Our Skincare Predictions for 2024

Where 2023 was the year of the celebrity skincare brand and saw the rise of TikTok skincare trends like slugging, 2024 will be the year of AI beauty technology (Beauty-AI)and the greater need for transparency and trust... 

With AI influencing all facets of life, it’s clear it will be a pivotal beauty trend in 2024. Your skin will be analysed instantly and recommendations from 1000s of choices will be generated for your exact concerns.  But what will it take to trust the technology? 

We’ve also been swept up by the celebrity brand this year, and unsurprisingly, scepticism is now rife. As a consequence, 2024 looks to be the year of the derm-skincare brand and the revival of some classic ingredients. Consumers are clocking onto skin health and credibility and are seeking education on ingredients and transparency over claims.  We also see the multi-functional product and the rise of microbiome-friendly skincare. We’re totally here for it! 

Here are our skincare predictions for next year’s industry trends in more detail: 

Beauty-AI: Skincare innovation 

In 2024, the rise of skincare AI technology will transform the beauty industry. Advanced algorithms fueled by machine learning can now offer a personalised approach to skincare where your skin type and concerns are analysed instantly. The AI will be able to recommend personalised products and routines using millions of data points. 

AI tech will help consumers make informed choices, bridging the gap between complicated ingredient labels and everyday skincare routines. This trend hopefully will see a shift towards a more democratised industry, where technology means we can all have access to expert advice rather than having to pay the price of trialling products that don’t work, and dermatologists that might be out of our price bracket.  We’re hoping to see the use of skin care AI across to help consumers make more informed choices they can trust. 

The Revival of Classic Ingredients 

Like all trends, they are bound to cycle back and this is a revival we can get behind. We predict some of the oldest ingredients such as urea, glycerin and cholesterol reclaim the spotlight for their effectiveness in restoring the skin's barrier health. 

Urea: Urea is a humectant, which means it can attract and retain moisture, helping to keep the skin hydrated. In skincare products, it is often used as a synthetic ingredient for its potential moisturising and exfoliating properties.

Glycerin: Glycerin is a humectant much loved for its plumping and hydrating properties, resulting in smooth, soft, hydrated skin. Recent research has shown that its ability to penetrate the layers of the skin is even deeper than hyaluronic acid, making it a brilliant choice for overall skin hydration, and suitable for all skin types.

Cholesterol: Cholesterol is a fatty acid which occurs naturally in the skin’s lipid barrier. Applying cholesterol topically supports the skin barrier, reducing trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), and maintaining healthy skin functioning. Strengthening this lipid barrier also leads to improved skin hydration, which in turn leads to smoother, plumper, younger-looking skin.

Back to Basics 

We’re starting to see this already, with people stripping back their routines in favour of simpler formulas, with 1-2 multifunctional products to target their goals. This is aligned with the rise in professional influencers/ dermatologists, as this is generally considered the best approach professionally vs. the active-packed, extensive routines that we’ve been used to seeing.

Some multifunctional products we love at the moment are: 

1. Sachi skin - Pro resilience Serum

2. COSRX - Comfort Ceramide Cream

3. PSA - The Most Serum

4. Neostrata - PHA Facial Cleanser 

5. Allies of Skin - Antioxidant firming treatment

More products focused on Azelaic Acid and its derivatives 

Azelaic acid is an impressive multi-functional ingredient which works to target a range of skin conditions including acne, redness and pigmentation. It has so much clinical research behind it that it is used in prescriptions at 15-20% for rosacea and acne. It is more suitable for sensitive skin than other available acne treatments (retinoids, benzoyl peroxide), and is pregnancy-safe. 

Azelaic acid however is a challenging ingredient to formulate with. Being neither soluble in water or oil, it can be difficult to achieve a great skincare texture. There are a few products already out there, from Paula’s Choice, Sesderma and The Ordinary, but we anticipate this ingredient having its time in the spotlight next year. 

A fairly new to-market derivative, potassium azeloyl glycinate (PAD) is much easier to formulate with, so we expect to see more launches of this in the market.

The rise of Dermatologist-founded brands 

Clinically proven products, backed by science brands and dermatology-approved skincare have already made good headway in 2023, but we expect to see even more dermatology-founded brands in 2024. 

We are starting to see this already, with US launches of PillowtalkDerm Skincare by Shereene Idriss, and Prequel launching in July 2023, founded by Samantha Ellis. We anticipate the number of brands launched by dermatologists and doctors will increase significantly next year. 

Microbiome-friendly Skincare 

Excitement for pre-biotics, post-biotics and probiotics seems to have waned, but the next rise in microbiome-related launches will be products that claim to be ‘microbiome friendly’. There are relatively new technologies which allow products to be tested in this way. 

What is the skin’s microbiome? 

Being the largest organ of our bodies, the skin acts as a barrier to protect us from the outside world and is our first line of defence against pathogens, UV light and damaging free radicals. 

The surface of the skin is inhabited by a colony of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, fungi and viruses, all contributing to what is known as the microbiome. This is similar to the gut and is essentially the ecosystem of our skin that regulates its immune ability and protects against invasion by harmful organisms. 

The exact makeup of your microbiome will depend on both internal and external factors and will differ from person to person. From our internal physiology (age, gender) to the climate we live in, all contribute to the functioning of a healthy microbiota. 

Final formulations that are ‘microbiome-friendly’ in 2024 must prove they do not interfere with the skin's microbiome to evidence this claim. We’re expecting to see this across skin, scalp and body care categories. Watch this space!