The term Beauty Tech covers technology in the service of the product, including biotechnologies and AI-assisted formulation, in the service of retail, like live shopping and digital in-store, but above all, technology in the service of consumers. The latter is growing fast: it represents home devices, including for face and body care, high-performance hair tools, and connected skin diagnostic tools.
The study conducted by flexible payment solution Klarna on Beauty Tech device sales in France between 2024 and 2025 shows that demand for these devices is stronger among the 25-to-45 age group, although purchasing patterns vary according to the age.
Among people aged 26 to 35, growth is driven by hair care, for example with the Shark FlexStyle styler and dryer (+149%), lighted mirrors (+129%), and volumizing tools (+100%). This young, tech-native generation takes interest in this product category mainly through social media, and has high budgets ranging from 50 to 400 euros.
People aged 35 to 45 embody a more premium segment and tend to choose skincare devices, as demonstrated by the surge of LED masks (+172%) and Ice Rollers (+75%).
“This category has more purchasing power. They invest in response to the first signs of aging, as an alternative or complement to cosmetic products and aesthetic medicine. They want to transpose non-invasive technologies used in medspas to their homes,” explains Philippe Gorge.
“The scientification of beauty”
The L.E.K Consulting beauty specialist explains these dynamics by changing consumer expectations rather than technological advances.
“Since the Covid pandemic, we have noticed a ‘scientification of beauty’, as consumers are better-informed and more demanding when it comes to efficacy and evidence. And this is true whatever the age group, social category or geographic market. It puts pressure on the whole value chain, from brands to distributors, to deliver concrete evidence where promises used to be good enough,” he explains.
This initiative is also related to the merging of beauty and longevity, with the key notion of prevention, rather than transformation.
“There is a quest for science, but people have also grown aware of the need for continuity over time to get results. A more comprehensive routine combined with a technological device perfectly matches this expectation,” adds Gorge.
The right economic model
However, devices as equipment raise the issue of beauty brands’ economic model. Traditional cosmetics are driven by recurring consumable purchases, while high-priced devices are typically purchased only once.
“The historic beauty brands that already have a well-established product portfolio and consumer base have an advantage compared to device pure players. They can offer consumers a consistent ecosystem where tools strengthen the perceived efficacy of skincare products. Equipment linked to an existing range becomes a routine amplifier. It can also be a closed ecosystem, similarly to the Nespresso model.”
This is how myBlend, a brand of the Clarins group, defends its Augmented Beauty positioning, claiming technological devices are used to prolong the action of cosmetics. After the success of myLEDmask, the brand launched myLIFTINGRoller, developed in partnership with Nuon, the specialist of beauty device design. This augmented roller available for 295 euros combines the microcurrent technique, vibrations and massage for a natural lifting effect. According to the brand’s consumer data, 96% of the women surveyed observed a comprehensive action on firmness after 28 days when used in synergy with the brand’s Firmness SuperSerum. For eight women out of ten surveyed, it is becoming a must-have in the beauty routine.
Among historic brands, the L’Oréal group is also massively investing in Beauty Tech, both in-house and through technological acquisitions and partnerships. Recently, two innovations of the Group fitted with the infrared technology were primed with a CES Innovation Award: the Light Straight + Multi-Styler, a styling tool designed to reduce hair damage due to heat, and the LED Face Mask, an ultra-thin, flexible face mask developed in partnership with I-Smart Developments, which uses LED phototherapy to target wrinkles, skin sagging, and uneven complexion.
The beauty device market is still heterogeneous, with a large number of players offering solutions backed by highly diverse scientific claims. According to Gorge, the winners will be those able to combine clinical credibility, product experience and a viable economic model, whether it be historic brands having largely invested in the segment, or new entrants originally positioned in the Beauty Tech category.
“In the long term, maybe we will not see devices and skincare merge, but rather beauty, preventive health, and longevity. Connected biometric monitoring objects like rings, watches, and sensors now used to measure sleep, heart rate, and the stress level, will evaluate markers specific to skin health to inform consumers in real time about their skins’ condition and recommend adapted routines at a particular time,” he concludes.
