🌟 Product Over Brand – Small Brands Rising on the Strength of Product Performance
In September’s Hwahae ranking of rapidly rising products, SOMI, MINIC, and GYEOLHAUS made notable entries. This reflects not just the spread of brand awareness, but also the fact that consumers are increasingly exploring products based on ingredients, formulations, and efficacy—demonstrating a heightened level of beauty literacy. Today’s consumers are focusing more on product performance itself rather than brand name, signaling that the competitiveness of a single product has become a decisive factor in purchase decisions.
With heat, sweat, and sebum on the rise during summer, consumer demand has grown simultaneously for calming troubled skin and hydration/barrier reinforcement. Products that combine both benefits ranked high, showing that summer skincare routines now require a dual-track approach—calming and hydration delivered together.
As consumers seek shorter, more efficient routines, hybrid products with multiple functions in one continued to perform strongly in September following their rise in August. While August was led by sun care hybrids, September saw hybrid products gaining traction across sun care, men’s grooming, and skincare, highlighting a broadening trend. This reflects not only the desire to reduce steps, but also a wider consumer shift across the beauty market toward time- and cost-efficiency.
MINIC : Minimal Cover Lotion → An all-in-one base combining sun protection, tone-up, and coverage
Check out and utilize the complete September 2025 trending ranking at a glance!
Rank
Brand
Product Name
Rating
Reviews
1
irecipe
Cica PDRN Blemish Clear Toner Pad
4.6
429
2
FATION
NOSCA9 PORE ENHANCING SERUM
4.44
179
3
irecipe
Watery Touch Essence Sun Balm
4.46
1394
4
GYEOLHAUS
Ultra Moisture Jojoba Serum & Cream
4.71
62
5
Anua
PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum
4.6
6022
6
Torriden
DIVE-IN Low Molecule Hyaluronic Acid Serum
4.59
65020
7
MEDIPEEL
Vegan Vitamin Collagen Clear
4.14
36
8
GYEOLHAUS
Hydration Jojoba Essence
4.78
64
9
HANYUL
HYDRATE
4.62
214
10
WELLAGE
Real Hyaluronic Blue 100 Ampoule
4.62
21380
11
irecipe
Ceramide Yuzu Bio Cleansing Oil
4.6
1910
12
Torriden
Balanceful Cica Control Serum
4.31
331
13
SOMI
Treat Aqua Toner
4.65
105
14
MEDION
Rocktory Medi Cleaning Tissue
4.53
36
15
beplain
Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam
4.61
40102
16
freemay
Pink Collagen Ampoule Mask
4.73
1280
17
MINIC
Minimal Cover Lotion
4.64
36
18
S.NATURE
AQUA SQUALANE MOISTURIZING CREAM
4.55
33149
19
O'earth
HYALURONICICA 7sec SERUM IN AMPOULE
4.63
478
20
Anua
Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad
4.3
2262
Haircare Trending Ranking
💡 Key Haircare trend Insights
🌱 Multi-Oil Care – From Hair to Skin in One Step
Natural oils such as jojoba, argan, and rosemary, along with mild, low-pH formulas, are gaining strong attention. This reflects growing consumer demand for safe and gentle ingredients in haircare, much like in skincare. Recently, the trend of managing hair at a skincare-level standard has expanded, fueling the rise of multi-oil treatments. Natural oils are now recognized as core ingredients that simultaneously deliver hydration, shine, and scalp soothing, positioning themselves at the center of multi-functional care routines.
Products addressing hair loss symptoms and scalp health ranked prominently this month. Once limited to specific age or gender groups, scalp and hair loss care have now become a core part of everyday routines. Consumers increasingly treat the scalp like facial skin, expecting hair loss prevention, scalp strengthening, and soothing benefits all in one.
This month’s ranking highlights the prominence of products formulated with proteins and natural oils (jojoba, argan, rosemary, etc.). These ingredients go beyond basic hydration, providing damaged hair repair and scalp nourishment within multi-care formulas. Proteins are increasingly associated with strengthening, elasticity, and volume, making them essential in anti-hair loss shampoos and repair masks. At the same time, natural oils, valued for their safety, mildness, and shine-enhancing benefits, are aligning with the trend of treating the scalp like skin, driving rapid consumer adoption.
The Global K-Beauty Trend Ranking is based on real-time search data from global users on Hwahae Global’s website, providing refined insights into the latest K-Beauty trends shaped by global consumer needs.