With inflammatory skin and scalp conditions on the rise, brands, each mass and prestige, are responding with a slew of over-the-counter stock keeping units and solution-based products. 

In accordance with the Global OTC Topical Drugs Market 2022 report, the worldwide over-the-counter market is predicted to achieve $70.4 billion by 2028. The report cites growing skin concerns and increased spending on health and wellness as key drivers for the category. 

Mintel also reported consumers have shifted from being reactive to proactive, adding products to their routine to avoid a greater issue or flare up in a while, adding to the category’s overall growth and brand’s increased commitment to developing solutions. 

This growing market comes on the heels of growing inflammatory skin and scalp concerns, including psoriasis, eczema, dandruff and keratosis pilaris. In relation to chronic skin conditions, dermatologist Dr. Naana Boakye cites cosmeceuticals, OTCs and prescriptions as available treatments. For a chronic skin condition, she recommends “ingredients which are going to assist maintain the condition and help control the condition.”

Seborrheic dermatitis, commonly referred to as dandruff, affects 50 percent of individuals globally, in accordance with the International Journal of Trichology. For a few years, the category has been dominated by homogenous drugstore brands. Nevertheless, now, more prestige brands like Ouai and Klorane are entering the category to supply solutions to what was once considered a taboo hair concern.

After launching its bestselling Detox Shampoo, $30, Ouai received an influx of direct messages on Instagram asking if the formula would help with dandruff. While the product couldn’t address these issues, the brand recognized there was a necessity and got down to create their very own solution-based over-the-counter shampoo.

“We took a visit to the pharmacy. We noticed that nothing was really aesthetically pleasing. Nothing smelled great. Nothing, texture-wise, felt great. We were like, ‘OK, we are able to do greater than drugstore,’” said Diana Pratasiewicz Barnao, director of education at Ouai. “We knew we wanted to do an OTC since the ingredients which have proved to be effective are ones which are regulated by the FDA.” 

In creating the brand new shampoo, $36, the brand combined the everyday ingredients present in an over-the-counter dandruff solution with Ouai’s minimalistic packaging, luxe texture and spa-like scent. 

Klorane took a special root when tackling dandruff, with an all-natural shampoo, $24, developed with galangal, which it claims can remove dandruff 4 times faster than zinc pyrithione, an ingredient traditionally utilized in OTCs. It also employs lactic acid, a preferred ingredient for chronic conditions like dandruff and keratosis pilaris. 

Atopic dermatitis, commonly referred to as eczema, affects 16.5 million adults, and the prevalence in children has grown from 8 percent to fifteen percent since 1997, as reported by the National Eczema Association. Its research shows consumers are willing to spend, with greater than 42 percent reporting spending $1,000 or more on management therapies per 12 months. Brands like Skinfix are known for offering more premium solutions to the skin concern, while brands like Eczema Honey dominate innovation inside the mass market. 

“We realize that customers are wanting simplicity and good-for-you, easy to pronounce ingredients of their products. We presented a natural solution to an issue typically resolved via steroids,” said Eczema Honey founder and chief executive officer Minesh Patel. 

Skinfix has paved the best way for prestige with regards to chronic skin conditions with its solution-focused lines, including Eczema+, Pimples+, Barrier+, Treatment+ and Resurface+. At the center of all of it is the eczema collection, which kickstarted the brand and now includes five skus. The Targeted Body Balm, $26, a hero product, filled with colloidal oatmeal, sweet almond oil and zinc oxide, is clinically proven to be as effective as a 1 percent hydrocortisone cream for treating eczema. With full ranges of skin solutions, the brand has carved out a distinct segment inside the prestige market, most notably with its Sephora partnership. 

“The indisputable fact that we’re so focused on problem-solution and therapeutics is the rationale Sephora wanted us to start with, because I feel they really felt, and the success of Skinfix would illustrate that they were correct, that there was demand for therapeutics within the Sephora environment,” said founder and CEO of Skinfix Amy Gordinier. 

Skinfix’s Resurface+ line addresses one other common skin condition, keratosis pilaris, which affects 50 to 80 percent of teenagers and 40 percent of adults, in accordance with the Cleveland Clinic. The road employs alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids to exfoliate the skin, sloughing away bumps and rough patches. 

Several Skinfix’s products are ultra-hydrating with peptides and barrier-boosting ingredients that might help treat psoriasis, which impacts greater than 8 million adults within the U.S., in accordance with a 2021 report from JAMA Dermatology. 

For Gordinier, expanding the solution-based category is significant with the intention to not only address people’s needs, but to normalize the conversation around previously taboo skin conditions. 

“It’s not something to be ashamed of,” Gordinier said. “It’s helpful to have it…be a part of the beauty experience, ultimately. Healthy skin is what we’re all after, and that’s a part of the entire beauty journey.”

The Latest Do-Gooders

Murad Eczema Collection, $42-54

This month, Murad launched its recent eczema collection, which incorporates three skus, the Soothing Oat and Peptide Cleanser, the Quick Relief Colloidal Oatmeal Treatment and the Every day Defense Colloidal Oatmeal Cream. The products were developed to handle eczema safely on the face, across the eyes and on the body. 

Ouai Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, $36

With 2 percent salicylic acid and propanediol caprylate, Ouai’s recent shampoo addresses the symptoms of dandruff, while also sloughing away the bacteria on the scalp that causes the condition. 

Eczema Honey Original Skin Soothing Cream, $29.95

Eczema Honey’s bestselling Skin-Soothing Cream, which is approved by the National Eczema Association, combines traditional eczema combattant colloidal oatmeal with honey to handle the condition and leave skin nourished.

Klorane Flaky Scalp Balancing Shampoo with Galangal, $24

Klorane’s recent Flaky Scalp Balancing Shampoo is infused with galangal to loosen and take away dandruff flakes and lactic acid to exfoliate the scalp. The brand new galangal collection also features a twice-weekly exfoliating mask to further address the symptoms of a flaky scalp. 

Soft Services, $26-58

Soft Services launched in 2021 in an effort to create solutions for body skin concerns, comparable to keratosis pilaris and ingrown hairs. Several of the brand’s products are formulated with high levels of alpha hydroxy acids to handle these conditions.

Topicals Like Butter Mask, $34

Topicals, which closed a $10 million Series A fund this November, was founded by Olamide Olowe with the goal to handle chronic skin conditions. “Topicals is built around creating authentic and positive conversations and a community around living with a skin condition,” Olowe previously told WWD. With the category expanding, Topicals is presupposed to be the fastest growing skincare brand at Sephora with products that might help with keratosis pilaris, hyperpigmentation, ingrown hairs and eczema-prone skin.