Inside Electrolyte Skin Care From Cocokind, Milk Makeup and More

Skin care wants a taste of the electrolyte craze. 

With the popularity of Liquid I.V., hydration supplements and electrolytes have become one of the hottest categories in wellness, having reached $785 million and $383 million in omnichannel U.S. sales in 2024, respectively, per Nielsen IQ. That, in turn, has led to a rise in trends like “sexy water” and a proliferation of brands in the beverage space including Waterboy, Cure Hydration and Ultima. Now, the skin care category wants a piece of the pie, as brands are employing electrolyte complexes in their formulas and adding the term itself into their product names and descriptions.

Cocokind launched its Electrolyte Water Cream, $14, which is now a bestseller, growing 12x since its December 2024 launch. Meanwhile, in the midst of its partnership with Nike, Milk Makeup launched Balmade Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm with Electrolytes, $18, this year, inspired by sports drinks like Gatorade. Retailers are also interested — Ulta Beauty offers electrolytes both through drink powders in The Wellness Shop and topical products like the Good Molecules Hydrating Gel Moisturizer with Electrolytes, $10. Meanwhile, Sephora’s website has a page dedicated to electrolyte-based skin care highlighting products like Drunk Elephant’s F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask, $56.

The Cleveland Clinic defines electrolytes as “substances that have a natural positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water.” The most common electrolytes include salts, magnesium, zinc, potassium and calcium. While the category is now gaining traction, experts say electrolytes aren’t new to skin care. 

“Electrolytes have been used in skin care for a long time,” said Krupa Koestline, cosmetic chemist and founder of KKT Innovation Labs. “A lot of face washes and shampoos actually get thickened by electrolytes because salt is an electrolyte.”

However, Koestline pointed to certain electrolytes that are proven to provide additional benefits, such as magnesium and zinc salts, which can address redness and inflammation.

Brands like Cocokind and Milk Makeup are investing in the electrolyte conversation and taking it a step beyond salt thickeners with more complex formulas. For example, Cocokind’s Electrolyte Water employs a blend of magnesium, zinc and sodium. 

“Topically, electrolytes can optimize the performance of the other hydrating ingredients in the formula, like glycerin and beta glucan, and also support the skin’s own natural moisturizing factors to balance moisture levels, support a healthy skin barrier function and defend against environmental stress,” said Cocokind founder and chief executive officer Priscilla Tsai. 

While it doesn’t include electrolyte in the product name, Cocokind’s Calming Magnesium Mist, $18, which features the same blend as the Electrolyte Water Cream, has also become a hit for the brand thanks to its calming properties. According to Tsai, customers are increasingly interested in products that feature magnesium specifically.

Similarly, in its Balmade formula, Milk Makeup employs magnesium, potassium and zinc, which could lock in additional moisture even after the product wears off. According to Milk Makeup cofounder Dianna Ruth, these ingredients are able to permeate the skin barrier rather than sitting on top as an occlusive. In addition to the ingredients and the product name, Ruth said the brand tapped into the electrolyte craze even more with vibrant colors and fruity flavors.

Although brands are tapping into the functionality of electrolyte complexes, the proliferation of drinkable electrolytes makes it an easy concept to market.

“People, at a high level, know what the word electrolyte [means] and that’s usually half the battle when you’re launching a product,” Ruth said. “That helped them connect back to, ‘Oh, I get this. It means hydration.’”

Lisa Tamburello, vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty, agreed. “Electrolyte skin care has grown to be a staple for beauty enthusiasts because it taps into the growing demand for hydration solutions that go beyond surface-level moisture,” she said. “With the positive reputation of how well electrolytes can make you feel in a liquid and powder form, there is an organic education point with consumers that this ingredient is healthy enough to apply to your face.”

While the recognition is a benefit, Tsai said it isn’t just a marketing push.

“We chose to highlight electrolytes in the name because they’re the heroes of this formula,” she said. “The popularity of electrolyte drinks has made the term more familiar, but for us it’s not a marketing trend. Just like in beverages, electrolytes improve how water is absorbed, and in skin care they help hydration penetrate deeper and last longer, making them a truly valuable ingredient in formulas.”

Tamburello predicts the category will continue to grow given its crossover with wellness.

“We see incredible potential in this category especially as the weather begins to turn colder to address concerns like dryness and dullness with various options that are high-performance, accessible and can work with various skin types,” she said. 

While electrolyte skin care is having a moment, it’s not the first time a wellness ingredient has crossed over into the topical beauty world. 

“Food and supplements, that’s where everything comes from. The big adaptogenic push, ashwagandha [and] even CBD were all based on supplements,” Koestline said. “Ferments and biotech that all comes from the supplement and wellness industry.”

With this, Koestline said creatine could be the next wellness ingredient to hit the skin care category.

“It’s going to probably enter the market in the next year or so,” she said. “There are some clinicals around it [but] not many… It’s still emerging, but it’s definitely something that we get asked because there’s all this noise around creatine in the supplement industry.”

Tamburello added: “These innovations are only the beginning, and we believe there will be continued growth of buzzy wellness ingredients converging into a must-have step in modern beauty routines.”