Industry experts and founders of Augustinus Bader, Drunk Elephant, and Vida Glow predict the future of skincare

It is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to skincare, especially with trends emerging from social media. Although it is tempting to try out these social media beauty hacks, beware that your skin may end up the worse for wear. Slugging for instance, where occlusive moisturisers are applied on the skin overnight to seal in moisture, may potentially cause breakouts for those with oily or acne-prone skin. With such viral trends disappearing by the time the new hacks roll around, we wanted to look even further into the future. Who better to turn to than industry experts who founded their own beauty brands and are deeply attuned to the evolving needs of their clientele? With more skin in the game than your average beauty influencer, they take a look into the crystal ball to tell us what we will be putting on our faces for the next decade and beyond.

Tech first, topicals second 

Professor Augustinus Bader and Charles Rosier, co-founders of Augustinus Bader 

Augustinus Bader is a beauty brand with both science and social currency in spades. Co-founded by German doctor Augustinus Bader and financier Charles Rosier, its Blue Cream has amassed legions of A-list fans, all of whom swear by the formulas and associated stem cell technology for luminous skin. Rosier and Bader recently closed US$25 million (approx. ₹2 billion) in funding, cementing them as a billion-dollar business just four years post-launch. “We’re the only emerging luxury skincare and haircare brand with a real chance to disrupt the hierarchy of established players,” says Rosier. “We have already broken out from the emerging brands, and with our current growth trajectory, we’ll be there in a few years.”

The original Cream and Rich Cream continue to be crowd favourites, but the offering has grown into a complete suite of skincare, haircare, and ingestibles. As for the year ahead, the newness will slow down, but not the scientific approach. “My approach has always come more from a medical standpoint than a traditional beauty developer,” Bader explains. The hero ingredient, a patented amino acid compound called TCF8, is from the field of epigenetics, a space both Bader and Rosier believe will continue to grow in the coming years (in part due to Bader’s revolutionary research, which began as a means to treat burns). Its efficacy is in its ability to improve cell communication, a process that breaks down as we age. “An improvement in intracellular communication could counteract ageing processes in a physiological manner,” Bader says. When our cells don’t ‘talk’ properly, healthy skin functions stop working, resulting in signs of ageing, pigmentation, and dullness.

Instead of industry trends, every AB formula begins with the clinically-backed ingredient, a new-wave approach that’s only set to grow. They’re also glowing proof that indie brands are the future, and that cutting-edge technology will be the determining factor between those who succeed in skincare, and those who don’t. “We don’t think we’re a skincare company branching into different things,” concludes Rosier. “We’re a technology platform that adapts it into products for people looking for solutions.” 

A simplified philosophy

Tiffany Masterson, Founder of Drunk Elephant

Few figureheads have disrupted the skincare industry in recent years more so than Tiffany Masterson. The Drunk Elephant founder came to the market with a new type of indie beauty brand—one that married vibrant energy with efficacy, and an approach to skin health that was somewhat innovative. The defining characteristic was that every formula avoided what Masterson dubbed ‘The Suspicious Six’, a group of ingredients she believed to be sensitising, congestive or inflammatory (the list includes essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes, and SLS). With these ingredients removed—proven actives such as acids, retinols, and plant extracts could do their job, thus dramatically improving overall skin health.

It’s been almost 10 years since the brand was established, but the general ethos is one Masterson still stands behind. In fact, she thinks that consumers are going to become more attuned to skin triggers and shy away from overly complicated routines in 2023 and beyond. “I’ve noticed a lot of people are now wanting to avoid some of the ingredients that we as a brand have long avoided, like essential oils or fragrance,” says Masterton. “Things are shifting as consumers realise what triggers their skin issues.”

Looking forward, Masterton hypothesises that the skin barrier is going to become even more important, and our beauty habits will shift to reflect this. “We have already seen a decline in complicated beauty products. I really think consumers are looking for simpler products that are easy to use,” she shares. “I think once-a-day cleansing will trend, especially as the importance of maintaining and supporting the acid mantle becomes better understood.” It’s also her view that barrier-supporting ingredients such as peptides, ceramides, and fatty acids will shine, as we work to protect our skin from tricky environmental conditions. A prime example is the Ceramighty AF Eye Balm or the skin strengthening Protini Polypeptide Cream. With microtrends such as slugging and skin cycling infiltrating the industry, Masterson’s view appears to be pretty spot on.

Skincare from inside out 

Anna Lahey, Founder of Vida Glow

When we think about skin health, we usually think of topicals. But Anna Lahey has challenged that. Ten years ago, Lahey launched her brand, Vida Glow, with a marine collagen powder. Since then, the humble brand has grown into an ingestible beauty empire. The success thus far is mostly because Lahey and her team use the latest science to deliver proven ingestible formats for common concerns—a trend she believes will grow. “Ingestible beauty is influencing a bi-directional approach to skincare,” says Lahey. “I believe topicals and ingestibles can work in tandem to address all layers of skin and accelerate results.” A great example of where it’s all heading is Clear, a new formula from the brand targeted at breakout prone skin. “Clear works inside the body on the gut-skin axis to address the concerns that appear on the skin’s surface like breakouts, blackheads, whiteheads, and excess oil.” With clinical trials showing a 50 per cent reduction in symptoms, it seems the inside out approach is working.
Lahey, who has spent the past five years mapping out the future of ingestible skincare, believes that technology will play a lasting role, especially when it comes to delivering ingredients where they’re most needed. “In the ingestible category, we expect to see a big focus on the way we deliver ingredients,” she shares. “We’re already seeing this with the cap-in-cap technology we used for Clear—we were able to pair oil-based ingredients with powdered ingredients that historically wouldn’t have been able to exist together.” She also says 12-step routines are on the decline. The rising cost of living and lack of time post-COVID-19 are partly to blame. But Lahey is convinced consumers will look to structure their routines around “fewer products that deliver bigger and better results”.