By: Rachel Brown
In the first three quarters of last year, data from market research firm Circana shows skincare registered the slowest growth among prestige beauty categories in American department and beauty specialty stores, up 3% in dollars. In the mass segment in the United States, skincare sales were up 2%. Masstige skincare brands’ growth outpaced prestige brands six times, and Circana noted that “consumers are increasingly favoring lower-priced skincare product in prestige outlets.”
As we look ahead to how the skincare category will evolve this year, we checked in with 44 beauty brand founders and executives. For the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we asked them: What skincare trends do you see rising in 2025? What 2024 skincare trends do you think will be over in 2025?
Ryan Turner Co-Founder and Dermatologist, TRNR Skin
The use of regenerative medicine is on the rise in clinical settings, and the actives used for these professional treatments are starting to find their way into over-the-counter formulations.
One such example is exosomes, which have been increasing in popularity since 2023. These extracellular vesicles are used in office to promote hair growth, accelerate healing after procedures like microneedling and laser resurfacing and support collagen production. There are some brands incorporating exosomes into at-home products, though not all are created equally.
Another example is PDRN or polydeoxyribonucleotide, which has been very buzzy. It’s the active ingredient in the professional “salmon sperm facial” treatment. This mixture of DNA fragments promotes skin regeneration and collagen production. It’s most effective applied directly to skin after microneedling or laser skin resurfacing or injected, which is not FDA approved.
PDRN has long been popular in Korea, where it’s used not only in professional products but at-home formulations. I believe that Western interest in PDRN will result in its use in over-the-counter products here as well.
The use of AI in skincare is likely to see an uptick. It is used as part of general office consultation, customized skincare selection or skin diagnostics.
That “overfilled” look is on a significant decline. New York patients have historically preferred more conservative use of filler, but we’re seeing less of the overfilled facial augmentation with injectables nationwide, including in areas of the country that are known for a more “done” look. Filler remains popular and the overall use of it will continue to trend upward as more people try it, but the volume used to treat individual patients will continue to decrease in order to favor a more natural look.
We will see the use of complex skincare routines trend downward in favor of simpler routines, i.e., the use of combination products such as active ingredient infused tinted moisturizers with SPF, skincare infused foundations and all-in-one serums.
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