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Outshining the Sun Care Competition: 10 Innovation Strategies

“Good source of vitamins” and “antioxidant” are among the fastest-growing sun care category claims, per Euromonitor, reflecting the sun-care-and-more approach to many launches.

Close-up of skin with freckles and soft lighting

High-Performance Biotech: The Future of Beauty Innovation

According to recent projections, the global market for biotech ingredients—including those used in cosmetics—is estimated at US $2.59 billion in 2025, with expectations to reach $5.10 billion by 2034.

Historically, sun care was primarily used to shield against UV rays and avoid sunburn, but with growing skin health awareness among consumers, demand is rising for products that provide more than just protection.

Skinification is a Game-changer for Sunscreen Usage

Skin health motivations and multifunctionality, paired with skin care ingredients and claims, are revolutionizing the category.

Smiling person with rainbow light spectrum across eyes and forehead

Bioactives, Delivery Systems and Sustainable Innovation: What’s Next in Beauty

This report highlights notable new ingredients shaping the industry—from bioactives that mimic in-office aesthetic procedures to stress-fighting and neurobeauty compounds and beyond.

Among the trends emerging in 2024, increasing numbers of firms are leveraging plants as bio-factories for new beauty ingredients.

Top 2024 Beauty Ingredient Trends

This is just a fragment of the trends we witnessed at the shows this year.

According to a May 2024 Exploding Topics Report, “Search volume for ‘sustainable beauty’ is up more than 200% since 2019.” At the same time, clinical beauty has begun to eclipse pure-play “clean” beauty.

Future-forward Sustainable Beauty Ingredients: What's Next?

New innovation is merging performance and eco-friendly credentials to generate consumer-winning claims across categories.

Formulations are becoming simpler, driven by a desire for simplicity, as well as the introduction of many multifunctional materials.

Beauty’s Multifunctional Moment: Less is So Much More

Multifunctional technologies have the capacity to simplify formulations while enhancing performance across a wide range of functions and claims.

Beyond Time: Intelligent Longevity for Skin and Hair

Discover how Peptid4® Light MB and BioTech4 AntiGray redefine beauty longevity by acting at the biological origin of pigmentation, delivering even skin tone and restoring natural hair color with long-lasting, science-driven results.

By boosting NAD+, called the skin’s “longevity molecule,” RejuveNAD is able to to optimize cellular processes to simultaneously address “at least” five of the 12 hallmarks of aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, loss of proteostasis, epigenetic alteration and genomic instability.

The Beauty Ingredient Agenda: Longevity x Anti-aging

The recently decoded 12 hallmarks of aging provide exciting new anti-aging targets for R&D and new claims for marketing.

Two women laughing while holding beauty products and Ulta Beauty shopping bags in a purple room setting

SPF Gets Skinified: Why 2026 Sun Care Is Built on Longevity, Recovery and Lifestyle

Growth is now driven by disruptive innovations in medical aesthetics, longevity science and experiential lifestyle marketing.

Woman in white t-shirt and sunglasses enjoying ice cream in sunny park with trees

When SPF Becomes a Lifestyle

Two skiers in white pants and black tops celebrate on snowy mountain with sunny sky

365 Days of SPF: Sun Care Shines Year-Round

Growing consumer awareness opens up opportunities beyond traditional seasonal and format conventions.

The desire for skin care-makeup hybrids has been gaining steam in recent years, with SPF claims no exception

Beautifying Sun Protection in 2025: Top Innovation Targets

From emerging ingredient technologies and testing methods to unique formats, SPF-powered beauty is leveling up.

Current scientific literature points to “growing evidence that cellular senescence may be an essential mechanism that drives organismal aging,” including in the skin, leading to common issues such as “wrinkling, sagging, dryness or age spots.”

Beauty’s War on Senescence: Ingredient Trend Tracker

Regenerative technologies that clear the skin of zombie cells are reshaping beauty claims possibilities. PLUS: in-cosmetics Global 2024 ingredient highlights.

“Consumers may find it difficult to understand and compare products when SPF labeling and regulations differ,” says Sundeep Gill, PharmD, co-founder of Sun Deep Inc. “For instance, what constitutes SPF 30 in one country might not be the same in another due to different testing criteria.'

Top Sun Care Trends: Insider Insights

“Consumers no longer want to choose between sun protection and skin care, and they demand ethical, sustainable and inclusive products,” says Margaret Sullivan, technical service scientist at Arcaea.

The transition toward 'clean,' sustainable and vegan formulations hasn't been linear; despite this, high-functioning alternatives continue to proliferate.

'Clean' Beauty Swaps: New Ingredients & Headwinds

The transition toward “clean,” sustainable and vegan formulations hasn’t been linear; despite this, high-functioning alternatives continue to proliferate.

Therapist applying green seaweed wrap treatment to relaxed client during spa wellness session

In 2026, Sustainability is a Performance Engine in Next-Gen Formulation Design

For athletes who face intense sun exposure and sweat conditions, sunscreen development requires careful formulation to achieve effective protection, durability, and a cosmetically elegant feel.

SPF Sunscreen: A Run Towards Healthier Sunscreen by Sun Deep Cosmetics

Nikita Gill and Jocelyn Manfut from Sun Deep Cosmetics explain the difference in sun protection ingredients and emphasize the importance of using the right formulas for athletic consumers.