Digital Skin, Platform Power, and Health Narratives in the Global Skincare Industry

This chapter conceptualizes skincare as a critical site within global health capitalism shaped by digital platforms. Moving beyond aesthetics, skincare is analyzed as a biopolitical practice where health narratives, data extraction, and market logics converge. Using the lenses of surveillance capitalism, biopolitics, and platform governance, the chapter examines how AI skin diagnostics, digital tracking, influencer marketing, and e-commerce platforms transform skin into a source of data and economic value. Algorithmic personalization and biomedicalized discourses normalize continuous monitoring and consumption, positioning individuals as self-managers of skin health. The chapter highlights regulatory and access inequalities across regions and calls for more transparent, equitable, and evidence-based governance in the digital skincare economy.