How GLP-1s are redefining beauty categories

GLP-1 drugs leave medical consultations to appear in the spotlight of public opinion. They are, officially, a cultural phenomenon that is reshaping, or rather, generating in the beauty industry a new canon at record speed. What began as a revolution in the treatment of diabetes, quickly moved to obesity. This has become a new consumption driver for skincare, haircare, aesthetic medicine, and even fragrances.With medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro increasingly present in the routine of millions of consumers, brands are reacting to a new type of client: users who experience rapid weight loss and seek specific solutions to treat visible side effects such as sagging, facial volume loss, hair loss, or skin dehydration.According to the latest report Beauty & Personal Care Demand Signals by Mintel and Black Swan Data, GLP-1s are part of a transformation that goes further and stands as the beginning of a path known as "metabolic" beauty, where skin ceases to be understood as an isolated surface and begins to be interpreted as a direct reflection of internal health, hormonal balance, and general well-being. Mintel identifies this macro-trend under the concept Metabolic Beauty, an emerging category where concepts such as inflammation, microbiome, hormones, stress, or digestive health begin to integrate naturally into the beauty discourse.On the other hand, the increase in GLP-1s is generating very specific new aesthetic concerns such as loss of firmness, sagging, dehydration, facial thinning, or hair loss. What has popularly been dubbed "Ozempic face" is not just a viral phenomenon: it is also a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for skin care and body care.Goodbye to antiaging Goodbye to antiaging to welcome 'skin longevity'. Here Mintel evidences another paradigm shift in the sector: we don't want to talk about antiaging, we know that aging is what must happen. Therefore, the new narrative revolves around resilience, prevention, and skin longevity. Therefore, the expansion of GLP-1 treatments is further accelerating the demand for redensifying and regenerative formulas capable of helping the skin adapt to rapid physical changes. PDRN, peptides, or exosomes, active ingredients that are on the rise, are already positioning themselves as the 'key active ingredients' in this new cosmetic trend. Premium body care reclaims its place And Mintel states that it is the year of the rebirth of body care, and this is largely a collateral effect of the increased use of Ozempic and its derivatives. The report indicates that rapid weight changes associated with the use of GLP-1 are increasing concern for body firmness, tone, and elasticity, opening up an enormous space for high-performance products aimed at skin recovery and resilience.For years, body care occupied a secondary role compared to facial skincare. Now the opposite is happening: the body becomes a new territory for beauty investment. Firming oils, creams enriched with peptides, formulas with ceramides, or treatments inspired by facial skincare are starting to raise the average ticket of premium body care.Mintel even speaks of a category designed for "skin in transition", that is, skin subjected to accelerated physical change processes.Towards a beauty that claims more clinical, with more claims and more hybrid The GLP-1 phenomenon is also bringing closer and blurring the differences between cosmetics, wellness, and health. The consumer expects products capable of working alongside the body's biology, not just on the skin's surface. And that forces brands to sophisticate both formulation and narrative.According to Mintel, brands that will be able to translate biological concepts difficult for the consumer to understand into clear benefits related to inflammation, skin resilience, microbiome, or hormonal balance. Beauty thus enters a new phase where cosmetic performance is capable of accompanying the body during processes of physical and metabolic transformation.

How GLP-1s are redefining beauty categories

Mintel identifies the rise of “metabolic beauty” as one of the major consumer signals for 2026, driving the demand for regenerative skincare, clinical body care and formulas focused on skin resilience.