stat of the week:
Market research company Mintel released its 2025 Global Beauty and Personal Care Trends report earlier this month with insights into changing consumer values and preferences.
According to the report, more than half of U.S. consumers surveyed expect brands to take the lead in addressing environmental issues and agree that recent climate disasters have made them more determined to make sustainable choices.
Meanwhile, when it comes to shopping preferences, 62% of U.S. consumers surveyed are interested in hyper-personalized beauty and personal care products with 28% willing to pay more for them. Finally, when it comes to AI integration, 52% of U.S. adult respondents would trust AI to help with their medical needs compared to 49% who would not.
In the headlines:
The Body Shop moves its headquarters back to where it all began. How Anastasia Beverly Hills lost its footing. Unpacking the Gulf’s high-spend beauty market. We’ve lost the plot on menopause. Alaffia founder launches second beauty and lifestyle brand at Whole Foods. Onélogy wants to make freeze-dried skin care the next big thing in beauty. These top advent calendars are the lap of luxury. Tracey Cunningham and Jacob Schwartz join Schwarzkopf Professional as brand ambassadors
Listen in:
Hairstylist and TikTok creator Matt Newman, better known online as @Mattloveshair, joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the power and nuance of using educational content to build a large and loyal following online.
Need a Glossy recap?
Pop-up culture: How far will consumers go for free? L’Oréal Group CEO shares dermatological skin-care innovation plan to recruit Gen-Z consumers. Ulta Beauty expands retail media network, welcomes non-beauty advertisers. Olive & June builds on the DIY nails trend with at-home gel system. Reminders, teasers and lists: How Etsy is tackling the holiday shopping season. The impact of China’s contracting luxury market
