Hydroquinone-free products are among the most dynamic performers in the U.S. professional skin care market in 2014, according to the recently published Professional Skin Care: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities report from Kline & Company. Introduced by several leading manufacturers, non-hydroquinone-based products are driving sales in the hyperpigmentation/sun damage skin care concern category.
While hydroquinone (HQ) has been the gold standard ingredient in the physician dispense arena for the treatment of hyperpigmentation, this ingredient is surrounded with controversy due to some of its reported side effects. Europe has banned HQ in concentrations greater than 1%, and it's been banned in five U.S. states: New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Montana and Texas. As a result, brightening products featuring alternatives to HQ are on the rise in 2014.
According to Kline’s report, sales for products addressing hyperpigmentation account for nearly one-quarter of total take-home product sales and grow faster than any other concern, including acne and aging. Medical care providers are the main channel for hyperpigmentation products, accounting for more than 70% of the total sales. The same channel also shows the most promise, and is poised to become the leading distribution channel of professional skin care products, overtaking the spas and salons channel by 2019.