The beauty sector hasn’t seen a down year in over a decade — it’s one of the most consistently growing industries globally. While the growth of the segments is changing, the fact of the growth is not changing. The global beauty and personal care market is enormous and still growing. In 2024, it was valued at roughly $593 billion worldwide (1). Industry forecasts show it climbing further – for example, Statista projects about $677 billion in global revenue by 2025 (2). This implies steady growth in the mid single digits annually. Analysts generally expect 3–5% annual growth through 2026 and beyond (3). At this pace, the market would approach or exceed $700 billion by 2026, on track toward the high-$700s billion by 2030. (McKinsey, for instance, anticipates ~5% yearly growth through 2030 (4), and one industry report forecasts about $697 billion by 2030 (5). This sustained expansion follows a post-2020 rebound and reflects resilient consumer demand in beauty/personal care even amid economic uncertainties. Overall, the outlook is for continued moderate growth in the global beauty sector through 2026 and well into the decade.
The Biggest Shift From 2025 to 2026: AI
The biggest shift from 2025 to 2026 is AI. AI is growing at a pace that is really hard to catch. We have AI content, AI-enhanced phones, computers, smart watches, basically anything and everything. Of course, this has an amazing impact on making our life more efficient, but on the other hand, it makes our life really hard because we are basically living in a time that we cannot trust our main source of information, the internet. It is becoming a blur what is AI-generated and what is real.
2026 Beauty Personas (WGSN)
I definitely suggest reading WGSN’s 2026 beauty personas report, but in short, we will see new personas defined:
The Impartialists (6): Living the crisis of disinformation, looking for honest and simple paths instead of storytelling.
The Autonomists (6): Looking for a community to share the same values.
The Gleamers (6): Burnt-out, moved to a small town, looking for minimalism.
The Synergists (6): Looking and searching for a better world, interested in new technologies.
In general, this report says that although it may not be easy to understand what AI content people don’t want to be fed, this content exists. So what are they searching for? Here is the first trend Mintel has predicted in their report.
Beyond The Algorithm: Personal Touch Revolution (7)
Definitely aligning with 2026 WGSN, there is a huge backlash of AI-created content. People want to see who they are buying it from and why the founder has created this brand.
In a micro sense, employee and founder-generated content will be the reason why people will follow and get interested in your brand. Also, don’t forget you should be entertaining and engaging with this content. To every new founder stepping into the arena: hold up your phone, grab a ring light, and share your why — because if you’re not showing up, you won’t be seen.
Also, I think the activations and creating micro communities will be really important. If you are a body care brand, collab with a swimsuit brand and make a morning swim class or morning wellness activation, basically, there are things that you can create with a small investment but a bigger impact to show your customers you care about them!
Metabolic Beauty (7)
We’ve seen this as a form of beauty from within, wellness, and longevity—whatever you want to call this trend—is here to stay. We want to be healthier, see less of doctors, and trust that we are doing good for ourselves. Burnouts, city living, and overstimulation all impact us as human beings, but in simpler terms, we just want to live healthily over a prolonged period. Supplements, collagens, adaptogens, and probiotics are here to stay and are awaiting more innovation.
I believe the biggest ingredient in 2026 will be NAD+. Recently, if you’ve been to in-cosmetics Asia, you’d have already seen NAD+ as a topical ingredient. We’re definitely trying to release our tiredness with NAD+. While more data is needed for topical application, the data for supplements is emerging, and as someone who uses it, I can definitely say it works! Let’s also not forget GLP-1 activators, which will remain relevant, and this too will likely be seen as a topical application.
Also this will include the beauty device category because most of the educated consumers know now we need to have better delivery systems to the skin if we want to see better and quicker results. The data backs this up as well:
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70% of consumers value science-backed beauty (7)
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76% of US adults say tech tools should always be supplemented by human support (7)
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37% of German skincare users believe a sensation means it’s working – emotional connection still drives purchase (7)
Sensorial Synergy (7)
Well, if we’ve phased out ASMR, we needed something to replace it. Of course, it’s not just ASMR; it’s also driven by K-beauty. K-beauty heavily relies on different textures and applications beyond just the tech side. If you’ve attended Beauty World Dubai, you might have noticed that gourmet fragrances (food-related) are making a comeback, and I believe this will also lead us to see more food-related textures, like mouse or custard, make a return.
In addition to this, we shouldn’t forget that customers are getting more and more savvy about the ingredients which they will learn more and more.
Ingredients That Will Define 2026
From the show floor of in-cosmetics Asia, here are the ingredient trends I believe will define 2026:
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If we consider the most researched ingredients throughout the year, one of them is definitely PDRN. It will continue to be relevant.
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Exosomes, whether plant-based or animal-based, will see growth as more data becomes available.
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Oleosomes, which I find interesting, are expected to grow as a delivery system, even though they are not new.
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Biotechnology-based ingredients, whether it is a fermented or bacteria metabolised ingredient, ensure that you are looking for a biotech ingredient for your next NPD.
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NAD+ and GLP-1 activators, we will definitely see these two implemented into skincare.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The 2026 beauty landscape rewards clarity, connection, and credibility. Whether you’re an indie founder or an ingredient supplier, the winning formula is real people, real science, and real purpose. From biotech delivery systems to devices, it’s no longer about looking perfect — it’s about building beauty that feels personal, local, and lasting.
If you aim to become a beauty founder in 2026, stay true to your customers, take them along on your journey, and ensure your formulations include the right active ingredients to deliver the results supporting your claims.
References
1 — https://www.euromonitor.com/newsroom/press-releases/july-2025/fragrance-to-drive-23-of-beauty-growth-as-recession-glam-takes-hold
2 — https://beautymatter.com/articles/the-black-beauty-market-tells-two-stories
3 — https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/state-of-beauty
4 — https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/state-of-beauty
5 — https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/beauty-and-personal-care-market/7421.html
6 — https://www.wgsn.com/beauty/p/article/66422f8e96818c307c2f22db
7 — https://www.mintel.com/insights/beauty-and-personal-care/beauty-trends
