Trending: What is New in the World of Skincare

Skincare is the bedrock of aesthetic medicine - but it is also a field that is filled with conflicting information from influencers, cosmetic chemists, and dermatologists. I have fallen in love with skincare, but I also recognise there’s a constant desire to chase the latest trend. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to know what’s new and exciting in the skincare world, and to that end I wanted to touch on the hottest current trends in skin.

Pursuit of the Glow

One of the biggest skin care trends at the moment is the pursuit of the “glow” – effortlessly radiant and smooth skin when foundation or makeup-free.

You can see this with trending searches and hashtags on social media with things like “dolphin skin” or “cloud skin,” or people posting their “glow ups.” Everyone wants to have that refreshed, clear, and almost filtered look in real life.

To that end, the secret weapon in every aesthetic doctors’ toolkit is Profhilo - a gorgeous injectable skinbooster that not only deeply hydrates the skin, but has a bioremodelling effect in stimulating collagen and elastin production.

It has been the ultimate glow-up for many patients’ skin.

Skinplicity

There are a lot of buzzwords floating around right now for quite a similar concept: a pared back, simple, and intuitive routine based on what you think your skin needs right now. These terms include “skinplicity,” “intuitive beauty,” and “emotional beauty.”

A lot of this focuses on how skincare makes you feel and how it can benefit your emotional or mental health as a moment of self-care. This means more emphasis on those extra flourishes like beautiful fragrance and texture. It also means using fewer products and stripping things back to the essential basics, which I have no problem with! It’s a great option for those on a budget but who still want to look after themselves. And I’ve also always been a big proponent of keeping it simple and science-based.

Rewilding

Okay - so “rewilding” is a super trendy term for a very simple concept - nurturing the skin microbiome, respecting the skin barrier, and not disrupting skin’s pH.

Here is the caveat.

The skin microbiome is a super complicated thing - read my article about it here.

While it is definitely incredibly trendy - the evidence for pro-biotics and pre-biotics for the skin is pretty low at the moment. That’s not to say it won’t be a thing of the future. But here is a summary so far:

The general consensus now is shifting towards the skin microbiome being a vital component of healthy skin. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to determine exactly what species and what proportions of different microorganisms are good for the skin. One phrase that I have seen a lot is “dysbiosis,” but it is a very vague and non-specific term. There is a suggestion that an imbalance in the microbiome is causing disease, however no one can say yet what the correct “balance” looks like, or has proven a strict causal relationships.

This is one of those areas where we have seen some very interesting correlations and promising early research, but that doesn’t mean we should jump ahead and spend a lot of money on the hottest new skincare trend yet.

There is still a lot we don’t know. Although it seems clear that a good relationship with a diverse skin microbiome will promote skin health, we have not determined the exact details of which microorganisms do this, and in which contexts. Everyone’s microbiome is unique to them, so not all probiotics will work for all people, or they may respond very differently.

Full Body Skincare

It goes without saying that we don’t just have skin on our face and necks! And while looking after that skin can have a massive impact, we can’t neglect the skin that covers the rest of our bodies. After all, skin is the biggest organ we have.

To that end, there is a big focus now on skincare for the entire body. And this isn’t just a nice moisturiser. The trending skincare ingredients that we use on our faces are now being put into body lotions so that all of our skin can have the benefit of skincare science.

Sustainable Skincare

This is a “trend” but it’s also important. There’s been in a shift recently for both companies and consumers that we need our consumption to be environmentally friendly for the good of our planet (and everyone on it). Therefore, things like refillable packaging and zero waste are definitely in.

Celebrity Skincare Lines

Ugh. Look - I know this is a thing. There is never a part of me that is going to be into it. Of course endorsements are a part of marketing, but there is no celebrity out there with a medical or chemistry degree formulating their own skincare lines. They’re just selling. And that’s okay, but sometimes it crosses the realm into disingenuous and complete misinformation. If we could just all ignore the whole celebrity skincare thing - that would be great.

Read my article on Glowday to understand why (some) celebrities are giving aesthetics a bad name.

TikTok Skincare Tips

This is another ugh for me - but again this goes back to who you are getting your information from, what their level of expertise is, and why something is trending. There are some amazing skincare clinicians and scientists on TikTok. They are often a drop in the ocean of skincare misinformation and nonsense out there. But the reality is that social media is where most people get their information form nowadays, and you ignore that at your peril.