The Top 13 Personal Care Trends of 2025

Diaper market transitions from babies to boomers as population ages

As US birth rates drop for the seventh year in a row, the diaper market is shrinking, at least in terms of unit volume. But it's growing in revenue, as more companies go after the upscale segment of the market with higher prices.

Alongside this, the average family size is shrinking, and the median age of first-time moms has gone from 21 in 1970 to 27 in 2018, meaning that when people do have kids, they have higher incomes and a larger budget. Brands like Coterie are selling higher-priced diapers to capture this new and selective market.

Larger diaper brands have responded to these fundamental shifts in two ways: some are raising prices overall and some are selling tech-infused diapers that include features like a bluetooth-based alert system that tells caregivers when their baby needs to be changed. These haven’t been as popular as manufacturers expected though, as many parents comically point out that their babies already have built-in alert systems for when they need to be changed: crying.

Diapers are a huge business: the average family with small children spends $1K each year on them. But the big growth market in diapers is not diapers for infants, whose sales are fairly static as higher prices offset lower volumes instead. The real growth is in diapers for adults. In 2020, for the first time, there were more people over 65 than there were infants, and the gap is growing. In Japan, sales of adult diapers exceed sales of infant diapers, and the global market is worth some $9B. For adult diapers, one of the problems to be solved is that customers are embarrassed to buy them—some experts estimate that only half of the adults affected by weak bladders are buying diapers. This has made direct-to-consumer e-commerce a powerful channel: it expands the market for diapers by finally giving prospective customers a way to find out if they need them, and then get them, without telling anyone.

Water flossers are on the rise

Water flossers, which jets water between your teeth to easily clear plaque, sees peaks during holiday spending periods, given the higher cost relative to the cheap alternative – floss.

Consumers push back against scars

The rate of C-section baby deliveries around the world has grown more than 300% over the past 30 years alone.

This drastic growth is in part due to medical billing. Doctors are paid about 15% more to deliver babies via C-section than via birth canal, as the operation is then classified as a major surgery. And because C-sections take less time, doctors can perform more of them per day, leading to greater earnings.

Numerous studies have found that C-sections spike around morning, lunchtime, and the end of the day, spikes that are attributed to doctors’ scheduling pressures like going home and heading out to lunch. Doctors also get sued less when performing C-sections compared to traditional delivery.

As C-sections become much more common, consumers are increasingly trying to reduce scarring. Scar tape, traditionally prescribed after plastic surgery, is growing in parallel with C-sections – they are one of the many reasons consumers list seeking out the product. Some are even also using the product at night to reduce wrinkling.

UTI treatments on the rise

Given that UTIs - urinary tract infections - are the second leading cause of doctors' visits in the U.S., the opportunity to prevent UTIs is tremendous.

In a win-win for the consumer and the business world, companies like Uqora changed the business model around UTIs. Consumers typically buy antibiotics on a one-off basis after they get a UTI. Now, they're buying supplements on a subscription basis in order to help prevent UTIs.

Brands like Uqora and Utiva sell a supplement powder drink mix that consumers drink after common UTI-inducing activities like sex or even sometimes exercise.

Quality of shower and sink water a growing focus

Filtering drinking water is not a new idea. But what about shower and bath water? That’s the idea behind the growing interest in the Jolie filter.

Authorities usually purify drinking water supplies by adding a small amount of chlorine. While research says the chemical is largely harmless to consume at dilute concentrations, many people say they don’t like the smell or taste. It’s what’s in part led to the popularity of Brita filters and similar products.

Showering or bathing in chlorine also causes an unwanted side-effect: dry skin and hair. Given that consumers spend over $10B a year on moisturizing, it’s easy to see why a filter that removes chlorine would be a tempting investment.

In fact, Jolie pitches its product as a financial investment: “Women who invest in their appearance spend an average of almost $3,800 a year on beauty-related expenses…if you are combining your products with unfiltered water, you're foiling your investment in your appearance.”

As for the business model, Jolie’s customers first buy a special showerhead, then start a three-month rolling subscription for replacement filters.

Consumer demand for ear plugs outpaces stigma

The success of Apple’s ~10B AirPods business has had far-reaching impacts on seemingly-unrelated industries. For one, AirPods drove both awareness and demand for ear wax removal products by making ear wax more visible against the minimalist white product—and more needed; constantly wearing in-ear devices causes more earwax.

Another implication is the reduction of stigma around having in-ear widgets, from hearing aids to earplugs. For the first time ever, consumers looking to wear earplugs far less frequently report feeling held back by stigma.

Ear plugs were traditionally marketed to construction workers and musicians while mainstream adoption was hindered in large part because of the stigma: nobody wanted to seem dull for wearing earplugs at a concert. Some, in other environments, also said they worried that wearing earplugs could come off as rude.

But now, rising interest is transforming earplugs from niche to mainstream. Top brands, like Loop, mention “parenting” and “focus” as two common applications. Many consumers also mention using them to deal with noisy neighbors and being able to focus in crowded spaces. Even “earplugs for restaurants” is a top query. Ironically, studies have shown that, on average, bars sell more drinks when the music is louder.

Part of Loop’s effort to decrease stigma was in making their earplugs sleek, like the Airpods that helped catalyze the earplug category’s growth. The company claims they offer 18db of reduction and flat attenuation, meaning that noise is still crystal clear and sounds the same, just less intense. The brand even promotes the hashtag “frontrow”, which has 1.5M tags on Instagram, framing the product as a tool that lets concertgoers take concerts to the next level.