"Beauty Medical Devices Evolving Into AI-Based Personalized Healthcare"

Samjong KPMG Releases Industry Report
"Skin Data and AI Take Center Stage Over Product Performance"
Shifting to Integrated Models Combining Cosmetics, Apps, Data, and Subscriptions

The beauty device market is evolving into a personalized healthcare sector that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), data, cosmetics, and services. Analysts note that competition is intensifying as companies from various industries, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and consumer electronics, enter the market.

On August 19, Samjong KPMG released a report titled "The Era of Skin Longevity: The Evolving Beauty Device Market." According to the report, the latest trend in the beauty market is moving away from aftercare aimed at improving already-developed wrinkles and pigmentation, and toward "skin longevity," which focuses on enhancing the skin's resilience and regenerative capacity to maintain healthy skin over the long term. As a result, the importance of beauty devices that can provide professional-grade skin care in daily life is growing.

Evolving Into Personal Infrastructure... The Rise of Subscription Service Competition

Beauty devices initially began as auxiliary tools aiding cleansing and cosmetics absorption, but have since developed into high-performance home-use devices that incorporate technologies such as RF (radio frequency), HIFU (high-intensity focused ultrasound), LED, and EMS, which were once primarily used in clinics and hospitals. Recently, the addition of AI-based skin diagnostics and personalized care functions has pushed these devices to evolve into "personal healthcare infrastructure" that provides ongoing skin management. Furthermore, beauty medical device and pharmaceutical companies, which previously focused on hospital-centered B2B (business-to-business) operations, are now expanding into the consumer market by leveraging their hospital-grade technology, clinical experience, and established brands. The report noted, "By combining their core assets—such as cosmetics brands, medical technology, hardware design and production capabilities, and clinical and regenerative medicine data—with devices, companies are boosting competitiveness."

Since beauty devices generally have long replacement cycles, creating extended periods between sales, companies are strengthening the "BaaS (Beauty as a Service)" model by connecting devices with cosmetics, apps, data, and subscription services. For example, regular skincare routines using these devices encourage repeat purchases of exclusive ampoules, gels, and other cosmetic products.

It is also anticipated that competition in "precision beauty" will intensify. By combining AI skin analysis, real-time sensors, usage history data, and dedicated apps, companies can adjust output intensity, usage duration, and care routines based on each individual's skin condition and habits. Moving forward, not only hardware performance but also the ability to secure skin data, develop AI algorithms, and craft superior user experiences (UX) is expected to become core competitive strengths.

Building Customer Ecosystems Is Key, Beyond Individual Performance

Samjong KPMG predicts that the competitiveness of the future beauty device market will depend less on the performance or sales volume of individual products, and more on the ability to organically link cosmetics, apps, subscription services, and skin data to create a differentiated customer ecosystem.

Accordingly, the report advised that companies should seek to lead specialized homecare segments such as scalp and body care, and enhance technological entry barriers by developing energy delivery and control technologies optimized for each area, securing quantitative clinical evidence, and obtaining global certifications. It further analyzed that companies need to secure core technologies and patents, strengthen R&D and manufacturing capabilities, and expand their technological competitiveness and business domains through collaboration and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across different industries, such as medical devices, cosmetics, and AI.

In overseas markets, the report emphasized the importance of localizing products and services to fit the needs of local consumers. In particular, it noted that developing customized products and AI algorithms based on the skin data of diverse ethnic groups and establishing local distribution and customer contact points are essential for building global competitiveness.

Kwanjong Park, Executive Director at Samjong KPMG, stated, "The beauty device market is undergoing a rapid shift from simple hardware competition to an integrated ecosystem that spans AI, data, cosmetics, and services. With the miniaturization and commoditization of key hardware technologies driving uniform product performance, companies must differentiate themselves through core technologies and patents and AI capabilities based on skin data. Capturing new growth opportunities in specialized areas such as scalp and body care and in global markets will be crucial moving forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.