4 major beauty trends behind today's exciting new skincare products

The beauty industry has made great advances since the days of superficial beauty, which favoured unnatural aesthetic enhancements and skincare that was pro-youth at any cost.

Due to the discovery of new, natural-ingredient alternatives, the incorporation of beauty influences from all over the world, beauty inclusivity, and consumers wanting prod­ucts that are efficacious and easy to customise, the skincare offering is now more exciting than ever before.

Here's a closer look at some of the major trends driving product innovations:

1. TARGETED CUSTOMISATION

Facial treatments used to have a “one size fits all” approach, through which therapists and clients relied on a set of processes and tech­niques and hoped for the best — but not anymore.

Beauty is becoming the perfect vehicle for customisa­tion, as celebrating individuality is the trend right now and customising treatments and products according to your unique skin needs is be­coming the norm.

Dermalogica and Clinique are two brands that are bringing product customisation into both professional and home spaces.

Dermalogica introduces this into the professional beauty space with its Pro Power Peel collection, which allows therapists to create bespoke peels to match your skin concerns. The collection consists of a prep and a neutralising solution, as well as three peel formulas: UltraBright Peel, which targets dullness with Lactic acid; AdvancedRenewal Peel, which reduces the appearance of fine lines with glycolic acid; and PowerClear Peel complex which tar­gets pigmentation.

Clinique’s three-step method gets a reboot with five active cartridge concentrates that can change your usual Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, Oil Gel, or Hydrating Jelly to target uneven skin tone, irritation, fatigue, texture, or lines and wrinkles with the click of a cartridge.

2. GUT INSTINCT

The wellness trend has given rise to a multitude of products whose sole purpose is to beautify us from the inside out. Together with juice bars, clean eating, and natural skincare, gut health has found its way into the beauty space as a crucial component for a healthier complexion.

“The restoration of skin flora is critical: skincare that will act as a pre- and pro-biotic for your skin. There are natural bacteria that grow on our skin to protect it from pollutants or other environmental extremities. Skin care products that contain a probiotic will definitely be on the rise in 2019,” says Dr Judey Pretorius, founder of the Biomed­ical Emporium.

Probiotic-infused skincare is gaining popularity and brands such as Exuviance, Elemis, and Elizabeth Arden want you to slather them on as a secret weapon. They can protect the skin from environmental aggressors, combat premature aging, and create a harmonious balance of microbiome or bacteria on the skin’s surface, which regulate crucial bodily functions such as disease prevention.

3. EASTERN RITUALS

Beauty influenced by the East is here to stay.

Sheet masks became popular when the world first became obsessed with everything Korean beauty. But now our handy, non-drip beauty favourites have received an update and pack much more bang for our buck than ever.

Pond’s and La Mer are infusing powerful brightening, hydrating, anti-ageing and resur­facing serum formulations into the convenience of a sheet mask. The Pond’s serum sheet masks infuse 30x serum intensity,and includes active ingredients such as retinol and niacinamide. La Mer crams its sheet mask with Japanese skin-hugging technology and a hydrating, Miracle Broth-infused treatment lotion.

The influence of Asian skincare rituals has also introduced facial-massage tools such as jade rollers, which not only provide healing properties from the different crystals used — whether jade, rose quartz, or opalite — but also encourage the recreation of the sensorial rituals at home. These rollers also promote lymph drainage in the skin, inspired by traditional Eastern methods.

4. SLEEP POTIONS

Beauty sleep takes on a literal meaning, as studies in sleep behaviour show that the answer to youthful, healthy skin is right on your pillow.

Brands such as Payot and Dermalogica have been taking notes and developed products that protect the skin from sleep-depriving and ageing lifestyle habits and help to optimise its natural, overnight regeneration process.

Payot’s Blue Techni Liss range combats premature ageing caused by blue light emitted by our cellphones and devices with LED screens with horehound extract, hyaluronic acids, and encapsulated chaste-tree extract.

Dermalogica’s Sound Sleep Cocoon contains Persian silk-tree extract, tama­rind seed, and wu-zhu-yu to aid the skin’s reparative processes. It includes instructions about facial-massage rituals to help to trigger the body’s sleep-inducing hormones.

• This article is adapted from one published in Autumn/Winter 2019 edition of The Edit, a standalone Sunday Times magazine sent out to select subscribers. Read the latest issue here.