Top 50 Skincare Trends (September 2026)

Skincare Industry: 2026's Defining Movements

CAGR = compound annual growth rate

We refreshed this report on September 11, 2026 using our live trend database, the same feed behind the table above. Every figure below is a consumer search volume and its growth rate, not a clinical outcome. The headline this quarter: the acid shelf and the peptide shelf have both kept climbing, with azelaic acid now the biggest search on the page at 368,000 monthly searches as of July 2026 and GHK Cu more than 13x higher than a year ago. What has changed underneath is where skincare is being applied. Aluminum-free deodorant, body washes and clean-label body care now carry as much growth as the face, while red light therapy has gone flat at 246,000 searches and beef tallow keeps sliding.

Important: this article reports what people are searching for, not medical advice. Skincare actives can irritate, so patch-test new products and see a board-certified dermatologist for persistent or medical skin concerns.

If you want to explore more trends like this across categories, sign up for Rising Trends and unlock the full experience.

---

1. The Acid Shelf: Ingredient-Led Skincare

Consumers keep shopping by ingredient rather than by brand. "Azelaic acid" leads the acid shelf at 368,000 monthly searches as of July 2026 (+83% year over year), "salicylic acid" holds a large and flat 246,000-search base, "glycolic acid" sits at 165,000 (+22% year over year), and "tranexamic acid" pulls 110,000 searches. The antimicrobial newcomer "hypochlorous acid spray" has climbed to 165,000 searches, up 50% over the past three months.

The skincare aisle still reads like a chemistry syllabus, and the products that win name their active on the front of the bottle.

Why Ingredients Beat Brands

The ingredient-first habit keeps growing because:

• The Ordinary effect: transparent, single-active formulas trained shoppers to buy by molecule, not by marketing
• Social education: skinfluencers and dermatology creators teach actives to millions on TikTok
• Concern-led routines: people match azelaic, salicylic, or tranexamic acid to one specific goal
• Gentler formulation: newer acid products are buffered for sensitive and melanin-rich skin
• Value comparison: knowing the active lets shoppers compare price across brands

What's Gaining Momentum

Azelaic Acid (368,000 searches, +83% YoY): A multitasking acid marketed for tone, texture, and blemish-prone skin, and the biggest search on this page.

Hypochlorous Acid Spray (165,000 searches, +50% over three months): A gentle antimicrobial mist marketed for calming blemish-prone and sensitive skin, now a routine step people reach for after workouts.

Urea Cream (74,000 searches, +49% YoY): The dry-skin and keratosis pilaris staple, marketed for softening rough patches, and rising steadily all year.

Mandelic Acid (49,500 searches, +83% YoY): The gentlest of the AHAs, searched by people whose skin cannot take glycolic.

Salicylic Acid Cleanser (49,500 searches, +22% YoY): The wash-off format is growing while the leave-on version stays flat, a sign shoppers want actives with less commitment.

Persimmon Soap (33,100 searches, +124% year over year): The ingredient-first habit has reached body care, where shoppers now name the compound they are treating. Our breakdown of the persimmon soap trend shows searches for generic odor remedies falling 89% while a tannin bar aimed at 2-nonenal took their place.

Key Players

• The Ordinary pioneered affordable, ingredient-focused skincare
• Paula's Choice pairs science-backed actives with education
• Naturium brought elevated single-active formulas to the mass market
• La Roche-Posay anchors the derm-recommended end of the shelf

---

2. Copper Peptides Reach the Mainstream

Peptides are still the story of the year in topical skincare. "GHK Cu", the copper tripeptide, has climbed to 246,000 monthly searches as of July 2026, more than 13x its level a year ago, and "copper peptide" adds 40,500 (+309% year over year). The clinic is the reference point for the whole shelf: "medical spa" holds 201,000 searches, up 49% over the past three months, and "medical grade skincare" is up 514% year over year at 40,500. Broad anti-aging terms are climbing with them, with "antiaging moisturizer" at 49,500 (+173%) and "neck cream" at 18,100 (+235%).

Copper peptides have jumped from insider forums to the front of the routine, and the language around them has shifted from clinical to everyday.

Why Peptides Are Surging

Peptide interest is climbing because:

• Renewal positioning: copper peptides are marketed for firmness and skin renewal without the sting of stronger actives
• The NIOD and Ordinary halo: affordable peptide serums made the category approachable
• Layering culture: peptides slot in alongside acids and vitamin C without added irritation
• Clinic borrowing: medical spa and medical-grade searches show shoppers taking their cues from the treatment room
• Longevity framing: skin-longevity language pulls in a broader, older audience

What's Gaining Momentum

GHK Cu (246,000 searches, more than 13x YoY): The copper tripeptide behind the trend, marketed for firmness and repair, and one of the fastest-rising skincare searches anywhere.

Medical Grade Skincare (40,500 searches, +514% YoY): Clinic-positioned products sold direct, the fastest-growing framing in the anti-aging aisle.

Copper Peptide (40,500 searches, +309% YoY): The plain-language version of the same search, a sign the ingredient has crossed into mainstream vocabulary.

Antiaging Moisturizer (49,500 searches, +173% YoY): Up sharply year over year as shoppers look for peptide benefits in a simpler, once-daily format.

Tanning Peptide (27,100 searches, +834% YoY): A steep riser worth watching as a demand signal. These are unregulated products people search for, not something to take on a search trend's say-so.

Neck Cream (18,100 searches, +235% YoY): Rising as the neck becomes the next frontier for firming and peptide products.

Key Players

• The Ordinary made copper peptides affordable with its Buffet and peptide range
• NIOD built a following around high-concentration copper peptide serums
• Medik8 pairs peptides with vitamin C and retinal routines
• The Inkey List brought peptide education to a budget audience

---

3. Ingestible & Peptide Beauty

Beauty is increasingly swallowed, not just applied. "Astaxanthin", a carotenoid antioxidant, leads the ingestible shelf at 246,000 monthly searches as of July 2026, up 232% year over year, and "collagen supplements" hold 201,000 searches at +49%, steady rather than spiking after last year's run. The same peptide language driving topical serums is now on powders and capsules, with "peptide supplement" up 124% year over year.

The supplement aisle and the skincare aisle are merging, and shoppers increasingly build a routine that spans both.

Why Beauty-From-Within Is Booming

Ingestible beauty is growing because:

• Crossover appeal: collagen is searched for skin, hair, and joints all at once
• Antioxidant demand: astaxanthin is marketed as a skin-and-longevity ingredient, not just a supplement
• Routine stacking: shoppers pair ingestibles with topical acids and peptides rather than choosing one
• Wellness overlap: the same buyers researching magnesium and creatine now add a beauty supplement
• Simple habit: a daily scoop or capsule fits routines that a ten-step regimen never could

What's Gaining Momentum

Astaxanthin (246,000 searches, +232% YoY): A carotenoid antioxidant climbing as a skin-and-longevity crossover in both capsule and topical forms.

Collagen Supplements (201,000 searches, +49% YoY): Still the anchor of the category, sitting at the intersection of skin, hair, and joint interest, though the growth has levelled off this year. The aisle view of the same product, where it is the breakout of the year, is on our supplement trends page.

Peptide Supplement (22,200 searches, +124% YoY): The ingestible version of the peptide story, taking the language of copper-peptide serums into the powder aisle. Our deep dive on the peptide trend maps the whole category, from skincare actives to collagen powders to the GLP-1 adjacent injectables.

Peptides Research (22,200 searches, +124% YoY): Shoppers reading the studies before they buy, which is a small search with an outsized signal about how this category converts.

Key Players

• Vital Proteins made collagen powder a mainstream pantry staple
• Moon Juice blends collagen and adaptogens for the beauty-wellness crossover
• Thorne anchors the clean, tested end of ingestible beauty
• Nutrafol built a brand on hair-and-skin supplements

---

4. Sun Protection Goes Daily

Daily sunscreen reads differently this quarter: the yearly line is soft, but the last two quarters have turned up hard. "Broad spectrum sunscreen" holds 165,000 monthly searches as of July 2026, down 18% year over year yet up 82% over the past three months. The mineral option "blue lizard sunscreen" is the clearer riser at 90,500 searches, up 83% year over year and 123% over three months. Inclusive-formula demand is recovering too, with "sunscreen for black people" up 49% over three months at 33,100.

SPF has stopped being a summer purchase and started being a step, though the generic comparison searches have given way to people naming the formula they want.

Why Sunscreen Went Daily

Sun protection is trending because:

• Prevention-first mindset: shoppers now treat SPF as the core anti-aging step, not just beach protection
• Cosmetic elegance: lightweight, no-white-cast formulas removed the main reason people skipped it
• Inclusive formulation: brands are finally addressing deeper skin tones directly
• Repeated advice: daily SPF is the single most-echoed skincare message across social feeds
• K-beauty influence: Korean sunscreens set the texture benchmark the rest of the market chased

What's Gaining Momentum

Broad Spectrum Sunscreen (165,000 searches, +82% over three months): The category-defining search, back in growth this quarter as UVA-plus-UVB protection becomes the default expectation.

Blue Lizard Sunscreen (90,500 searches, +123% over three months): A mineral sunscreen still climbing on the back of sensitive-skin recommendations, and the strongest branded riser in this section.

Sunscreen for Black People (33,100 searches, +49% over three months): Inclusive-formula demand made visible, as shoppers look for options without a chalky cast.

Lightweight Sunscreen (18,100 searches, declining, down 70% YoY): Texture-led searches have collapsed as buyers move to naming brands and finishes instead.

Key Players

• Supergoop built the daily-SPF category around cosmetically elegant formulas
• Blue Lizard leads the mineral, sensitive-skin segment
• La Roche-Posay anchors the derm-recommended sunscreen shelf
• Beauty of Joseon set the K-beauty texture standard buyers now expect

---

5. K-Beauty and Global Skincare Rituals

The K-beauty conversation has re-anchored. The umbrella search "k beauty skincare" has grown to 40,500 monthly searches as of July 2026, more than 11x its level a year ago and still up 235% over the past three months. The marquee Korean-clinic ingredient "PDRN", a polynucleotide derived from salmon DNA, is up 123% at 60,500 (with "pdrn serum" adding 27,100). Korean retail and brand searches carry the volume underneath: "olive young" at 165,000 and "beauty of joseon" at 110,000, both flat year over year.

The growth is in the actives, not the retailers. Interest in Korean ingredients keeps recruiting new buyers while the storefront searches hold a steady, mature base.

Why K-Beauty Keeps Converting

Global rituals keep winning because:

• Texture leadership: essences, lightweight serums, and elegant sunscreens still set the standard
• Ingredient discovery: PDRN and polynucleotides are the newest actives to travel from clinic to shelf
• Retail access: Olive Young and global shipping made Korean ranges easy to buy anywhere
• Price-to-performance: Korean products often outperform pricier Western equivalents
• Ritual appeal: multi-step routines remain a sensory draw for a dedicated audience

What's Gaining Momentum

K Beauty Skincare (40,500 searches, more than 11x YoY): The umbrella search is climbing fastest of all, a sign the category is recruiting new buyers rather than just retaining fans.

PDRN (60,500 searches, +123% YoY): A salmon-derived polynucleotide marketed for skin rejuvenation, moving from Korean clinics into at-home serums.

PDRN Serum (27,100 searches, +124% YoY): The at-home format search rising alongside the ingredient itself.

K Beauty Products (22,200 searches, +50% over three months): The shopping-intent version of the umbrella term, picking up speed this quarter.

Centella Asiatica (27,100 searches, +22% YoY): The calming botanical that K-beauty put on Western labels, now a steady search of its own.

Olive Young (165,000 searches, flat YoY): The dominant Korean beauty retailer holds a large base, though it is no longer growing.

Key Players

• Beauty of Joseon blends traditional Korean ingredients with modern formulas
• COSRX made minimalist K-beauty actives mainstream
• Medicube leads the device-and-serum crossover
• Olive Young curates the ranges the rest of the world discovers

---

6. Botanical & Ancestral Oils

Botanical oils are holding their ground even as the ancestral wing cools. "Cyperus rotundus oil", from purple nutsedge, is up 233% year over year at 74,000 monthly searches as of July 2026, though it has given back a third of that over the last quarter. "Clove oil" sits at 60,500 searches (+22%) and "sea buckthorn" at 33,100 (+22%). Meanwhile "beef tallow", last year's ancestral darling, is down 33% year over year despite still holding 165,000 searches.

The pendulum that swung toward rendered animal fats is swinging back toward fragrant plant oils, and the data shows exactly where interest is landing.

Why Botanicals Rotate

Traditional ingredients keep cycling because:

• Social discovery: a single creator can surface an obscure oil and send its search volume soaring
• Ingredient fatigue: after years of actives, some shoppers want simple, recognizable oils
• Fragrance-forward appeal: neroli and floral oils sell a sensory experience, not just a claim
• Ancestral cooling: beef tallow interest has peaked and turned down as novelty wears off
• Short half-life: botanical spikes fade faster than acid or peptide searches, so the cluster reshuffles every few quarters

What's Gaining Momentum

Cyperus Rotundus Oil (74,000 searches, +233% YoY): An oil from purple nutsedge marketed for soothing and softening, and still the biggest botanical riser of the year even after a soft quarter. Its traditional-remedy context is covered on our alternative medicine trends page.

Clove Oil (60,500 searches, +22% YoY): A traditional oil holding steady growth, searched as much for the scent as the claim.

Sea Buckthorn (33,100 searches, +22% YoY): The orange berry oil that keeps reappearing in barrier-repair formulas.

Neroli (27,100 searches, +22% YoY): A citrus-blossom oil growing at the same 22% across the year, the half-year and the quarter.

Beef Tallow (165,000 searches, declining, down 33% YoY): Still a large search, but the ancestral-skincare favorite has clearly cooled from its peak.

Key Players

• Fatco anchors the tallow-and-oil ancestral segment
• Primally Pure pairs traditional ingredients with clean formulation
• Osea leads fragrance-forward, plant-oil skincare
• Herbivore Botanicals built a following on botanical facial oils

---

7. Clean Labels Move Below the Neck

The fastest-growing cluster in this month's table is not on the face at all. "Aluminum-free deodorant" is the second-biggest search on the page at 301,000 monthly searches as of July 2026, up 50% year over year and 50% again over the past three months. Around it sits a whole clean-label body shelf: "cruelty free skincare" at 49,500 (+173% over three months), "clean beauty brand" at 40,500 (+400% over three months), and "cyklar body wash" at 33,100 (+124% over three months). Face actives are migrating downward too, with "retinol body lotions" at 33,100 searches (+174% year over year).

The routine has outgrown the bathroom mirror. Shoppers who learned to read a serum label are applying the same standard to what they put on the rest of their body.

Why Body Care Caught Up

Clean-label body care is climbing because:

• Ingredient literacy transfers: people who compare actives on the face now read the back of a deodorant stick
• Format switching: refillable and solid formats gave deodorant and body wash a reason to be reshopped
• Actives go body-wide: retinol and acid body lotions sell the face routine in a bigger bottle
• Values as a filter: cruelty-free and clean-brand searches are shopping filters, not slogans
• Larger surface area: body products are used faster than a 30ml serum, which makes repeat purchase the default

What's Gaining Momentum

Aluminum-Free Deodorant (301,000 searches, +50% over three months): The anchor of the body shelf and the second-largest search on this page, growing as fast this quarter as it did all year.

Cruelty Free Skincare (49,500 searches, +173% over three months): A values filter that shoppers now type directly into the search bar.

Clean Beauty Brand (40,500 searches, +400% over three months): People searching for the brand category rather than a product, which is how a shelf gets rebuilt. The same brand-first search is reshaping the colour aisle, which we track in makeup and cosmetics trends.

Cyklar Body Wash (33,100 searches, +124% over three months): A single body-wash search climbing fast enough to sit alongside category terms.

Retinol Body Lotions (33,100 searches, +174% YoY): Face actives in a body format, the clearest sign the routine has moved downward.

Key Players

• Wild built the refillable natural deodorant category
• Native took aluminum-free deodorant mass market
• Salt & Stone pairs natural deodorant with a fragrance-led body range
• Carpe focuses on antiperspirant alternatives for heavy sweating

---

Summary

The skincare landscape of 2026 is high-tech and simple at the same time, global and personal. Whether shoppers are stocking single actives like Azelaic Acid (368,000 searches, +83% YoY), reaching for GHK Cu (246,000 searches, more than 13x YoY), taking Astaxanthin (246,000 searches, +232% YoY) for skin from the inside, importing Korean actives like PDRN (60,500 searches, +123% YoY), or replacing a deodorant with Aluminum-Free Deodorant (301,000 searches, +50% over three months), the common thread is intentionality backed by education.

The big change this quarter is where that education gets spent. The clean-label body shelf is growing as fast as anything on the face, while generic comparison searches and texture terms keep giving way to people naming the exact molecule or brand they want.

The winning approaches in skincare now share these characteristics:

• Ingredient literacy over brand loyalty, now extended below the neck
• Clinic borrowing, with medical-grade and medspa framing pulling the whole shelf upmarket
• Inside-and-out routines that pair ingestibles with topicals
• Consistency over intensity, with gentler actives that fit everyday use

For entrepreneurs and investors, the data points to several high-growth opportunities: copper-peptide and medical-grade serums, ingestible antioxidants, clean-label body care and aluminum-free deodorant, mineral sunscreens for sensitive and deeper skin tones, and Korean actives like PDRN reaching Western shelves. See how Rising Trends helps you find trending skincare products before they saturate the market.