Skin & Wellness Trends of 2026

Welcome to 2026! A new year is the perfect opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and look ahead to what’s next. But one of my favorite ways to welcome the new year is by sharing upcoming trends and checking out what’s exciting in the beauty and wellness industries. As I am officially a functional medicine practitioner, I want to start the year off with beauty and wellness trends. Let’s dig in!

Beauty Trends

Today, we will cover the top beauty trends of 2026.

Trend #1: The Professional Revival

The days of Covid are becoming more of a distant memory; it’s hard to believe that was 6 years ago! For the beauty industry, that was a challenging time as we were shut down for several months. That started the rise of the need for at-home devices and DIY skincare. In 2026, consumers are starting to turn back to spas and salons and let trained hands do the work. Let’s be real, a handheld device and a YouTube or TikTok video pale in comparison to the experience of lying down on a warm facial table, the lights dimmed, soft music playing, and the touch of gentle hands on your face. According to Vogue Magazine, “2026 is the year we stop self-treating like renegade chemists and let trained hands take back control, because a handheld gadget and a YouTube tutorial are not the same as a visit to the facialist. No, this year we’re heading straight back to the clinic door.”

Trend #2: The New Era of Esthetics

Products like exosomes, peptides, and other high-functioning ingredients are front and center this year. A breakthrough for our industry is the trend towards non-invasive skin treatments. However, consumers do still want the results, so being smarter and more efficient about pairing these ingredients with non-invasive treatments and red light therapy is where our industry is headed. 

Trend #3: Longevity Biology

The goal in 2026 is healthy skin using ingredients like peptides, which rose in popularity last year and continue to be THE ingredient to fight aging, build collagen, and keep skin strong and healthy. Vogue’s take on peptides, “Think: anti-inflammatory pathways, regenerative ingredients, and barrier intelligence as non-negotiables.” Peptides are here to stay!

Trend #4: Skinimalism

Simple, really, is best when it comes to skincare, and consumers finally agree. However, simple doesn’t mean basic. The 2026 term of Skinimalism is about fewer skincare products, but smarter formulas that have a multi-purpose effect. Another interesting point about this is that skincare routines are starting to be designed around the circadian rhythm rather than a morning vs. nighttime routine. Vogue states, “The circadian element that will shape routines moving forward…Skincare is becoming more dynamic. Now we’re seeing it adapted to time of day, hormonal shifts and climate conditions.”

Trend #5: Inside Out Beauty

FINALLY! This is music to my ears. When it comes to the skin, what you put in your body DOES matter. When I cleared up my adult acne and helped countless clients do the same, it became my mission to empower you to know that healthy skin starts within. This inspired me to become a functional medicine practitioner. As we move into the new year, Skin Deep Esthetics now offers esthetics and functional medicine to help our clients get to the root cause of their skin problems.

The beauty industry’s idea of an inside-out approach includes the rise of “skin health foods.” According to Vogue, “In 2026, collagen cocktails, edible retinoids and gut-supportive rituals are all on the menu.” While eating well for your skin will help it clear, I highly recommend getting tested because many factors can cause health issues. You can add these foods to your diet to help your skin, but if that’s not the underlying problem, you’re not going to get the results you’re looking for. Pairing functional medicine with esthetics is trending in 2026. If you are one of the first to adopt this new inside-out approach, you will be ahead of the game.

Wellness Trends

Now, let’s take a look at some of the wellness trends that, as a bonus, will help improve your skin! Forbes Magazine states, “In 2026, wellness trends are all about becoming slow, simplified, and specialized. From bespoke supplementation and community wellness to the move to the metaverse, here’s how to live well in 2026.”

Trend #1: Specialized Supplementation

2026 is the year we reclaim our health, and consumers are starting to realize that a multivitamin is not the answer. According to Forbes, “Thanks to the rise of functional medicine, women are going back to basics and relying on food for nutrients, alongside medical testing to find deficiencies in their diet and building a customized supplements plan, tailor-made for their own health.” What I love about being a functional medicine practitioner is that while supplements are part of our treatment plans, they’re not the star of the show.

In functional medicine, we focus on three key items: nutrition, lifestyle, and supplementation. You can’t just take a few supplements and expect to fix everything. Supplements support your body and the healing process, and are crucial for mitochondrial dysfunction, balancing hormones, cortisol, and gut repair. However, if you are going to keep eating junk food and live a high-stress life, supplements are going to do nothing. And while functional medicine doctors focus on customized supplements, along with customized nutrition and lifestyle plans to help support you through the healing process.

Trend #2: The Tech Abstinence Movement

We are starting to realize how our devices are consuming our lives, so the need for tech abstinence is on the rise in 2026. This includes device-free rituals, sleep hacks, banning phones in bed, and bringing back digital clocks. Simplicity seems to be the trend in both the skincare and wellness spaces because not only are we addicted to our devices, but they have also consumed our lives. Forbes states, “Practicing tech abstinence has a knock-on effect in many other areas of your health and can lead to better sleep, more clarity and brain capacity for other tasks.”

Trend #3: Community Wellness & Connection

Self-care has been a trending topic on social media, and rightfully so, because we have lost that sense of community since the pandemic. Life got incredibly busy for every single one of us, and it hasn’t seemed to slow down. Even though we are out & about, we are so busy, we lack a sense of community and connection that we lost in 2020.

2026 is the era of “social health,” where community becomes medicine. We are going to see the rise of spaces where women can belong, feel seen, and move together. Women are seeking out spaces for local get-togethers and group activities around shared interests. According to Harvard School of Public Health, “Being socially disconnected, for example, is associated with higher risk of illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia. Loneliness and social isolation have also been shown to increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively.”

Building a Community of Social Wellness

Every year, instead of resolutions, I pick a word of the year. This is a word I want to live by. My word for 2026 is connection. I believe we are missing that deep connection because we are so busy being busy that we lost that part of ourselves. If you are in the Chicagoland area, please connect with me on social media. I  have been wanting to put together a group of women, and when I learned about this trend, I felt called to create this. I would love to find local like-minded women to join me on this connection journey.

How to Get Started

Now that you learned the trends to look out for, I would love the opportunity to connect. Now that we are in 2026, Skin Deep Esthetics now includes a functional medicine program to help you from the inside out, and for more, listen to our podcast, The Functional Aesthetician. Please visit our website to book your functional medicine assessment today.

Got Questions? Drop them in the comments below.