‘Baby-face’ jab profits just skin deep
Print Edition
IN a sleek beauty clinic in downtown Shanghai, 32-year-old fashion editor Mia Ma smiles into a mirror after wiping away a numbing cream from her cheeks.
“This is my second round of filler this year,” she said. “I just want to maintain my facial contour and make myself look fresh and awake.”
Her treatment of choice is tongyan zhen (童颜针), literally “baby-face injection,” a poly-L-lactic acid, collagen-stimulating filler that over months coaxes the skin into producing its own collagen for a smoother, fuller look.
The injection has become one of China’s buzziest trends in medical aesthetics, a market that includes botulinum toxins, hyaluronic acid and collagen stimulators, and is expected to exceed 380 billion yuan (US$52.3 billion) in value by 2027, according to a 2024 report by Deloitte China.
“Right now, baby-face injection is by far our most popular service,” said Xiao Xiong, a sales consultant at a beauty clinic on Huashan Road. “Some people even book second appointments before the effects of the first ones have fully appeared.”
She added, “There are so many different kinds of treatment in the market now. Some focus on deep collagen stimulation, some add hydrating ingredients for a plumper look, and others promise a longer-lasting lift.”
As of July, nine “baby-face injection” products have won approval for use in China, with another dozen in the regulatory pipeline. Prices, once hovering above 18,000 yuan per treatment, are already sliding toward the 10,000-yuan mark in major cities as competition bites.
Some aggressive newcomers have undercut prices of market leaders by a third, sparking disputes over product authenticity and medical qualifications.
In June, SoYoung, one of China’s biggest medical aesthetics platforms, rolled out a cut-rate “miracle baby-face” injection treatment prices at just 5,999 yuan. It featured a 340-milligram dose of Löviselle, China’s first approved collagen stimulator based on poly-L-lactic acid.
Developed by Changchun-based biotech firm SinoBiom, Löviselle positioned itself at the premium end of the “baby-face” market, with a suggested retail price of 18,800 yuan per syringe. When SoYoung launched a cheaper version under its own clinical brand name, SinoBiom hit back.
The company issued a public warning questioning SoYoung’s supply channels, physician credentials and patient safety. SoYoung deleted the response statement from its platform, but the offer still appears on other online platforms in mid-August, drawing floods of bargain-hunters.
The pressure is on. Last month, two new products — Lizhenran, developed by Xihong Bio Pharma and exclusively marketed by China Medical System, and Olidia, co-developed by Anhemei (Hoya Beauty) and Korea PRP — received approval from China’s drug regulator. Their arrival has further intensified what was already a brutal turf battle for customers.
At first glance, the collagen-stimulation market looks busy, but take a look closer and it’s a house of mirrors. Many newly launched “baby-face injections” are strikingly similar in composition, using collagen-stimulating polymers with only slight differences in duration, elasticity and onset of effects. All promise nearly identical outcomes. Some medics have called the market “a hundred versions of the same magic bean.”
“Customers don’t really know the differences among all these brands, so it’s all about speed,” said sales consultant Xiao. “Whoever gets there first wins.”
In response, established players are ramping up social media campaigns and working with influencers to reinforce brand identity and fend off cheaper competitors.
That flood is washing away Löviselle’s early-entry advantage. In 2022 and 2023, it was the star of the show. Today, it’s one of many. And when differentiation fades, price erosion follows fast.
In aesthetic medicine, few products can hold the line on pricing for long. Botox and Juvederm are rare exceptions, backed by decades of branding, strict training protocols, and iron-fisted distribution. Löviselle? Not quite there.
It’s a familiar arc. Star products often hit peak price in the first 6-12 months, then begin a steady slide unless buttressed by relentless marketing and tight supply control. By the three-to-five-year period, most injectables lose pricing power, especially as new approvals accelerate.
For now, the chase is on in a market where everyone promises glowing skin but profits may be skin deep.
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