By New Consumption Think Tank, author lyy

Traditional "medical aesthetics" is often associated with plastic surgery, while "light medical aesthetics" differs mainly because it requires no incisions.

As attention grows and more players enter the market, the definition of light medical aesthetics has become clearer: It sits between surgical cosmetic procedures and daily skincare, using non‑invasive or minimally invasive therapies such as lasers, radiofrequency, injectable fillers, biotech, chemical peels — targeting firming, wrinkle reduction, facial rejuvenation, body contouring, and skin treatments.

With evolving consumer values — paying attention to beauty and maintenance — people are using medical or light medical aesthetics to improve their image. The demographic is getting younger, especially around skincare, whitening, hair removal, and anti‑aging.

More institutions and brands are competing in this track, hoping to seize business opportunities in this blue ocean. The competitive landscape is not yet crowded, but so far no true industry leader has emerged.

Over 18 Million Consumers, Market Nearly 80 Billion Yuan — China’s Light Medical Aesthetics Keeps Heating Up

Light medical aesthetics has become a crucial growth area within the broader aesthetics industry.

From 2020 onward, the market grew rapidly. According to SoYoung data, non‑surgical categories surged 115.6% year‑on‑year in the second half of 2020.

Medical aesthetics has broken out of its niche; the popularity of light med‑aesthetics is reaching a more mainstream audience, including a growing number of male consumers.

Meanwhile, more technology and internet companies are entering the space. Tencent, Alibaba Health, Meituan, JD.com, and Xiaomi (which invested in several beauty device brands) have all made moves.

The reason these giants are positioning themselves in light medical aesthetics is that the Chinese market — in terms of scale, growth rate, and future potential — is extremely promising.

According to the "2021 Medical Aesthetics Industry White Paper", the market reached about 227.4 billion yuan in 2021. The "China Medical Aesthetics 2022 Insight Report" predicts it will exceed 350 billion yuan by 2025. Concentration is low and competition relatively friendly.

iiMedia data shows that compared with 10% penetration in more developed medical aesthetic regions, China’s penetration is only 3.6% — still very low.

Light medical aesthetics has become a crucial entry point to unlock further potential. SoYoung & Frost & Sullivan data show that in 2021, users of light treatments accounted for 83.1% of total med‑aesthetics consumers, rising for three consecutive years.

In terms of market size, research indicates that the light medical aesthetics market was 54.5 billion yuan in 2020 and reached 79.8 billion yuan in 2021, up 46.4% year‑on‑year. The number of consumers also jumped from 11.21 million in 2019 to 15.22 million in 2020, reaching 18.15 million in 2021. The CAGR for light aesthetics over the past five years is 34.7%, far exceeding the 20% growth of the overall med‑aesthetics industry.

On the other hand, light med‑aesthetics is becoming more affordable and everyday, and the customer base is younger — post‑90s and post‑00s already account for more than half of the audience.

Regulatory oversight is also tightening. In 2020, eight national departments jointly issued a notice to strengthen medical aesthetics supervision; in November 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation published anti‑unfair competition cases; the Ministry of Public Security also ordered a crackdown on illegal manufacturing and sales of medical aesthetic products.

Super‑Profitable — Even Outperforming Moutai, Listing by Selling Face Masks — Beauty Devices Could Overtake Foreign Brands

Data from medical aesthetic platforms not only show the popularity of light procedures but also reveal where consumers are willing to spend more and which services/products are most popular.

For example, the "2021 Medical Aesthetics White Paper" from Gengmei shows the top three categories in order volume are slimming & wrinkle‑relaxing injections, hyaluronic acid, and anti‑aging & firming. The highest repeat purchase rates are for hyaluronic acid, laser hair removal, and anti‑aging firming.

SoYoung’s "2021 White Paper" also indicates the most chosen items are wrinkle reduction/slimming, whitening & rejuvenation, hyaluronic acid, hydration, and oil control & acne removal.

Recent capital flows and the positioning of startups further confirm this trend. Let’s take the two most common examples: functional face masks and home‑use beauty devices.

1. “Extremely profitable” wealth creation — functional masks

In just the past three months, two “light medical aesthetics” concept companies have gone public by selling functional face masks. Most of these brands started with medical dressings and therefore have a strong professional foundation.

Xi’an‑based巨子生物 (Giant Biogene) recently listed in Hong Kong. The company produces professional skin‑care products based on bioactive ingredients, mainly recombinant collagen. From 2019 onward, it has been the largest collagen‑based professional skincare company in China. Its flagship brands are Kefumei and Kelijin — both centered on facial masks/sprays, generating huge revenues.

Kefumei accounted for more than 57% of total revenue in 2021. In terms of retail sales, it became the second best‑selling medical dressing brand and the fourth best‑selling professional skincare brand in China. Its revenue rose from 290 million yuan in 2019 to 898 million yuan in 2021.

Hyaluronic acid has been popular, but collagen offers stronger functional benefits. Collagen focuses on skin repair and anti‑aging, especially recombinant collagen, which has advantages in solubility and safety.

Frost & Sullivan data shows that from 2017 to 2021, the penetration rate of recombinant‑collagen‑based functional skincare climbed from 6.3% to 14.9%, and it is expected to reach 30.5% by 2027.

Giant Biogene is the leader in this segment. It has attracted major investors such as Hillhouse Capital, CPE, JIN YI Capital, and China Development Bank Capital.

One box of Kefumei recombinant collagen masks (5 pieces) sells for about 198 yuan on e‑commerce platforms, ≈40 yuan per piece, while the production cost is only 4‑5 yuan. Many other brands sell complete boxes for far less.

In addition, sales expenses of Giant Biogene increased from 9.8% of revenue in 2019 to 27.1% in the first five months of 2022. By contrast, R&D costs were only 1.2%, 1.1%, and 1.6% of revenue in 2019‑2021 respectively — extremely low.

Similar models exist for other players: e.g., Fuerjia (敷尔佳) — a box of masks costs 148 yuan while production cost is only about 10 yuan. The company spent heavily on marketing (89% promotion expense) while R&D accounted for only 0.32% of revenue. By 2021, out of 441 employees, only six worked in R&D. Such practices have invited “IQ tax” criticisms.

2. Best chance to overtake foreign brands — home‑use beauty devices

Radio‑frequency (RF) beauty devices are another booming light‑aesthetics category. Unlike face masks, beauty devices are an imported product category with limited original technology accumulation, making it harder to break through consumer minds despite local brands’ patent efforts.

The home beauty device market started after foreign brands Clarisonic (L'Oreal) and FOREO entered China in 2013. The market exploded in 2018‑2019 due to social media and the ‘she‑economy’.

First, devices are divided by function: cleansing, steam, ion导入, RF, etc., plus multifunctional models.

Second, market size is expanding rapidly. Zhiyan Consulting data shows that China’s home beauty device market approached 10 billion yuan in 2021, with a CAGR over 30%, and is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan by 2026.

Third, the number of related companies is surging — more than 100,000 registered, over 80% founded within the last five years.

Fourth, capital and cross‑industry giants are diving in. Tencent, Xiaomi, etc., entered the market. Since 2021 alone, there have been at least 15 financing rounds in this segment.

Penetration in Japan and the US for home beauty devices is 11% and 20%, while China sits at only 4% — huge room for growth. However, premium segments are dominated by Japanese/Western brands like Ya‑man, Dr. Arrivo, Panasonic, accounting for almost 80% market share. Domestic brands still rely on imitation and cost‑effectiveness.

In 2021, online sales reached 12.42 million units vs 1.066 million offline. RF devices that offer lifting and anti‑aging functions are the most popular.

That said, it remains challenging for emerging local brands to build strong brand equity, so they differentiate via product innovation. Categories include: OEM‑based manufacturers, small appliance brand extensions, medical device companies pivot, and beauty brands extending into devices.

Domestic brands emphasise tech‑driven differentiation, and their market share is gradually rising (e.g., AMIRO, Hua Zhi, Ulike).

Smart temperature control, app‑based skin analysis, and personalised solutions are becoming critical selling points. Clinical data and certification are being leveraged to compete with foreign brands in the high‑price tier (above 4,000 yuan).

One domestic brand, Comper, launched an intelligent multi‑function beauty device in 2018 and achieved more than 30 million yuan in sales on a single day of Double 11 2020 — first among domestic brands.

Local RF devices now aim to match foreign performance in output voltage, safety (temperature control), and battery life to prevent burns while delivering rapid results.

Smart devices indeed solve safety pain points and offer customised regimens via apps, aligning with the trend toward home intelligence.

Most importantly, after years of rapid progress, domestic beauty devices are now capable of competing with international products. What is needed is more time and a more standardised market to build truly influential brands.

Why Is It Still Hard to Produce a Leader in China’s Light Medical Aesthetics Market?

Medical aesthetics services are rapidly shifting towards “fast‑moving consumer goods” and moving from a niche to a mass audience. China has a huge growth upside and strong upstream manufacturing, yet a true industry leader has yet to emerge — why?

First, the market is still insufficiently standardised and full of irregularities. Lack of unified standards drives over‑marketing. Many popular mask brands have been accused of false advertising. For example, Giant Biogene was once sued for deceptive claims (implying professional hospital recognition) and lost the case.

For beauty devices, grey market and counterfeit products are widespread. Safety risks remain — the brand Tripollar had to recall over 180k devices due to burn hazards; some devices were found with nickel content exceeding limits.

Some brands also use retouched photos in advertisements to exaggerate efficacy. Excessive consumption of consumer trust erodes credibility and fuels the “IQ tax” criticism.

Second, heavy marketing expenditure but minimal R&D — chasing quick profits. Many companies spend huge amounts on promotion while R&D remains negligible. Even though revenue grows, net profit growth slows significantly. For Giant Biogene, net profit margin dropped from 60.1% in 2019 to 43.4% in early 2022.

Low‑cost, low‑value‑added, high‑margin products amplify suspicions of "IQ tax".

On the positive side, regulations are becoming clearer and stricter. For instance, new guidelines stipulate that RF therapeutic devices must obtain NMPA medical device registration. Authorities have also moved to classify RF beauty devices as Class II or Class III medical devices, and advertising is being heavily scrutinized.

Third, brands remain at the stage of simply selling products, lacking professional service. Light medical aesthetics is “light” partly because professional service components are missing. Even though smart devices reduce the usage difficulty, many consumers still need professional guidance to improve the perceived effectiveness and build trust.

Conclusion

Light medical aesthetics should not be “light” only in name but must reflect home‑use, FMCG‑like, and retail characteristics — turning professional aesthetic procedures into daily routines.

This means medical aesthetic products/devices are becoming like any other consumer goods or tech products. Design and user experience will be crucial for overall brand evaluation.

At the same time, the market will inevitably face commoditisation. Different users have different pain points, and brands must solve how to build lasting connections, user loyalty, and repeat purchases — not just chase quick windfalls. Making quick money by riding the trend through hype and gimmicks will never create an industry leader.