Skincare in 2025: Timeless Essentials and What to Leave Behind

From ingredients to fizzling fads, here’s what’s sticking around for next year and what’s out.

As ever, the skincare and skin treatment industry is thriving, with constant innovation and new products emerging daily. As a highly profitable market, it attracts countless individuals and companies eager to capitalize on its growth and profit quickly. However, with so many trends and fads, it's crucial not to be swayed by misleading advice or ineffective products.

While the industry continues to evolve, certain core principles remain timeless – these are the foundation of true skincare success. Heading into 2025 and beyond, focus on what’s proven, not what’s fleeting. Read on to see which two skincare mantras to bring with you to the New Year and which two to leave in the past.

IN #1 – Shifting Focus

Turns out, we’re all just in pursuit of healthy skin at every age – not the fountain of youth. We just didn’t realize it because marketing companies tricked us into using words like “anti-aging” and “wrinkle cream" – so gross. Now that we know what we’re after, let’s turn our emphasis on the skincare ingredients necessary to get us there.

Growth factors are naturally occurring proteins that play a vital role in stimulating skin growth and regeneration. As we age, our body produces fewer of these proteins, slowing down skin repair and renewal. In response, skincare technology created synthetic growth factors that mimic the action of these natural proteins. While synthetic growth factors may not be as powerful as your body’s own, they still offer significant benefits – much like watering a lawn. They won’t create new skin on their own, but they can support and accelerate the growth of healthy skin. Additionally, growth factors in skincare products strengthen the skin barrier, promoting a more resilient, glowing complexion by enhancing moisture retention and overall skin health.

Peptides are smaller molecules made up of amino acid chains that signal the skin to do different tasks. They are often found in the same products as growth factors. Since they are smaller molecules, they penetrate better and have more specific jobs like soothing redness and repairing skin damage. Peptides are also found naturally in every cell, but then in skincare, they are synthesized to mimic the job of what they do naturally. Peptides are thought to be a great choice for acne-prone skin because they can treat hyperpigmentation and help regrow collagen damaged from acne scars.

Mandelic acid has been a staple in our skincare arsenal for years, and for good reason – it’s a true multitasker. This ingredient is a unicorn because it effectively tackles both acne and makes skin healthier – it gently exfoliates to brighten the skin and combats bacteria like no other. If you're new to us, you can get the full scoop on mandelic acid here. For our longtime fans, you already know and love its benefits. While it's becoming more common in mainstream beauty stores like Sephora, Dr. Fulton, a true skin pioneer, first recognized its invaluable role in promoting healthy skin. Now that mandelic acid is finally gaining widespread recognition, its rise is not just a win for Skin MPLS, but a giant leap forward for skincare at large.

IN #2 – Evolving Wellness

As our understanding of health evolves, so does our approach to wellness, and it’s no longer just about looking good – it’s about feeling good, too. Wellness is on an upward trajectory as we prioritize holistic care, treating our skin as the largest and most vital organ of the body. As we continue to evolve the way we approach wellness, here are two key trends to skin wellness.

Get outside with SPF and consider supplementing with vitamin D, especially during the winter months. While the sun can be harmful to your skin, we still need vitamin D for overall health. Not only is it crucial for maintaining a positive mood, but a vitamin D deficiency can also leave your skin looking dull and lackluster. Thanks to the variety of effective sunscreens and stylish hats available, you can safely enjoy the outdoors, boosting both your mood and your skin. Just remember to seek shade when the sun is intense. Winter is a great time to soak up some sunshine without a high UV index but always wear SPF. It's important to note that light, not just heat, plays a key role in enhancing mood. Additionally, supplementing with vitamin D daily is a good practice, as it’s one of the few supplements with minimal risks or side effects.

Prioritize skin treatments, in addition to daily skincare and wellness practices, to achieve lasting, transformative skin results. While at-home routines are crucial for maintaining healthy skin, professional treatments offer a level of expertise, technology, and care that can elevate your skincare regimen. Licensed aestheticians and medical spa providers are equipped with advanced tools and targeted treatments that address specific concerns in ways that at-home products simply can't. Regular professional facial treatments, chemical peels, or microneedling sessions can stimulate collagen production, improve skin texture, and ensure your skin is rejuvenated from the inside out. By investing in these treatments, you're giving your skin the extra boost it needs to stay healthy and glowing, while also supporting its long-term health and vitality.

And finally, make sure to leave these themes and faux pas in the past – we only want to bring the good with us to 2025. Here’s what’s on our bad list:

OUT #1 – Know It All

While it’s fun to be smart, it’s also exhausting to be up to date on every last thing – plus, nobody likes a know-it-all. Make sure you’re an expert in your career, family, and hobbies, and leave skincare expertise to a professional.

Skincare TikTok won’t stop – so remove yourself from the equation. We know it seems harmless on the outside, but there is so much bad on the inside. From hidden ads to misleading advice from influencers, the damage that’s already been done is nearly irreparable. No, you don’t need that product a “skinfluencer” is schlepping because they got a free sample sent their way. Would they spend their hard-earned money on that product if it didn't show up on their doorstep? We don’t think so. We don’t even use a tenth of the amount of product our vendors, who make professional-grade skincare, send our way. Sadly, most of it goes in the trash – because it’s actually garbage.

Green-washing isn’t going anywhere either, but that doesn’t mean you have to let it get to you in 2025 – learn to follow your gut for what makes sense for you. For better or worse, pressure from green-washing has led to almost every skincare brand removing hot-topic ingredients like parabens, fragrances, and dyes from their products. Since neither fragrances nor dyes play an integral role in a skincare product’s function (they were included for experience and aesthetic reasons), that wasn’t terribly impactful to the function of the product (sorry for those of you who like a pleasant aroma from your skincare products). However, the demonization of parabens over the last 15 years has had harder-hitting effects on skincare products because preservatives play a vital role in formulas. Brands with integrity might still have a paraben here and there, and know that actually means it is because they are serious about their products working over meeting faux demands. 

OUT #2 – Price Gouging 

You know us; we're a Midwest-based company with Midwest values and a Midwest-sized budget. ;) We can't stomach the direction in which skincare product and treatment pricing is headed. Heck, it’s one of the main reasons we set up our own medical spa in 2023. So our feelings on the following two pricing-related issues won't be any surprise to you (though they are probably counter-intuitive to most businesses out there).

Super-expensive skincare products are just not for us. Some people are comfortable spending hundreds to thousands of dollars a month on their skin products and treatments. Most of us are not. Unfortunately, the trend of $200 products is here to stay because the word is out that if you make things expensive, they have the illusion of working better. Sometimes, that is true – but most often, it is not. So don’t feel defeated if that size of skincare budget is not sustainable for you. Skin MPLS will continue to look for products that fill voids and bring value to clients, not just pretty things on a shelf with high price tags. While we do carry expensive products, we do that begrudgingly because some of them are really amazing and they're backed by real, proven benefits. Our mission remains focused on providing effective, cost-conscious skincare solutions that everyone can trust and use to achieve visible results. When a product is affordable and works, there is no excuse not to keep replenishing. Also, really expensive products lead to people using barely any, making them even less effective!

Inflation may not be possible to leave in 2024, but here’s hoping! While it’s normal for most skincare brands to have small price increases over the years, we are here to offer solutions for masking it the best we can. With all things in life, balance is the key. We love mixing lower-cost skincare products with higher-cost ones to strike a balance that we can stomach. Most often, cleansers, moisturizers, and SPFs are on the lower end of the price spectrum, and serums and eye products are on the higher end. Also, the more efficacious your product is, the less you must use – which stretches each bottle further. You can also employ multi-purpose products like Vita-C Radiance Solution Amploule, which combines multiple active ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. Or, to save even more on your cleanser, first, thoroughly swipe your face with Bioderma Micellar Water so that you don’t need as much of your cleanser. We recognize this means buying two products, but trust us – we’re basically economists! ;)