When YouTuber Hannah Price set out to compare Japanese and Australian sunscreen, she wasn’t expecting her deep dive into the subject to rack up over two million views. The huge number of people poring over Price’s video shows the growing interest in skincare products, including sun protection, from Japan and South Korea, in the wake of the K-beauty craze.

Price, 32, fell into a "year-long rabbit hole" while making her video, learning about everything from SPF science to cultural attitudes to sun exposure. "I always loved Japanese sunscreen, since I first moved to Japan in 2012," she told AFP. "I remember trying it for the first time and thinking, ’this is so much better than anything I tried in Australia’," her home country where sun cream felt "thick, sticky, greasy".

"I thought that the video would be popular... but I wasn’t expecting it to reach as far" as it did, Price added.

Expansion plans

The rising interest from Western consumers has not gone unnoticed by Japanese and Korean manufacturers.

Companies such as Korea’s LG Household & Health Care have perfected their formulas and launched the so-called “sunquid” category - a new generation of ultra-lightweight sunscreen formulas designed to feel like water.

Influencer posts have a "very strong" impact on sunscreen sales, says Takuya Wada, who works in marketing for Japanese chemical and cosmetics firm Kao.

"There are no borders when it comes to obtaining information on social media, especially Instagram and TikTok," he said, adding that influencer posts have a "very large" impact on global sunscreen sales.

Kao wants sales from sun protection to reach 35 billion yen (USD 240 million or EUR 223 million) in 2027, up 1.6 times from 2023. It plans to boost overseas production by opening three new factories, in Indonesia, Brazil and Germany.

The group’s main sunscreen brand Biore UV is ranked 10th worldwide for sales, and second in Asia — competing with the likes of L’Oréal and Beiersdorf, and Japanese rivals such as Shiseido. The global sun care market was worth more than USD 55 billion in 2024 (EUR 65 million) but remains highly fragmented due to country-specific regulations.

Technical challenges

It is technically difficult to develop formulas that block the rays effectively with a smooth texture, as demanded by Japanese consumers, said Takashi Fukui, research and development director for Kao skincare products. But using scientific know-how to strike this tricky balance is what makes Kao "different from other European or American makers," he claimed.

One fan of Japanese brands is Thai skincare influencer Suari Tasanakulpan, who calls them "lightweight" compared to "heavy and uncomfortable" Western offerings. "There are always new technologies and innovative textures that are often ahead of other countries," the 40-year-old, who reviews sunscreens on YouTube, told AFP.

Rising use

The use of UV protection products is rising worldwide.

While tans have long been fashionable in Western countries, awareness of skin cancer risks is rising, making sunscreen an important healthcare product in Europe, North America and Australia.

Recently, a boom in celebrity skincare brands also contributed to the industry’s growth — with A-listers like Kylie Jenner using social media to share their beauty routines, including sun protection, with hundreds of millions of followers.

In Japan, things are different. A cultural obsession with light skin dates back to the sixth century and using white powder imported from China later became a status symbol among nobility. Fair skin indicated a life away from outdoor labor and sun exposure, and an old Japanese proverb says "white skin covers the seven flaws". In the 1990s, Japanese people began using sunscreen or other cosmetics to avoid tanning — a trend dubbed "bihaku", or beautifully white.

These days, Japanese women use sunscreen as everyday protection against sunspots and ageing, caused when UV rays penetrate into the skin, said Fukui.

In Japan, consumers are spoiled for choice. At an outlet of drugstore chain MatsukiyoCocokara in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, around 90 sunscreen products are lined up on the shelves.

"Sales of sunscreen is improving year on year," said Takeshi Otsuki, deputy manager of the chain’s cosmetic division. "More people are using sunscreen on a daily basis these days, so their needs are becoming more diverse," he said. The number of male customers is also increasing, and Japanese sunscreens are very popular with overseas tourists who buy them in multipacks, Otsuki added.

YouTuber Price now uses both Japanese and Australian sunscreen, depending on the occasion. She sees the rise in education about sunscreens worldwide as a win-win situation. It "means you’re going to be better protected in general, which is great for everyone", she said.