A 2023 U.S. survey found that women used an average of 13 personal-care products per day, but only three of those were in the survey’s skin-care category.
How many skincare products does the average woman use each day? The honest answer depends on what you mean by skincare. A 2023 Morning Consult survey commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found an average of 13 daily personal-care products among women. The total covered body care, skin care, cosmetics, hair care, and baby care, so it is not evidence that the average facial routine contains 13 steps.
Within EWG’s published category breakdown, women averaged three products in the skin-care category and six in body care. This article explains what the survey measured, how EWG estimated ingredient counts, and how to count your own routine without comparing unlike categories.
- Women reported using an average of 13 personal-care products per day.
- The category averages for women were six body-care products, three skin-care products, two cosmetics, one hair-care product, and one baby-care product.
- EWG’s separate modeling estimated 114 unique ingredients in the average woman’s daily set of products.
- The survey covered U.S. adults and offered only “women” and “men” as gender response categories.
The current figure is 13 personal-care products, not 13 skincare steps
Morning Consult surveyed 2,207 U.S. adults in February 2023. EWG reports that 1,128 respondents were women and 1,073 were men, with the remaining responses not specified in its published gender split. The results were weighted to match the demographic profile of the U.S. population.
Participants answered questions about 66 daily-use product types divided among five broad classes: body care, baby care, skin care, cosmetics, and hair care. EWG reported these average daily totals:
| Group | All personal-care products | Estimated unique ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 13 | 114 |
| Men | 11 | 105 |
| All adults | 12 | 112 |
Those figures are useful only with the label attached: they are averages for personal care, not measured counts of facial skincare alone. Shampoo, deodorant, body wash, makeup, and other categories can contribute to the total.
What women used in each survey category
EWG’s published breakdown gives a clearer answer for readers asking about skincare:
| Survey category | Average daily products among women | Examples the category can cover |
|---|---|---|
| Body care | 6 | Products such as body cleansers, deodorant, and body moisturizer |
| Skin care | 3 | Facial and other products classified by the survey as skin care |
| Cosmetics | 2 | Makeup products |
| Hair care | 1 | Hair-cleansing, conditioning, or styling products |
| Baby care | 1 | Products used for infant care |
The category averages sum to 13, but they do not describe one universal routine. An average can combine people who use none of a category with people who use several. The published overview does not provide a single count for “face-only skincare,” so assigning a 3-to-6 or 7-to-10 range would go beyond the data.
Why the older 12-product and 168-ingredient statistic still appears
EWG published an earlier product-use survey in 2004. That study included more than 2,300 people and reported that women used an average of 12 personal-care products containing 168 unique ingredients per day. The number has been repeated for years, sometimes without its date or the words “personal care.”
The 2023 results update the product count to 13 for women and the modeled ingredient estimate to 114. Comparing 168 directly with 114 requires care because EWG’s 2023 analysis used current Skin Deep formulation data and a stated simulation method. A lower modeled ingredient count does not prove that every modern routine contains fewer ingredients, and neither figure represents a laboratory measurement of what entered participants’ bodies.
How EWG produced the 114-ingredient estimate
The product-use averages came from Morning Consult’s survey responses. The ingredient total came from a separate EWG analysis, not from collecting and reading every bottle used by each respondent.
EWG says it created composite formulations for the 66 product types using ingredient frequency and formula patterns in its Skin Deep database. It then used a Monte Carlo simulation to generate product combinations consistent with the survey results and estimate unique ingredients across the daily mix.
This makes 114 a modeled estimate. It is more precise to say that EWG estimated 114 unique ingredients than to say the survey physically found or measured 114 ingredients on each woman. Actual totals will vary with the products, formulas, and category mix a person uses.
What the survey can and cannot tell you
It can describe a weighted U.S. average
The survey is useful for showing that personal-care use extends well beyond a facial routine and that body-care products make up the largest category in EWG’s published breakdown for women.
It cannot define the ideal routine
An average is descriptive, not a target. Using fewer than 13 products does not mean a routine is incomplete, and using more does not automatically make it excessive. The right number depends on what each product does, how it is tolerated, and whether multiple products duplicate the same job.
It cannot turn personal care into face-only skincare
The survey categories matter. Someone asking how many serums and moisturizers women use cannot use the total of 13 as the answer. The closest published category figure is three daily skin-care products among women, but even that category is broader than a standardized morning facial routine.
It does not measure health effects
Product counts and modeled ingredient counts describe use and formulation complexity. They do not show that a routine is harmful, that ingredients are absorbed in a particular amount, or that reducing the count will treat a skin condition. Those questions require different evidence.
How to count your own routine consistently
Choose a definition before you start. These three counts answer different questions:
- Face-only skincare: count distinct cleansers, treatments, moisturizers, and sunscreens applied to the face during a typical day.
- Skin-applied personal care: add body wash, body moisturizer, deodorant, hand care, and other products applied to skin.
- All personal care: add hair care, cosmetics, oral care, fragrance, and any other personal-care categories you want to track.
Count each distinct product once per day even if you reapply it. If your question is about the number of application steps instead, count each application separately and label the result that way. Keeping products and applications separate prevents sunscreen reapplication from being confused with owning several sunscreens.
A routine audit is more useful than chasing the average
Once you have a count, look for purpose rather than trying to match 13:
- Write one job beside each product.
- Mark products that perform the same job at the same time of day.
- Separate daily products from occasional treatments.
- Keep prescribed treatments outside a casual decluttering exercise.
- Change one item at a time if you are trying to identify irritation or pilling.
A cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen may cover the core of one person’s morning routine. Another person may need a prescribed treatment or a separate product for a specific concern. The survey does not settle that decision; it simply provides context for how U.S. adults reported using personal-care categories in 2023.
Method and limitations at a glance
- Who: 2,207 U.S. adults, including 1,128 women and 1,073 men in EWG’s published split.
- When: February 2023.
- Survey designer: Morning Consult, commissioned by EWG.
- Coverage: 66 product types across five personal-care classes.
- Weighting: demographics weighted to the U.S. population profile.
- Ingredient method: EWG Skin Deep formulation composites and Monte Carlo simulation.
- Gender limitation: the survey offered only women and men as response categories.
- Interpretation limitation: averages do not show the distribution of routines or define a recommended product count.
Related HomeWise guides
If you want to reduce duplicated steps, use our routine audit for duplicates and gaps. For a concrete example of a short face routine, see how to build a simple morning skincare routine. Readers simplifying because of sensitivity can also compare the decision factors in our sensitive-skin moisturizer guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many skincare products does the average woman use daily?
In EWG’s 2023 published category breakdown, women averaged three products in the skin-care category. They averaged 13 products across all five personal-care categories combined.
Does the average woman use 12 or 13 products?
EWG’s 2004 survey reported 12 personal-care products per day among women. Its 2023 Morning Consult survey reported 13. Both figures cover personal care rather than face-only skincare.
Where does the 114-ingredient number come from?
EWG modeled ingredient totals using formulation composites from its Skin Deep database and a Monte Carlo simulation aligned with the 2023 survey results. It is an estimate, not a laboratory measurement of each participant.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through links on our site.