“Gen Z consumers place huge importance on their skin care regimen and are extremely discerning in the brands they select,” says Ashley Brown, account director at YouGov America.Pırıl Şahin at Pexels
When it comes to Gen Z and skin care, 61% of shoppers 18-29 say they “won’t leave the house with looking my best.” Perhaps for this reason, they spent $84 on health and beauty products over the past three months, according to a brand new YouGov poll.
Notably, among Gen Z skin care enthusiasts, average skin care spend trends $26 more than the national average.
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“Gen Z consumers place huge importance on their skin care regimen and are extremely discerning in the brands they select,” says Ashley Brown, account director at YouGov America. “They are also a big spending segment of the market that’s particularly open to trying new products and jumping on trends, most often swayed by friends, social ads or influencers.”
The survey also points to cross-generational trends.
Skin Care Preferences for 2025
Per YouGov, 33% of all consumers are considering trying vitamin C-infused products in 2025, followed by “clean beauty” (definition unspecified; 32%) and hyaluronic-acid infused products (29%).
Meanwhile, 34% of those aged 18-29 say they will explore Korean skin care products in 2025.
Asked about sustainability/ethical initiatives, consumers say natural ingredients (41%), no animal testing (37%) and recyclable packaging (20%) are the most important when considering a brand.
Cross-generational Skin Care Preferences
Skin care shoppers across generations overwhelmingly seek out hydration (56% of respondents), cleansing (50%) and sun protection (44%) in their products.
When shopping for skin care, Amazon is the clear winner, at 57%, followed by Walmart (43%) and Target (31%).
The YouGov report doesn’t break out brand preferences by generation, but it does cite cross-generational data showing the highest preference overall for Dove (53.1%), Vaseline (38.5%), Olay (34.9%) and Neutrogena (34.6%).
That said, Nivea made the biggest year-over-year jump in preference, rising from 24.8% in 2023 to 30.4% this year.
Top purchase influencers include word of mouth (38%), TV advertising (22%) and social advertising (21%).