5 Skin Care Trends That Will Be Huge in 2025, According to Experts

Sephora teens. Beef tallow. Hundreds of lip balms. There were more than a few beauty trends we didn’t see coming in 2024. While we can’t always anticipate the products and techniques that will infiltrate our skin care routines, we have something of a crystal ball to help: access to the world’s leading skin and aesthetic experts. Below, seven dermatologists, chemists, brand founders, and aesthetic practitioners share their biggest skin care predictions for the year ahead.

1. A Holistic Approach

There’s more to skin care than just products. Ellen Marmur, M.D., a New York City-based dermatologist and founder of MMSkincare, predicts skin care aficionados will become more holistic with their quest for a bright and healthy complexion. This means an “understanding that skin is the biggest organ of the body, intimately attuned to your sleep, exercise, diet, and mental status,” she says. “Be holistic even if it’s boring. More sleep, less alcohol, and your skin will be better than ever.” The skin-care-as-lifestyle approach may be more encompassing, but it’s more affordable than throwing money at the latest skin care products to trend on social media. 

2. Regenerative Skin Care

Growth factors and peptides aren’t exactly new, but both Kelly Swann, an aesthetic nurse based in the U.K., and Courtney Allen, a board-certified family nurse practitioner and advanced aesthetic injector based in Nashville, Tennessee, forecast that these regenerative ingredients will further proliferate the skin care market this year. “These components accelerate the skin’s natural renewal process, promoting repair and rejuvenation,” Swann says. They also bring more firepower to a topical skin care routine. “These technologies go beyond surface-level results, targeting cellular regeneration to truly transform the skin from the inside out,” Allen says.

Swan also notes that these ingredients can provide a synergistic effect, enhancing the effects of other skin care products. For example, Dr. Diamond Metacine InstaFacial Plasma Bioactive Growth Factor Serum is made to trigger the same kind of healing responses that laser and microneedling treatments do, thanks to bioengineered (and human-identical) growth factors that simulate skin repair and peptides shown to support the skin’s ability to produce collagen.

3. An Emphasis on Exosomes

Both Mona Foad, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist based in Cincinnati, and Sarah Kugelman, founder of All Golden and Skyn Iceland, expect the use of regenerative exosomes in skin care to continue its upward trend in 2025. “Exosomes are extracellular microvesicles packed full of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and other metabolites that can help with cellular communication and regeneration,” Dr. Foad says. The molecules act like delivery systems to drive intercellular communication and stoke skin renewal. “We are just scratching the surface [with exosomes]. Companies are putting more resources behind looking into these powerhouse extracellular growth factors,” Dr. Foad says.

Ultimately, using products made with exosomes, such as Plated Skincare Intense Serum, may end up saving us money in the long run. According to Kugelman, exosomes promise to provide “greater efficacy on sagging, wrinkled skin. This can mean less time and money spent on dermatology or surgery,” she says. 

4. A Focus on the Skin Barrier 

Hallmarks of a healthy skin barrier? Bouncy skin with plenty of moisture. Ditto for skin equipped to protect against environmental aggressors, such as pollutants and UV radiation. It’s no wonder brands are focused on delivering both via barrier repair creams rich in biomimetic lipids, ceramides, and postbiotic complexes. This bubbling trend will continue in 2025, according to cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline, as brands focus on delivering products that restore the skin’s natural defense mechanisms. 

“The focus on skin barrier health has become central to skin care innovation,” she says. “Modern formulations, inspired by detailed lipidomic studies, enable products to replicate the precise composition of the skin barrier for optimal restoration. This trend addresses growing awareness of the link between barrier dysfunction and chronic skin conditions like eczema and premature aging.”

5. SPF That Works Like Makeup

“Sunscreen as makeup is something I can see becoming a huge trend this year,” says Alexandra Bowles, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist based in Cincinnati, Ohio. This goes beyond tinted SPFs — and the groundwork for this trend has already been laid, with newer formulations containing flexible pearl pigments that even tone just like a foundation would (such as Iris & Romeo Weekend Skin SPF 50 Instant Glow Tinted Mineral Sunscreen). This year, expect to see more SPFs get even more inclusive, as more formulas will be offered in a dozen or more shades (such as Tower 28 Beauty SunnyDays Tinted SPF 30) to match an array of skin tones. Also on deck: sunscreens equipped to color correct, such as this formula, tinted with anti-aging algae and cactus extracts to neutralize redness.