Where exactly do these sky-high priced injections come from?How do they reach consumers?
A reporter interviewed an "industry insider" with over a decade of experience in this field, revealing who truly profits behind these astronomical prices.
Through the exposé and guidance of Wang Yan (pseudonym), a "industry insider," a hidden yet deeply unscrupulous urban profit chain gradually came to light.
Hyaluronic acid (a substance found in cells that hydrates and can be used for breast augmentation or nose lifts), also known as hyaluronic acid, is a moisturizer. Depending on its grade, it can be used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Some countries internationally do indeed use hyaluronic acid as a cosmetic filler.
Yet, the majority of these "hyaluronic acid" injection fillers—highly sought after in the beauty market—are counterfeit.
Products costing 8 yuan sold for tens of thousands
Ordinary beauty salons lack the qualifications to perform invasive procedures like injections. To circumvent risks, they avoid doing the work themselves, instead hiring external providers.This has long been an industry-wide unspoken rule, allowing them to evade regulatory oversight and crackdowns. Should customers experience adverse reactions post-injection, the salons can also use this arrangement to shirk responsibility.
Wang Yan informed reporters, "Over 90% of so-called 'whitening injections' and 'slimming injections' marketed as containing hyaluronic acid are counterfeit. Global production of hyaluronic acid is inherently limited, and its domestic use is strictly regulated."
"If you investigate beauty salons, you'll find these so-called imported cosmetic injections lack names, packaging, certificates, or approval numbers. As for origin, even sales staff may be unclear—often claiming Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, or Taiwan to deceive customers."
Regarding the ingredients in these injections, Wang Yan revealed, "Most products sold by beauty salons are primarily vitamin C or simply saline solution, offering little to no actual benefit."
"This approach is still relatively benign. Some salons, seeking exorbitant profits, add other quick-fix ingredients. For instance, one type of slimming injection primarily contains a drug that promotes muscle atrophy. When injected into the body, it directly causes muscle wasting in the targeted area, resulting in localized weight loss. However, long-term use of such injections can paralyze muscle nerves, and in severe cases, even lead to facial paralysis."
Yet these very products currently occupy a prominent "high-end position" in beauty salon spending, marketed as "luxury items" in cosmetic consumption. Industry insiders revealed to reporters that "consumers spending on such injections can reach over 200,000 yuan monthly, with some even hitting 1 million yuan—while the actual cost per vial is merely around 8 yuan."
What starts as an 8-yuan-per-bottle product is priced at tens of yuan when leaving the factory. By the time it reaches middlemen, the price jumps to hundreds of yuan. Downstream distributors may sell it for two to three thousand yuan. Through this layered markup, the price at beauty salons soars to tens of thousands of yuan—and some unscrupulous operators even charge tens of thousands.
To maximize sales, beauty salons often recommend one injection for the neck and another for the face. A typical treatment course might involve 10 or 20 injections, and customers may undergo several consecutive courses. This can result in monthly spending of hundreds of thousands of yuan per customer. "I've seen a customer spend as much as 780,000 yuan in a single month," Wang Yan revealed.
Of course, beauty salons dare not administer such injections lightly, as most of their aestheticians lack formal qualifications or entry barriers—they typically receive only basic training before starting work. Injectable treatments fall under medical aesthetics, a regulated medical procedure.
According to China's "Administrative Measures for Medical Aesthetic Services," physicians performing medical aesthetics must hold valid medical licenses, and all personnel engaged in medical aesthetic nursing must be registered nurses certified by nursing authorities.
Consequently, general lifestyle beauty salons lack the qualifications to perform invasive procedures like injections. To mitigate risks, they avoid performing these procedures themselves, instead outsourcing them to external providers. Over time, this has become an industry-wide unspoken rule—avoiding regulatory scrutiny and evading crackdowns while also enabling salons to shirk responsibility if customers experience adverse reactions post-injection.
Salons typically hire injection specialists from product distributors to administer treatments on-site. For a ¥10,000 injection, distributors take 40% of the fee, while the salon retains 60%—equivalent to ¥6,000.
Prices may be higher at premium salons, and high-end establishments often use more expensive products.
However, Wang Yan acknowledges, "Some high-end salons, like Xuedan, may offer more reliable product quality. Salons of this scale typically employ their own physicians, source products directly from manufacturers, and administer injections themselves."
Currently, most small beauty salons in the industry may only have a few beds. Those with over a dozen beds are considered medium-sized. Large salons range from 200 to several thousand square meters, requiring investments of tens of millions of yuan or more. Yet, fueled by exorbitant profits, they rarely worry about recouping their costs.
Weaving Profits Through Networks
The beauty salon startup scene is no longer dominated by these individuals. Increasingly, "investors" are joining the fray—lawyers, college graduates, engineers, doctors, nurses, and business professionals from other fields. These outsiders weave a web of massive profits using their shrewdness and personal networks.
Who exactly makes these purchases costing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of yuan? And who supports these exorbitant profits?
"Don't worry about lack of demand at these prices. In this world, many people will sacrifice anything for beauty—even their lives," Wang Yan told the reporter.
Though formally a beauty salon manager, Wang Yan is actually the founder of a chain of beauty businesses. In an industry driven by membership systems, she proved exceptionally astute. To the reporter, most of her members had become her friends. Fully aware of the dangers of injectable treatments, her salon avoided offering them—yet this didn’t eliminate her members’ demand for such services.
"One member, Ah Lian (pseudonym), repeatedly insisted we offer injectable treatments. Out of sincerity, I genuinely advised her against it, explaining the risks and urging caution. Her response was, 'I'd rather live ten years less to preserve my youth.' Ultimately, Ah Lian went to another salon for injections," Wang Yan recounted.
"Alian's case isn't extreme. An even more extreme example involved a coal magnate from Shanxi. Unfortunately, since this magnate had diabetes, the salon tried to push injectable products to her for huge profits but dared not actually inject them. Instead, they persuaded her, 'Our product has minimal molecules and can be absorbed directly through the skin. You can take it home to soak your feet and still achieve whitening effects.'"
"The absurd part is that this coal boss actually believed this explanation and spent over 3 million yuan on a year's supply of the product," Wang Yan told reporters. She learned about these cases because her former coworkers at the beauty salon later became salon owners themselves. They regularly exchange information, and many clients refer each other. This particular coal boss, who was a decent person, was also a friend of Wang Yan's.
It's understood that many salon owners offering injection services later became wealthy. Wang Yan's salon, which upheld ethical standards, operated at low profit margins despite high labor costs. Ultimately, pressured by family, she had to sell it.