As defining beauty trends go, ‘skinification’ is a strong contender shaping beauty in the 2020s.
The trend – where brands highlight ingredient efficacy and skincare-like benefits, according to Circana’s description – may have started out as a marketing term, but it is no passing fad.
Across hair care and make-up it has been gaining traction, while in body care – a category worth $22.3bn globally, according to Euromonitor International – its impact has been significant.
Mathilde Lion, Director of Beauty, Europe, at Circana tells Cosmetics Business: “Skinification is everywhere now with consumers looking for more premium products in categories such as body care.
“Brands are really investing in this, and it’s working.”
One of the leading brand examples is Sol de Janeiro, which launched Body Badalada Vitamin-Infused Lotion – a formula that is both lightweight and goes beyond basic hydration formulated with a seven hyaluronic acid blend, Brazilian sugarcane to increase surface hydration and brazil nut oil, rich in vitamin E and omegas 3 and 6.
“The skinification movement is transforming the body care industry,” said Jocelyn Axelrod, VP of Global Marketing at Sol de Janeiro at the launch.
“Today’s consumers – especially Gen Z – want products that work hard, fit effortlessly into daily life, and still create a moment of self-care. That’s exactly what Body Badalada delivers.”
The latest market data from Circana demonstrates that the skinification trend is playing out in terms of the formats that are winning too.
Across Europe, sales of prestige body serums grew by 42% between January and August 2025, versus the same period in 2024. while body oils were up 12%.
Neom’s new dry oil contains Pro-Vitamin D3, which is said to convert to vitamin D3 in the skin
Launches in this segment are pushing benefits further too.
Neom’s new Pro-Vitamin D3 Dry Oil is blended with five oils and Pro-Vitamin D3 which converts to vitamin D3 in the skin to rejuvenate and soothe. The launch is scented with mood-boosting wild mint and mandarin to support the mind and body.
Beyond the focus on skin health benefits, brands are finding further ways to premiumise their toiletry and body care products.
James Wilkinson, CEO of men’s body care brand Rock Face says “Toiletries as a category is experiencing strong growth in both units and value, with the latter growing at a faster rate.
“What we are seeing is that customers are willing to pay a premium for brands with specific credentials such as more advanced formulas, sustainable propositions, and a clear point of difference.
“Scent is a major purchase driver this year,” adds Wilkinson. “For many consumers who can’t afford to wear perfume or aftershave daily, a common recession-friendly alternative is layering products with the same fragrance, such as shower gel, deodorant, and body spray.
“We’re looking to tap into this by focusing on creating aftershave-quality scents in everyday essentials.
As body care booms, all signs point to the category retaining its shine in 2026 with both analysts and brands feeling positive about the year ahead. Euromonitor forecasts 6.4% growth for body care globally in 2026.
“The outlook for both 2025 and 2026 remains positive,” adds Lion, “but prestige brands will need to create some new incentives for consumers – particularly in light of the rise of mid- range brands – to ensure that they are willing to pay high-end prices for body care products.”
Wilkinson adds: “I’m hugely optimistic. The category feels very dynamic, with key retail partners actively investing in upgrading the in-store shopping experience.
“At the same time, the ability to influence consumers through social platforms like TikTok has never been easier, offering new opportunities for engagement and growth.”
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Trend 1: LED hand masks
Often overlooked in skin and body care routines, hands are now moving into the spotlight, with more consumers upgrading their treatments to the latest tech-forward launches.
Advanced light therapy treatments that specifically target the hands have become an area of new product development for technology and body care brands over the past year.
The treatments are designed to offer professional-grade results at home, and make luxury hand care more accessible and convenient.
This trend explores why targeted LED devices for the hands is a growing market.
Trend 2: Supersized toiletries
Mnis may still be a fan-favourite beauty format, but maxi-sized toiletries are the countertrend that has gained momentum in 2025.
Brands including Harry’s, Sol de Janeiro, Faith in Nature and Lush have launched jumbo XL or XXL packs of body washes, offering benefits for consumers such as cost savings, a ‘greener’ option and even a perception of quality.
This trend explores whether bigger sizes also a giant opportunity for brands in the bath and shower space.
Trend 3: Wellness-infused body care
As the lines between beauty and wellness continue to blur, body care has gone beyond the ritualistic ‘everything shower’.
Beauty brands are formulating body washes, serums and moisturisers with functional wellness ingredients typically associated with supplements – such as probiotics, silver, saffron, and magnesium – to improve skin health and general wellbeing.
But the great wellness infusion is not without its hurdles.
From delivering tangible benefits to ‘wellness washing’, this trend explores the opportunities and challenges associated with wellness body care.
Trend 4: Pistachio body care
It’s not the first time that a food craze has filtered into beauty and personal care, but the sheer virality of pistachio in 2025 has taken the ‘edible beauty’ movement to a whole new level.
Dubai chocolate, the luxury bar with a creamy green pistachio filling, is largely responsible for this year’s pistachio phenomenon after videos on TikTok turned the “it” snack viral, propelling a global trend for the confectionery that has even contributed to an international pistachio shortage.
Beyond chocolate, pistachio has been infiltrating butters and spreads, baked goods and fashion (for its soft, pastel-green hue).
It has been embraced in candles, fine fragrance – and now body care, with products such as eos’ Creme de Pistachio Body Lotion turning viral and Curia’s new Pistachio Gelato Line performing strongly.
Trend 5: Butt care
The rise and rise of body care has led to ever more specific products serving various parts of the human anatomy beyond the face.
Bums are now the final frontier.
The area is gaining renewed attention with products serving elevated skin care needs and niching down to the “last taboo” of perianal and perineal care.
“The reason people care about it now, it is the last part of our bodies that has not beendeshamed,” Dr. Alice Murray, a colorectal surgeon and author, who is working on the book The Bum Bible: Everything You Want to Know About Bottoms but were afraid to ask, tells Cosmetics Business.
Now, brands are entering the nascent space serving a variety of needs, and this trend explores how they are aiming to crack the category.