After a wave of INCI obsession, beauty's new edge lies in reframing the conversation from inputs to outcomes—and unlocking healthspan as the next frontier for skinification.

Beauty is at a critical inflection point. After years of prestige skincare giving main character energy that transformed the category—and even adjacent beauty categories—momentum is slowing across skincare and color cosmetics segments. As we emerge from prestige skincare’s mainstage moment, a combination of channel and brand disruption, shifting consumer behavior, and economic headwinds has sparked a trade-up and trade-down approach among joy-seeking beauty consumers, as well as beyond beauty into other consumer categories.

Amid this shakeup, the suncare segment is seeing real momentum across both mass and prestige price points in the forecast period as skincare and color cosmetics are expected to remain largely flat. And wellness—both products and services—is taking off like a rocket ship.

This isn’t a coincidence. Both are areas of massive innovation with considerable potential impact on the life of the end-consumer, and as a result, they present significant opportunities to expand the reach of beauty as a whole. With the groundwork laid by the first wave of skinification, beauty now has the chance to evolve into its next wave: shifting focus from what’s in the product, to what it does for overall health.

After all, the skin is the largest organ in the human body. No vision of wellness is complete without it.

First-Wave Skinification: Suncare Sets the Stage

The first wave of skinification brought us the blurred category lines that we see all along cosmetic aisles today: moisturizing foundations, SPF-infused primers, antioxidant-rich cleansers. Skin health took center stage as ingredients became the language of efficacy.

Since then, the skincare conversation has largely revolved around what’s in, or not in, a product. This gave rise to the “skintellectual,” a consumer shaped by online education and a new generation of beauty literati, proficient in the INCI list. Sleek components have proudly called out percentages of key ingredients like hyaluronic acid or niacinamide, and in the process, avid skincare users—ultimately seeking skin health—have learned what these ingredients do. But this ingredient focus relies on assumed outcomes based on the properties of individual ingredients, rather than on documented clinical results for the actual formula itself.

At the same time, suncare evolved. What was once reserved for beachside vacations became a daily essential, as cross-category innovation began to transform SPF into a staple for beauty shoppers who were keen to protect their skin from damage. Innovation and education worked hand in hand to fuel this growth, and as we look at the forecast period, suncare’s transformation is just getting started. The global suncare market, excluding skincare and color cosmetics with SPF, is currently a $17 billion global industry and is forecast to grow at an 8% CAGR, with both mass and prestige segments capturing value. As we move into the next evolution of skinification, suncare—and importantly, consumer health—is poised to take off.

Evolving from Inputs to Outcomes

Euromonitor defines healthspan as years lived in good health, beyond just lifespan. As consumer focus shifts to this space, it makes sense for wellness to find a natural home in the mind’s eye of the consumer. Formerly fringe but now mainstream trends like biohacking prove consumers increasingly want to take control of their health and, as much as possible, their futures.

Healthspan offers a useful framework for redefining how beauty communicates value. It influences not only the way we speak to consumers but also who we reach and the conversations we open. Just as wellness enthusiasts use wearable tech to monitor biomarkers and buy supplements to improve their health, the beauty industry can leverage innovation to deepen engagement with wellness products and services. By shifting the conversation from ingredients to outcomes, we can bring consumers along on a journey to protect and enhance their body’s largest organ as part of their broader health goals. It is a shift from incremental “nice-to-have” improvements towards holistic resilience—living your long years, and living them better, healthier, and happier.

Reaching Beyond Beauty: A $50B+ Opportunity

Reports have suggested that Americans spend, on average, $322.88 annually on skincare alone. With the combined skincare, suncare, and color cosmetics market valued at $52.5 billion (accounting for hybrid products that consumers might consider their skincare), that suggests a consumer base of roughly 162 million people. (Of note, looking at the skincare category discretely would bring the addressed market to roughly 85 million people, with an even more staggering opportunity size.) But the US population is more than double that at 340 million people, meaning beauty’s biggest untapped audience isn’t on BeautyTok: it’s offline, unengaged, and waiting to be reached.

The industry can reach out beyond current beauty consumers, to the tremendous opportunity that lies in innovating for and educating consumers who are underserved. In suncare, innovation and human-centered design approaches to product development provide ample opportunity to reach everyone, regardless of their skin tone, skin type, or lifestyle.

One of the things that our Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Harry Sarkas, likes to say is “The best sunscreen is the one you’ll wear every day.” That principle drives his ongoing innovation around ingredients that unlock new capabilities when it comes to the transparency and format flexibility of mineral-based sunscreens, so they can be enjoyed by every person on earth, regardless of biological factors or product preferences.

This includes addressing the estimated 71% of the population who have sensitive skin. (Today, 43% of consumers look for suncare products suitable for sensitive skin— suggesting a sizable remainder may not wear sun protection at all.) It also includes individuals at both ends of the Fitzpatrick scale who are more likely to experience issues such as visible white cast (“ghosting”) when using mineral-based sunscreens. Mineral sunscreens, while challenging for some skin tones, are preferred by 71% of all sunscreen users. Investing in innovation to unlock these challenging-to-reach consumer groups has a synergistic benefit to the entire population—because no one wants “ghosting” or an unpleasant product experience.

With longevity and healthspan top of mind for consumers, and with more than two people dying of skin cancer in the U.S. every hour, the opportunity is larger than just existing beauty consumers. Brands can engage in education campaigns akin to public health messaging from Post-WWII around dental hygiene, shifting the conversation from aesthetics to vitality.

Skin Health for All

To reignite growth across beauty, it’s time to reach out and lean in to the critical messages of longevity and wellness that have long lingered just beneath the surface of traditional beauty narratives. The question shaping beauty’s next chapter isn’t “What’s the next beauty trend?” but “How do we bring everyone along on the journey to healthier, more joyful lives?”

Surely, it is no less vital to take care of our body’s largest organ in a similar manner to how we approach other aspects of health and wellness—yet notions of vitality are often kept at arm’s length from our skincare routines. By changing the narrative and deepening education around skin health, we can improve engagement and, most importantly, the health and healthspan of the end consumer.

There is significant upside that awaits the beauty industry if we lean into outcomes. And as we all seek to feel better, stay well, and age with grace, the brands that win will be those who expand the definition of beauty itself—to one that includes longevity, resilience, and outcomes that matter over time.