Delegates from across the beauty industry heard from experts during the second day of the Anti-Ageing Skin Care Conference 2026, which took place on 25 June.
Speakers from Mintel, Boots No 7 and Dermalogica were among those who shared their insights with the more than 100-strong audience of industry professionals and academics.
Introducing the more consumer-focused agenda of day two, Andrew McDougall, Director of Insights, Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel in the UK discussed the trends shaping the next era of longevity skin care.
With major breakthroughs in understanding the science behind ageing and its reframing through the lens of longevity, McDougall outlined how the biggest challenge is translating this for consumers.
“The gap we are seeing right now with consumers is how we translate, how we bring all these wonderful ideas that we have.
“I am not talking about simplifying or dumbing down too much, it is just how we make that information accessible.”
While we would previously explain that for wrinkles, use a collagen cream, or for dry skin, use a moisturiser, this changes when system properties are introduced.
The conversation turns to things like repair capacity, inflammatory tone, barrier resilience and microbiome – “from the product itself to the system around it”.
“Consumers are already living within these systems they are setting up themselves,” said McDougall
“Beauty is not just the topical products we apply now, it is our health, fitness, sleep, wellbeing. It is everything.
“We are seeing consumers now take this more precision-based approach.”
Mintel's data suggests that prevention is mainstream
Data from Mintel suggests that prevention is mainstream and there is an appetite for biological explanations, plus interest in long-term skin health.
“The biggest challenge is how we say it and make it relatable to consumers.
“How you tell that story is the most important thing. That is how consumers are fully going to buy in. And once they have that buy-in, they fully believe in that systems approach.”
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