The beauty trends that will define 2026, from ultra-niche fragrances to anti-ageing dental care

Beauty and wellness trends can be hard to predict – after all, who would have thought a few years ago that one in eight American adults will have tried a diabetes drug prized for its weight-loss benefits, that a Silicon Valley billionaire would start a popular movement attempt stop death, or even, in less dramatic terms, that impossibly thick false eyelashes and feathered up eyebrows would ever become a popular beauty option?

It’s an industry full of surprises, but look closely enough, and you can find kernels of what's to come before they become the norm on your social media feed. To understand what we can expect in the coming year, we asked a number of experts from the worlds of fragrance, skincare, aesthetics, wellness and more to share their predictions for 2026.

Dental care will become about more than your teeth

According to Nick Axelrod-Welk, co-founder of Into The Gloss, Nécessaire, and, most recently, the aesthetic dermatology clinic LA Contrapposto Inc, dental care is about to become about a lot more than your teeth.

‘A trend I see coming is Invisalign as an aesthetic, anti-ageing treatment rather than just an orthodontic one,’ says Axelrod-Welk. ‘I didn't realise that your teeth continue to shift as you age. Meaning, even if you had braces as a kid, your teeth can still move and become crowded in your thirties and forties. This can affect the quality of your breathing as well as your face shape. Improving your smile – straightening teeth, expanding palate, increasing spacing – can easily shave a few years off of your appearance. It did for me, at least – I just finished nine months of Invisalign trays and my before-and-afters are crazy.’

PDRN will dominate skincare

Of all the novel beauty treatments that received praise in 2025, perhaps none received more public adoration than the PDRN, or ‘salmon sperm’, facial. Hailed for its collagen-boosting, glow-inducing, anti-ageing benefits, PDRN injects extracts from salmon sperm into the skin’s surface for instantly noticeable results. According to Clare Varga, VP of content at trend forecasting agency WGSN, this treatment is bound to become increasingly popular in the next year as it becomes even more accessible to a wider audience.

‘First championed in professional K-Beauty, PDRN – polydeoxyribonucleotide – is moving from professional clinics and tweakments to K-beauty serums, and heading for the global mainstream,’ says Varga. ‘With potent collagen-boosting and repair credentials, it’s emerging as the regenerative active of 2026, delivering clinic-grade results in at-home formats such as sheet masks, eye creams, and hair ampoules. And if the origin gives you the ick? Vegan PDRN alternatives are also gaining traction, as they are bioengineered from plants and microbes to meet the rising demand for cruelty-free, hypoallergenic innovation.’

The longevity movement will move beyond wellness

‘Longevity culture’ dominated the wellness space in 2025, but according to experts in skincare and aesthetics, the philosophy and technologies behind it – biometric data tracking, personalised health plans, A.I. powered diagnostic tools, and the like – are primed to make a big impact in the world of beauty as well.

Melinda Farina, also known as the ’Beauty Broker’, has made a name for herself linking high-profile clients with the world’s top aesthetic surgeons. According to her, ‘over the next decade or two, aesthetic medicine will fully merge with the longevity movement. We’ll see AI-driven anatomical mapping guiding surgical plans with unprecedented precision’.

‘Real-time tissue diagnostics will help surgeons operate more safely and strategically,’ she continues. ‘Post-operative regenerative protocols will become standardised and will dramatically shorten recovery windows.’

Make-up and skincare will continue to merge

Always a pioneering force in make-up, Isamaya Ffrench pivoted her beauty brand earlier this year from selling limited-edition, colour-heavy make-up lines to a ‘core collection’ of skincare-infused products designed to enhance natural beauty.

As Ffrench said in a statement for the line’s launch: ‘The Core Collection represents what the future of beauty means to me. This line of skincare-infused makeup products, housed in strong and timeless chrome packaging are the tools for anybody who wants to feel empowered in the truest version of themselves.’

And she’s not alone. Victoria Beckham recently collaborated with skincare powerhouse Augustinus Bader on a new foundation, and we have it on good word that a few major brands have skincare-infused make-up launches ahead for the new year. Watch this space in the coming months.

Mental health technology will become a fundamental part of beauty routines

It’s a common refrain among aestheticians and plastic surgeons: you can spend as much as you want on treatments, but if you're feeling stressed, it’s going to age your face. It’s no surprise, then, that a number of high-end clinics are incorporating neuromodulation technology like NESA (Neuromodulation Electrical Stimulation for Autonomic function) into their treatments.

A device you slip on like gloves and socks, NESA delivers gentle microcurrents through specialised electrodes to ‘reboot’ the brain so it can form new cognitive pathways or thinking patterns more easily. After continued use, the machine is meant to improve sleep, reduce stress, and generally make the patient calmer. According to one NESA expert I spoke to at London’s Lanserhof Clinic, they’ve already seen a number of high-end aestheticians adopt the technology alongside their regular offerings to give patients a 360-degree anti-ageing experience.

People want fragrances that make them feel unique

Niche fragrances dominated perfumery in 2025, and their star is only set to rise further. According to Raffaello Napoleone, the CEO of Pitti Immagine which runs Pitti Fragranze, the desire for ‘identity and uniqueness’ will dominate the fragrance market in the coming years.

‘When I think about my generation, I was born in 1954, the idea was to dress in a certain way. Wearing Timberland or other big-name brands was essential to feeling part of your generation. You followed icons, and dressing that way made you part of the community,’ says Napoleone.

‘Today, it’s very different. If you look at the second-hand market, it has become a major business. It’s no longer about everyone buying the same things. People are looking for something unique, something that feels right for them. You might find it in the second-hand market and say, “I have this Gucci bag from the 1960s, and it’s much better than buying this season’s Gucci bag.”’

‘In my opinion, this is an evolution. There is a kind of retroculture in the back of people’s minds, along with a growing respect for the environment. Issues around supply chains, low-level production, and the lack of respect for human lives are very important to this generation. Today, style is not just about fashion or status as it used to be. It’s about personal taste, personal choice, and how you want to present yourself.’