Despite Pantone's color of the year being Cloud Dancer white, beauty is getting bolder. In fact, bio-beauty tops my list of cosmetic trends to watch in 2026. I use this term loosely to encompass the clever biomimetic and biologically targeted technologies our industry has pioneered for skin and hair health.
Trending topics like longevity, inflammaging, exosomes, the microbiome, peptides, neurocosmetics, the mind-skin axis, etc., all come to mind. In the future, I think we'll see more discussions around spin-offs like mini proteins, immunity, the secretome and miRNAs, among others.
Dermocosmetics — a major theme in this C&T issue — have been at the forefront of bio-beauty, driven by demand for safe and truly effective products backed by science. Giving this a health twist takes us to the intersection where ingredients and products engage the body's own repair and protection mechanisms.
In the dermocosmetic realm, Dunsten and Dell'Acqua explain in this issue how topical formulas can enhance laser prejuvenation, considering both topical ingredients and skin factors. Canel describes the oxi-inflammatory environment produced in skin and a sea buckthorn extract to calm this state.
Imbert, Bonnans, et al., examine how blue light and UV impact skin tone and propose a peptide-rich cocoa extract to improve its evenness. And three industry leaders help us unpack the power of mini proteins; namely how their folded structure lends unmatched precision to anti-aging treatments.
The skinification of hair also carried over bio-beauty into hair care; e.g., actives to target the scalp microbiome and to send exosome messages for hair growth. Here, one industry insider outlines how stem cell secretome from an individual's hair follicles can advance both hair and skin treatments personalized to that person.
One last aspect of bio-beauty I can't overlook is its connection to sustainability: biotechnology. The innovation in this space will continue to boom as technology advances and biological mechanisms are uncovered; enabled by AI, no doubt.
Stepping boldly into the New Year, the industry can expect to see the ongoing convergence of science with self-care redefining both beauty consumer routines and the very purpose of cosmetics.
