Beauty 2027: 5 technological shifts to watch

Cosmetic innovation is no longer driven solely by the discovery of new active ingredients. Skin physiology, dose control, anhydrous formulation architectures and delivery technologies are themselves becoming key performance levers. As the market evolves, new challenges are also emerging for R&D. Five shifts to watch in 2027. 

By Véronique LOUIS 

Body comfort: formulating for everyday stresses 

Moisturising, smoothing and firming: body care has long been built around these functions. But another territory is now emerging: skin comfort. Friction, heat, perspiration, moisture and skin folds expose the skin to stresses that are still addressed separately across hygiene, dermocosmetics, sports care and skincare. 

The formulation challenge is to combine friction reduction, moisture management, barrier protection and soothing benefits, using formats adapted to different body zones: balms, sticks, powders, sprays or fast-absorbing emulsions. Anti-chafing products already illustrate this approach, combining glide agents with protective ingredients to address a specific mechanical stress. 

What to watch in 2027: a body comfort category in which performance is no longer focused solely on changing the appearance of the body, but also on preventing everyday discomfort. 

Deodorants: does each body zone have its own skin ecosystem? 

Whole-body deodorant extends odour control beyond the underarms. This development raises a technical question: can the same deodorant strategy be suitable for every area of the body? 

Odour formation depends in particular on interactions between secretions and the microbiota. A review article published in April 2026 in Médecine/Sciences by Gwendoline Joncour and Sam Saghbini of Sorbonne University examines strategies for modulating the axillary microbiota to control body odour. In July 2026, a study published in Cosmetics evaluated a heat-treated postbiotic, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus Skinbac^™ SB06. In vitro, the authors reported, among other findings, 87% inhibition of Corynebacterium striatum after 24 hours, while Staphylococcus epidermidis was almost entirely preserved after 48 hours. A split-body clinical evaluation was also conducted on 20 subjects. This research illustrates a more selective approach: targeting the microbial mechanisms involved in odour formation rather than seeking broad-spectrum antibacterial action. 

What to watch in 2027: after whole body, a ʺright formula, right zoneʺ approach, with deodorant systems tailored to the physiological and microbial characteristics of each body zone. 

Is dose becoming a formulation variable? 

“Which active ingredient? At what concentration?” A third question is becoming increasingly important: how much is actually delivered with each application? 

Here, packaging becomes an integral part of performance. In 2026, Aptar Beauty launched NeoDropper Autoload, an automatic dropper designed to deliver a controlled and reproducible dose, launched with Dermalogica for its FutureCode Booster serum. 

Dose therefore links active concentration, rheology, the dispensing system and the application protocol. This level of control becomes particularly relevant for concentrated serums and targeted treatments, whose performance depends on the amount actually applied. 

What to watch in 2027: formulation strategies that take into account not only the percentage of active ingredient, but also the dose actually delivered, where it is applied and how reproducibly it can be dispensed. 

Anhydrous formulations enter a new generation 

Removing water from a formula is nothing new. Attention is now shifting towards more sophisticated architectures: powders to activate, concentrates to reconstitute, transformable solids or dissolvable formats, in which water may only be introduced at the point of use. 

This approach changes the formulation constraints. The absence of water can facilitate the stabilisation of certain ingredients and reduce some microbiological risks prior to use, but it also raises other issues: oxidation, crystallisation, dispersibility, dissolution rate, water dosage and the homogeneity of reconstitution. 

Water therefore takes on a different role: rather than being a permanent constituent, it becomes the trigger for transformation at the point of use. 

What to watch in 2027: the shift from waterless to water-on-demand, with systems designed to control when and how water enters the formula. 

After the star active, will delivery technology take centre stage? 

In its foresight analysis published in June 2026, Mintel identifies delivery systems among the developments likely to reshape skincare. Performance no longer depends solely on the ingredient itself, but also on how it is protected, stabilised, made available and delivered. 

Encapsulation, lipid-based carriers, polymeric matrices and microneedles all pursue the same objective: controlling the fate of the active ingredient from formulation to its intended site of action. 

This development goes hand in hand with growing demands for evidence. According to Mintel, three in four US consumers want more scientific proof to support beauty claims; the research firm also notes an increase in face and neck launches using microneedles between 2021 and 2025. 

What to watch in 2027: a shift in value from the molecule alone towards the active–delivery system pairing, or even towards an integrated architecture combining ingredient, carrier, formulation format and device. 

From ingredient to system 

These five shifts converge around a common theme: cosmetic performance is increasingly driven by an integrated systems approach. The skin’s physical stresses, the specific characteristics of microbial ecosystems, dose control, formula activation and active delivery all require ingredients, formulation, packaging and usage to be considered together. 

Mintel also describes skincare as evolving ʺfrom products to platformsʺ, towards systems that more closely integrate skin biology, delivery technologies and the predictability of results. 

In 2027, innovation may therefore be less about discovering ever more active ingredients than about orchestrating them more effectively: the right molecule, in the right formulation architecture, at the right dose and where it is needed.