Addison Cain, senior insights & marketing lead at Spate, kicked the webinar off with a look at Spate’s Popularity Index, which combines Google and TikTok data to show how popular a category or trend is. By analyzing over 20 billion search signals and more than 60 million TikTok videos across the globe, Spate is able to demonstrate what types of beauty-from-within ingredients and products consumers are actively searching for and talking about online.
Science + ‘natural’
Cain noted that one trend she is seeing in the category is a blend of what she refers to as scientific and ‘natural.’
“We see things like collagen peptides of many different sources, whether that’s bovine or whether that’s from plant sources,” she said.
“We’re also seeing things like sea moss gel and oregano. So things that are a little bit more on the natural side that have a name that’s easy for consumers to understand and digest. But we’re also seeing some things that we would consider a little bit more scientific—so things like pantothenic acid…niacinamide is another form of vitamin B that’s been growing, and now we’re seeing pantothenic acid take off.”
Cain also took a deep dive into collagen peptides, highlighting how the ingredient is growing 33.3% year-over-year on Google search and over 200% year-over-year on TikTok.
Spate’s data suggests that consumers are talking about collagen peptides a lot on social media, with TikTok owning the share of the conversation.
“They’re going there to share their routines, share how collagen benefits them, and we’re seeing a lot of engagement on the platform,” Cain said.
Crossover trends
One major crossover trend is beauty and health, which reflects a growing consumer focus on holistic well-being, where external appearance is linked to internal health. Perhaps unsurprisingly, consumers are seeking a combination of aesthetic and health-related benefits, such as collagen for anti-aging and joint support or astaxanthin for skin and brain health.
Paula Simpson, innovation, product development & branding consultant at Nutribloom Consulting, said she is definitely seeing a shift in how nutricosmetics are formulated.
“Good nutrition is based on a synergy of nutrients that we consume to optimize our health, right? Rather than single ingredient formulations…we’re now seeing collagen mixed in with complementary actives and nutrients to support the structural integrity of skin or hair and nails, and also to support joint health," she said. “So think MSM, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, different antioxidants or B vitamins. There is definitely a broader focus in where nutricosmetics fit within lifestyle and beauty.”
Mood and cosmetics
While not necessarily a new concept, another trend increasingly marketed in the beauty-health crossover space is neurocosmetics, which explores the mind-body connection.
Cassandra Stern, editor of CosmeticsDesign US, noted that neurocosmetics is gaining traction, pointing to lavender as an example of an ingredient that has a calming effect. She underscored how certain fragrances have been well known to produce certain moods, but only now are they being explored from an efficacy perspective. She added that there are studies that map the brain to determine which areas of the brain light up when exposed to certain fragrances, for example.
“We’re seeing the development of fragrances and subsequently also other types of topical ingredients that are showing through a lot of different scientific studies that are starting to develop and force this connection, where if you smell the fragrance, it makes you feel a certain way, or if you use an ingredient, it makes you feel a certain way,” Stern said.
“BEAUTYSTREAMS is a platform that I work with quite often. They call [neurocosmetics] the ‘psycare’ trend. They’ve actually called it one of the biggest trends of 2026. They’re anticipating that we will see it more in this space, so neurocosmetics are very much new, and I will say that there is still a lot to be learned about this relationship between mood and cosmetics.”
Gut-brain-skin axis
Another crossover that has picked up in popularity in recent years is the gut-brain-skin axis, with probiotics ranked in Spate’s top 10 on its Popularity Index.
“This is where the microbiome is really excelling, specifically with the gut-brain-skin access,” Simpson said.
“When we look at GI conditioning and fortifying GI barrier, and when we think of GI health, you know, it produces hormones, neurotransmitters and so the science is really advancing in this area, and companies are coming out with ingestibles to support topicals for the mood-skin connection.”
‘Beauty-from-within is not going anywhere’
Looking ahead, Stern predicts more nutrition brands will continue to enter the beauty space and vice-versa. She used the brand Olly as an example, which recently started selling more beauty-from-within supplements.
“Beauty-from-within is not going anywhere,” she said. “If anything, we’re just going to see it continue to grow as innovation continues to develop, and as more people and more consumers get excited about it.”
To see Spate’s list of popular ingredients, emerging ingredients to watch and why scientific validation is vital for building consumer trust, register to watch the webinar on demand.
