Jennifer Hermitage, Cornelius Market & Application Chemist
Skinification of Body Care
“Skinification” has been a significant trend in recent years, and the latest sector to move in this direction is body care. 2026 sees the sector booming, and it is expected to continue to grow strongly, moving from commodity to luxury, as interest in rituals, high-performance ingredients, and superior textures increases.
High-performance, science-backed formulas are favoured by savvy consumers, with 33% willing to pay more for products that offer visible health benefits. According to Mintel research, the longevity trend—previously dominant in facial skincare—is rapidly expanding into the body care market. This shift sees consumers treating their body skin with the same “face-grade” ingredients and high-performance standards as their face, focusing on prevention, barrier health, and “prejuvenation” rather than just addressing mature skin.
Texture is the primary in-store purchase trigger, and premium formats exude a facial-like feel. Market data shows that body oil sales are up 12%. Firming body oils, such as Clarins Tonic Body Treatment Oil, Q+A Collagen Body Oil, and Balance Me Super Firming Body Oil, are formulated to improve skin elasticity, tone, and texture. They typically contain natural oils, antioxidants, and vitamins to nourish skin, reduce the appearance of stretch marks, and target signs of ageing.
Body serums have seen an even greater rise in popularity with a 42% increase in sales between January and August 2025, according to market data from Circana. Body Badalada Vitamin-Infused Lotion has a lightweight formula and contains nourishing materials that take it beyond basic hydration.
The Korean trend for “glass skin” has expanded to the body, with lightweight body milks containing ceramides and urea replacing heavier creams. Specialised items like exfoliating sticks, body serums and other novel applications are increasingly seen.
Rituals
An increasing number of consumers are using bathing as a luxurious, self-care ritual – rather than simply as a means of cleansing. Many brands are tapping into this market and launching products to indulge the wants of the discerning who are willing to pay for luxury.
Niche brand 39BC celebrates bathing as a ritual of comfort and immersion, an opportunity to slow down and reconnect to the self. For £39, discerning customers can purchase their Silk Veil, an oil body cleanser containing mild surfactants and nourishing natural oils, turning to milk on contact with water to easily rinse away. The product comes with four luxury scent options and is packaged in a premium glass bottle.
Luxury body brand Joonbyrd believe clinical skincare doesn’t need to feel clinical to be effective. They use biotech ingredients blended with serotonin-boosting scents to help users look and feel good. The line-up includes butters, scrubs, serums, lotions and washes. Their highly acclaimed Moon Swim Wash is a sulfate-free, intensely hydrating body wash with moisture-locking vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, skin-stress-alleviating ashwagandha, and prebiotic inulin. It builds into a decadent foam, leaving skin balanced and hydrated. Joonbyrd products earn their place on a stylish bathroom shelf – their premium packaging is tactile with a structural form.
Cornelius can help: As part of our new Luxury Body Kit we have created three premium wash products. Oil-to-Milk Body Cleanser is designed to be rubbed into the skin pre-bath. Once it makes contact with water, it turns into a milk which can be washed away, taking dirt and impurities with it. Its luxurious feel is thanks to nourishing olive oil, which has been blended with speciality emulsifiers. Ritoleth 5 is a non-ionic liquid emulsifier which effectively turns this oil into milk upon contact with water. Pationic ISL is a liquid emulsifier with skin moisturising benefits and also aids the milky texture.
Creamy Foaming Sulfate-Free Body Wash gives an indulgent lather which is gentle, hydrating, and barrier-kind. Cation HA Clear, a complex association between cationic Polyquaternium-10 and different molecular weights of sodium hyaluronate improve barrier function and foaming properties. Two mild surfactants are used in combination: CorFactant PO65 MB a lipid-layer enhancing APG; CorFactant APG 12 MB a very mild, non-ionic which also provides thickening benefits.
Mild Scalp & Hair Shampoo provides a dense, luxurious foam that deeply cleanses, whilst speciality ingredientscare for the scalp. Gentle anionic CorFactant LS30 is suitable for all types of sensitive skin, and it provides good cleansing and foaming properties. The cationic conditioning polymer Corquat 7 has been added for its excellent conditioning properties. It reduces static and frizz; aids detangling; smooths hair, leaving a protective, silky film.
At Home Ritual Wellness
The interest in gua sha tools has significantly increased in recent years, as more and more beauty influencers promote the benefits. This type of massage is a gentle technique designed to stimulate the lymphatic system, promoting the movement of lymph fluid throughout the body, helping move excess fluid from tissues to lymph nodes, which alleviates swelling, especially in those with lymphedema. The reduction in fluid retention reduces puffiness for a temporarily more sculpted appearance, and the increased blood flow enhances oxygen delivery and nutrient supply, promoting cellular metabolism and collagen production, which leads to healthier, more radiant skin. Prestige brand Gentle has launched Lymphatic Drainage Oil + Body Gua Sha – this set comprises a gua sha tool specially designed for body use and the ultra-light Lymphatic Drainage Oil containing Patauá and Tucumã.
More and more people are choosing at-home treatments as an alternative to costly salon visits. To complete their luxury routine, this type of consumer is always on the lookout for non-invasive, at-home treatments that can take results to the next level. Favourites include silicone patches for smoothing and red-light therapy for improving skin texture.
Cornelius can help: Also part of our Luxury body kit is Lymphatic Drainage Body Milk + Gua Sha, containing actives for drainage and improved microcirculation in an ultra-slippy base. Plenty of glide is very important in massage products, in order to prevent dragging and damaging the skin. Our base includes Grapeseed oil which aids slip and provides nourishing skin care benefits, and two actives have been utilised to help promote healthy blood flow and preventing fluid retention, for decongested skin tissue.
The specific needs of GLP-1 patients
The increasing occurrence of rapid weight loss creates a specific set of skin care needs. Weight-loss injections such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy, belong to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists; they help people lose weight by decreasing food intake and sending satiety signals to the brain, thus reducing appetite and cravings. [1]. Private UK prescriptions for GLP-1 medication continue to soar, creating a growing consumer cohort for products that address GLP-1 associated issues.
Patients have reported symptoms of Ozempic that extend beyond weight loss. “Ozempic face”, “Ozempic mouth”, and “Ozempic feet” are just some of the terms circulating online . The extreme weight loss is thought to leave patients with sagging, loose skin as they experience a rapid decline in fat and muscle mass . The skin’s texture is also affected, with skin looking aged, feeling rubbery and lacking elasticity.
Emerging evidence, however, suggests these effects are not solely attributable to weight loss. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) also act directly on adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and fibroblasts. This receptor activity reduces protective cytokine production, increases oxidative stress, limits glucose uptake and ATP generation, and drives apoptosis. In parallel, reduced oestrogen signalling from dermal adipose tissue decreases fibroblast stimulation, impairing collagen synthesis. GLP-1RA have also been shown to influence skin ageing through interactions with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their receptors (RAGE).
In addition, recent commentary in The Lancet highlights that when weight loss is medically induced, including via GLP-1RA therapies, up to 25-39% of the weight lost over about 9-18 months (36-72 weeks) can come from fat-free mass (including skeletal muscle) rather than fat alone. This has important implications: muscle loss can exacerbate skin sagging, reduce metabolic health, and compromise strength and recovery, especially when protein intake is low.
Taken together, these mechanisms indicate that the skin changes seen in patients may arise from both the structural consequences of fat and muscle loss and the direct cellular effects of GLP-1RA on skin biology.
With issues such as laxity, dryness, barrier disruption, and crepey texture being a common side effect, firming, contouring, improved texture and barrier care properties are increasingly expected by consumers. Ingredients like Efficacious natural actives, hyaluronic acids and nourishing oils can contribute to a firming effect.
Poor nutrition has been discussed as a side effect of using weight-loss drugs such as GLP-1. Skin care actives that support the skin against nutritional deficiencies could become interesting for brands focused on this area.
Cornelius can help: Our new GLP-1 Skin Fix Body Moisturiser contains actives that have an instant tightening effect, offering long-term smoothing and wrinkle reduction, and help skin snap back into shape and improve tone. Please see link to our article GLP-1 Agonists and the Future of Life Sciences: Ozempic, Wegovy & Beyond : Cornelius
Skin Comfort
Skin comfort is important to all, and consumer interest in barrier protection continues to grow, as people focus more on long-term skin health.
Skin health is strongly linked with its defence mechanisms. There are three layers which work together to protect against infection, irritants, trans-epidermal water loss and environmental aggressors.
Healthy barrier function is vital to skin health; skin with a compromised lipid barrier fails to effectively hold in water or keep environmental pollutants and microbes out. This is linked with feelings of tightness and dryness. Skin may be inherently sensitive, or (as in most cases) temporarily sensitised. Keeping the skin barrier healthy is an important factor in skin comfort. Three separate entities which work together and make up the skin barrier.
The first line of defence is the microbiome, an ecosystem found at the surface of the skin that acts as a crucial defence mechanism. When disrupted, the microbiome’s barrier functions can fail, leading to an altered pH, infection, a decrease in antimicrobial peptides, and an increase in inflammation. Prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics are regularly used in skincare to support a healthy microbiome.
The acid mantle is a thin, slightly acidic film covering the skin’s surface, formed from a mixture of sweat, sebum, amino acids, lactic acid, and fatty acids. This unique composition gives the skin a pH value ranging from 4.5 – 5.5. It prevents excessive moisture loss, keeping skin hydrated and supple. Using cosmetics with a slightly acidic pH is advised so as not to interfere with skin pH.
The lipid barrier protects the body from transepidermal water loss, and the entry of external substances. It consists of ceramides – waxy, lipid molecules formed from sphingosine and fatty acid, free fatty acids, byproducts of the metabolism of fat in adipose tissues, and cholesterol- a waxy, fat molecule made by the liver, with ceramides being the essential compound.(2)
Skin dehydration can be prevented by using occlusive fatting agents such as shea butter and moisturising actives like sodium hyaluronate. Skin hydrators and lipid layer enhancers are experiencing a surge in consumer demand. The most searched for moisturising actives in the UK are Hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, squalane, niacinamide and urea.(3).
Mild surfactants avoid further stripping of the skin – a fact consumers are increasingly aware of. Searches for “Mild” wash products – including household cleaners – have increased due to rising awareness of skin sensitivity, health concerns and environmental impact.
Cornelius can help: We have a range of mild surfactants including our latest portfolio addition: Wheatoleo APPs (Alkyl Polypentosides). These are even milder than APGs and, because they are even more effective, less product is needed.
In our own brand, the Cornelius range we have CorFactant PO65 MB, a mild APG with lipid-layer enhancing properties; and CorFactant SCS 35, a specialty anionic surfactant, which is gentle on hair and skin but still has superior cleaning and foaming properties.
Natural waxes that create a protective barrier on the skin are very beneficial to dry, flaky skin. The use of Beeswax for skin care is centuries old, as it has always been prized for its ability to protect the skin and seal in moisture. We have a wide selection of natural waxes, including several grades of beeswax that can be incorporated into nourishing bases. We also have a portfolio of natural oils and butters to moisturise and nourish dry skin.
References
1 Skin’s Outermost Defense Mechanisms: The Microbiome, Acid Mantle, and Lipid Layer – dermascope
2 Solstad, R.G., C. Li, J. Isaksson, J. Johansen, J. Svenson, K. Stensvag, and T. Haug.
“Novel Antimicrobial Peptides EeCentrocins 1, 2 and EeStrongylocin 2 from the
Edible Sea Urchin Echinus Esculentus Have 6-Br-Trp Post-Translational Modifications.” PLoS One 11, no. 3 (2016): e0151820.
3 most popular skin moisturising actives UK – Google Search