Forget losing yourself to filler and Botox, laminated eyebrows and blinding white teeth. 2024 is going to be all about living better and living longer, and utilizing our own body to do so.
Newsweek spoke to leading experts and trendsetters within the beauty and wellness industries to bring you their top predictions for 2024 that you need to try out, including the best ingredients, treatments and products to set you up in the new year.
Ingredients
Mushrooms
Mushrooms first fused with beauty in 2005 when Dr. Andrew Weil and Origins launched the Mushroom Soothing Treatment Lotion and experts will continue to endeavor to unlock the incredible powers of mushrooms into 2024.
"I find them fascinating, and I'm a big fan of skin care brands that harness the best of laboratory-derived ingredients alongside the best of botanicals," aesthetics Dr. Sophie Shotter of London, England, told Newsweek, "From Reishi to Tremella to Snow Mushrooms, they are cropping up everywhere in skin care for their soothing and hydrating properties as well as for helping to address many skin concerns. We are just beginning to understand the power mushrooms can deliver—from improving focus to helping balance mood, they're a powerhouse adaptogenic ingredient."
Adaptogens will become another 2024 buzzword and includes roots, herbs and other plant substances and supplements that can help manage stress and restore balance in the mind and body.
Whole Food Plant-Based Diets
Despite the often prohibitive time and money demands, many people began to dabble with plant-based diets in 2023, a trend that board-certified dermatologist Dr. Deeptej Singh believes will become even more popular in 2024.
Many big food retailers have launched plant-based options in recent years, including Burger King and Charley's Steak House, the latter of which launched its $69 plant-based F U Filet Mignon steak in 2023.
Retail sales from IRI Worldwide's data show that 2023 marked the second consecutive year of declining meat sales in the U.S.
"Amidst a sea of nutrition studies, more people are turning to self-experimentation to understand the impact of diet on aging," Singh told Newsweek.
"A key finding is the role of less processed food in reducing inflammation and enhancing beauty. The intersection of digestive and dermatologic health is crucial here.
"This trend is not just about personal health; it's a movement supporting environmental sustainability and animal welfare. Transformative effects on skin health are now just a grocery trip away," Singh added.
NAD Supplementation
NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Never heard of it? Neither had we.
"This supplement is a key metabolic player in chemical reactions in the body, being an essential cog in the metabolic processes," cosmetic physician Dr. Emmaline Ashley told Newsweek. "It also acts as a cell signal for DNA repair and is a substate in many of the pathways in the body that modify the aging process."
She added, "There has been growing interest in looking at supplementing this substance, as we know that NAD+ levels decline as we age. The theory is that increasing NAD+ levels will improve cellular energy, stimulate DNA repair, reduce inflammation and stimulate collagen, making us look and feel more youthful."
NAD+ supplements are widely available in powder and pill form, and while NAD+ is deemed relatively safe, individuals taking certain medications, especially those affecting blood sugar levels, should seek medical advice before taking.
Treatments
Regenerative Aesthetics
"Our approach to aesthetics just continues to evolve," said Dr. Shotter, "and increasingly we have so many more options available which allow us to regenerate our own tissue, rather than use artificial substances like hyaluronic acid filler."
Shotter predicts that treatments like injectable polynucleotides, which are like injectable 'skin boosters' derived from the DNA of salmon and trout, closely resembling human DNA, will be even bigger in 2024.
As well as hydrating the skin, they actually kick-start its regeneration by stimulating connective tissue cells known as fibroblasts, which produce collagen and elastin, two things that we lose as we age, resulting in wrinkles and sagging skin.
2024 will continue the interest in less artificial treatments, with renewed focus on ingredients that stimulate rejuvenating functions within the body, for natural and longer- lasting results.
"This is exciting, because as we all look to live longer and healthier lives, we want to support optimal aging and health in our skin as well," Shotter said, "especially as studies recently published also show that aging in the skin (our body's largest organ) causes aging in other organs like the heart and the brain."
Renuva
In keeping with the theme of regenerative aesthetics, Renuva, by MTF Biologics, is going to be big in 2024, according to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shino Bay Aguilera.
The phenomena of "filler fatigue" is sweeping the beauty industry, with many men and woman becoming tired of over-filled, puffy faces and seeking an alternative rejuvenating treatment.
Renuva is a non-surgical and non-hyaluronic acid (HA)-based alternative for anti-aging, and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Unlike the HA filler, which creates mass in the face and eventually dissolves, Renuva catalyzes fat grafting wherever it is injected, leaving only the patient's own fat, creating a plumper and more youthful appearance, which lasts. It's minimally invasive, with few side effects and very little downtime.
"Instead of faking younger, you will be getting young," Aguilera said. "We have the technology, we have the knowledge, we have the products, like Renuva, and we have to embrace it. Renuva is the only treatment that replaces age-related volume loss with a person's own fat in the face, hands and other areas, without the need for surgery (like fat grafting), and results take three to six months."
The price depends on your needs and practitioner, but it averages about $1,800 per 1.5 cubic centimeter.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers
A well-established treatment for scuba-related decompression sickness, breathing in pure oxygen has emerged as an up-and-coming beauty treatment, with amazing results.
"We are beginning to understand more about the health impacts of pure oxygen on many conditions like neurodegenerative diseases," said Shotter, "but also for optimizing health and recovery in athletes. It also has huge benefits for skin in terms of optimizing tissue oxygenation, making skin healthier and more radiant and improving skin healing."
A 60-minute treatment will cost on average $180 per hour.
Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy devices, like the Omnilux mask and the iRestore laser cap, are becoming increasingly popular, as are at-home light masks.
"This therapy utilizes specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light, invisible to the naked eye, to stimulate our cells' mitochondria, crucial for overall cellular health," said Dr. Singh. "The beauty benefits of red light therapy are significant, but the advantages extend beyond just aesthetics. Documented improvements in mental health and cognitive function make this a holistic approach to wellness. It's not just about looking good, but also feeling good and maintaining mental clarity."
The prices for this type of therapy depend heavily on where you go, but can cost from $75 to $125 per 10- to 15-minute session.
Products
No7 Future Renew Serum
Hyped up by Bethenny Frankel and available at Walgreens, Dr. Ashley predicts that Boots No7 Future Renew Serum will continue to trend into 2024.
"This product caused a lot of buzz when it was introduced in 2023," she told Newsweek. "It is designed to reverse visible signs of skin damage. It contains a blend of antioxidants, rice proteins, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and most important its peptide blend."
One of the more affordable products on our list, this serum retails at £27.99 at Target.
Powdered Sunscreens
Everyone now knows that a good SPF is an essential part of the modern skin care regimen, as photoaging, the damage to our skin by UV rays, is the second-biggest skin ager, after simply aging.
"This is my new favorite product in my skin care regimen and will be a game-changer in 2024," said Dr. Linda N. Lee, a facial reconstructive surgeon at Harvard Medical School.
"Everyone now knows the importance of SPF every day, but it's tricky to reapply later in the day over a full face of makeup when its effects have worn off," she said, "Supergoop (retailing at $35) has a great powder applicator that can be applied in the car or quickly as needed throughout the day. Other brands are starting to make their own, and these will be amazing for day-to-day sun exposure, which can do significant damage over the years."
Trends
More Inclusivity
An ongoing issue within the beauty and cosmetic industry is a lack of diversity and inclusivity, with many brands and advertising campaigns failing to include a range of skin tones, body types and hair textures in their marketing.
"As we think about diversity and inclusivity as a society and continue to demand change, this will continue to translate into the beauty industry," board-certified facial, plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Kimberly Lee told Newsweek. "We will see even more shades and ranges that cater to a broader spectrum of skin care types and needs."
A survey from Coresight revealed this shift is strongly driven by consumer expectations, with nearly 25 percent of non-white beauty shoppers seeking a sense of belonging from beauty brands, almost double that of white shoppers.
Post-Ozempic Effects
Originally approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, the anti-diabetic medication or semaglutide injection with the brand name Wegovy was approved by the U.S FDA for chronic weight loss in 2021, seeing a huge uptake in people taking the drug.
2023 saw a furor of controversy surrounding the use of the non-FDA-approved version of the drug, Ozempic, causing concerns about irresponsible prescriptions and use.
"There are multiple predictions that in the next five to six years, over 15 million people will be taking this medication for weight loss," Dr. Steven Williams, reconstructive plastic surgeon and president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told Newsweek.
"The initial effects for plastic surgeons will mean more tummy tucks, possibly more liposuction, (semaglutides don't take particular care where you want the fat taken from), and other body-contouring operations associated with weight loss," he added. "These could include more breast augmentation and breast lifts, and arm lifts, or maybe fat transfer or fillers into areas if Ozempic and the kind have taken a little too much volume away."
"We could also see less hip and knee replacements in the newer, lighter America," Williams said.
"Ozempic face" was a phrase coined by Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank to describe those using Ozempic irresponsibly, resulting in rapid weight loss and skin sagging on the face. Jarrod Frank predicts that in coming years, there will be an uptake in these people looking to injectables to replace lost volume in their faces after losing weight due to semaglutides.
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About the writer
Leonie Helm is a Newsweek Life Reporter and is based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on all things ... Read more
