With the booming development of the beauty and skincare industry, facial masks, as a popular skincare product, have a continuously rising market demand, which has also driven the rapid development of the facial mask fabric industry. According to relevant data, the global facial mask fabric market size was approximately $516 million in 2024. China, as the world's largest non - woven fabric producer, occupies an important position in the facial mask fabric production field. In 2024, the overall market size of facial masks in China reached 70.29 billion yuan, with a year - on - year growth of 14.2%. Among them, non - woven facial mask fabrics, as the mainstream category, accounted for about 68% of the market share, corresponding to a market size of approximately 47.8 billion yuan, indicating the crucial position of the facial mask fabric industry in the entire facial mask market.​

From the perspective of market trends, the facial mask fabric industry is showing a diversified development trend. In terms of product innovation, as consumers' requirements for skincare quality and efficacy continue to increase, the materials and functions of facial mask fabrics are also constantly being upgraded. Although traditional non - woven facial mask fabrics still occupy a large market share, new types of facial mask fabrics such as plant fiber, lyocell fabric, and biopolymer fiber fabric are gradually expanding their market share with their environmental friendliness, skin - friendliness, and better essence - carrying and releasing capabilities. For example, the market share of plant fiber and lyocell fabric has exceeded 50%. With the rise of the concept of "the fabric is the efficacy", these new types of fabrics can better promote the penetration of essence and enhance the skincare effect through special processes and designs.​

Technological innovation is also an important force driving the development of the facial mask fabric industry. Intelligent production empowers the production of facial mask fabrics. Smart factories have achieved "flexible customization + rapid response", greatly shortening the new product R & D cycle. Some enterprises have shortened the new product R & D cycle to 30 days through the integration of the entire industrial chain, and can more quickly meet the market's demand for diversified facial mask fabrics. At the same time, the technology of optimizing the transdermal delivery of active ingredients is constantly advancing. Technologies such as fresh - drying technology, D - phase emulsification, and nano - dissolution technology have significantly improved the transdermal efficiency of active ingredients, enabling facial mask fabrics to better play their role in carrying and delivering essence.​

However, the facial mask fabric industry also faces many challenges during its development. The fluctuation of raw material prices is a major problem. The main raw materials of facial mask fabrics, such as polyester fiber and viscose fiber, are affected by various factors such as the international market supply - demand relationship and crude oil prices, and their prices are unstable. For example, during the epidemic, the price of spunlace non - woven fabric, the main raw material of facial mask fabrics, increased significantly, by about 200%, which brought huge cost pressure to facial mask fabric production enterprises. Although the prices of some raw materials have fallen back to some extent, there are still uncertainties. Enterprises need to continuously optimize supply chain management and find stable raw material suppliers to reduce cost risks.​

Fierce market competition is also a challenge faced by the facial mask fabric industry. With the booming development of the facial mask market, more and more enterprises have entered the facial mask fabric production field, and the market competition has become increasingly fierce. In addition to traditional facial mask fabric production enterprises, some emerging enterprises have also risen rapidly with innovative technologies and unique market positions, intensifying market competition. In this situation, enterprises need to continuously enhance their core competitiveness, strengthen brand building, and improve product quality and service levels to gain a foothold in the market.​

Although the facial mask fabric industry faces challenges, it is also full of opportunities. With the continuous upgrading of the global beauty and skincare industry and the continuous refinement of consumers' skincare needs, the facial mask fabric industry is expected to continue its growth trend in the future. It is estimated that by 2031, the global revenue of facial mask fabrics will double to $1052 million, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025 to 2031 will be as high as 10.8%. In the future development, the facial mask fabric industry will develop towards a more environmentally friendly, efficient, and personalized direction, continuously meeting the increasingly diverse needs of consumers.​