The glass skin trend may still be going strong in 2026, but there’s a lot more going on in skin care than just the desire for glass skin trend shine.
People are more and more ignoring short-lived trends and seeing their routines as a “skinvestment,” focusing on results and long-term effects, as well as gentle but effective formulas.
A strong skin barrier is important as skin health below the surface becomes more important.
People are calling this change “post-glass skin” or “glass skin 2.0” in 2026, but it is part of a bigger trend in what people want from skin care and where the industry is going: toward repair resilience longevity, and regeneration.
The Cosmetics Business Innovation Awards give formulators, suppliers, and technology developers a way to show off and explain important new ideas to the whole industry. Now is the time to enter!
According to Boots’ 2026 Beauty & Wellness Trends Report, 80% of adults are taking a preventative approach to their beauty routines by focusing on long-term care and maintenance instead of quick fixes.
It also says that “skin stability is front of mind,” and that 47% of people change their routine because of environmental factors and flare-ups. This is in the context of beauty and wellness routines changing to help build resilience mentally, physically, and dermatologically.
In the same way, the true direction of trends can be seen below the surface of the skin care category and how well it has done over the past year.
According to Euromonitor International, the skin care market grew by 4.5% to US$169.9 billion in 2025, which wasn’t too impressive overall.
According to Circana, skin care sales in Europe grew by 4.6% overall, but there were big differences between regions. For example, sales in France fell by 4% and sales in the UK grew by 11%.
A lot of mass
But if you look more closely at what is driving growth, you can see that mass market skin care is growing much faster than prestige skin care.Matt Maxwell, Health and Beauty Business Unit Director at Kantar, says, “It’s a flip in performance because last year, premium skin care did very well and mass was behind the market.”
“It’s a trend we’re seeing more of in beauty, with 1.2 million more UK shoppers buying skin care than last year.”
Nick Vaus, co-founder and Managing Partner of Free The Birds, says, “One of the most important things that has happened in the past year is that prestige beauty has leveled off. This is very much a reflection of the larger economic and cultural climate.”
The difference between luxury and value skin care has grown, and accessible luxury is no longer important.
“Consumers are switching to value-driven brands that work well at lower prices, or they are spending more on luxury brands, but only when those brands can clearly explain why they are worth the extra money.”
Maxwell says that mass brands like Nivea, Garnier, and Simple have been doing especially well in the UK over the past year. This is because their science-backed formulas make hero ingredients like peptides, ceramides, and vitamin C much easier for consumers to get, while also being more expensive than regular mass skin care.
Derma and K-beauty brands are also still growing quickly, with growth rates in the double digits that are much higher than the category average.
There are a lot of mid- and mass-priced brands that use high-performance ingredients and cutting-edge technologies. This puts pressure on prestige brands to offer something more.
Vaus says, “To stand out, high-end brands need to go beyond having the same ingredients and instead focus on focus on depth.”
Telling stories about craft, innovation, and formulation expertise becomes very important. Prestige brands need to make a “moment” in the lives of their customers.
Nick Vaus, co-founder and Managing Partner of Free The Birds, says that prestige brands need to go beyond having the same ingredients and focus on depth instead of sameness.
This is where technologies like L’Oréal’s Wheel of Longevity for Beauty come in. It uses its own Longevity AI Cloud to look at over 260 skin longevity biomarkers to find the root cellular causes of aging and extend the health span of skin cells. This leads to the creation of new products like Lancôme’s Absolue Longevity Soft Cream.
Vaus says, “Prestige has a chance to regain authority through trust and credibility,” whether that means working with scientists, dermatologists, or showing long-term results.
Only subscribers will get to see detailed trends in March, so don’t miss out and sign up.
Trend 1: Spicules
Exosomes and PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) have become popular in beauty products over the past year. But in 2026, there will be a new thing on the market.
that looks like it will take over the beauty world: take over the beauty world: spicules.
As always, Korea is at the forefront of this trend, with a lot of beauty products coming out of the country that contain this ingredient, which comes from marine sponges.
People are talking about them more and more on social media, calling them “microneedling in a bottle” and “liquid microneedling” because of how they work.
This article will look into whether spicules are about to become popular.
Trend 2: Skin care that is done in a certain way
The demand for cosmetic surgery and treatments is through the roof, which creates new opportunities for skin care products before and after the surgery.
In 2026, aesthetic medicine is focusing on treatments that work with the skin’s own repair systems to make it healthier and function better. These include the deep plane facelift, which is a popular surgical option, and blepharoplasties, which are becoming more popular. There is also a trend toward more natural results and regenerative treatments.
There is now a lot of activity in the beauty industry for products that are meant to go along with either cosmetic surgery or “tweakments.” This trend looks at what boxes these products should check and where there are still untapped opportunities in this growing category.
Trend 3: Beta-glucan
In addition to the general trend toward skin care that focuses on longevity, people are also putting barrier-supportive and moisturizing formulas at the top of their lists.
Beta-glucan is a natural polysaccharide that is commonly found in fungi, bacteria, and algae. It is known in the medical field for improving heart health and immune function.
Research shows that this new ingredient has a lot of promise for use in skin care, such as reducing inflammation, repairing the skin barrier, moisturizing, and protecting against UV damage.
And since searches for the ingredient have gone up 51% in the past year [source: Glimpse], beta-glucan is becoming the barrier repair hero of 2026.
Trend 4: Heroes of optimized ingredients
Beauty lovers love new ingredients, especially when it comes to skin care.
There are a lot of exciting actives for customers to jump on, from ectoin to exosomes.
But in the world of skin care science, the trends that shape development aren’t always based on the next big thing.
This article talks about how and why the big five hero ingredients—retinol, peptides, vitamin C, ceramides, and niacinamide—are being improved for the newest products.
Trend 5: Skin care based on medicine
Skin care brands have been getting new ideas from medical science for a long time.
Augustinus Bader, which started out as a way to heal wounds, and 111 Skin, which is based on healing after surgery, are two examples of a medical-to-skin translation.
But this is going to the next level in 2026. Medical and surgical technology is pushing brands like Mantle and Kyomi Skin to make skin care products that are better than ever.
