The latest trend study, “Transforming Lifestyles”, by the German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association (IKW) paints a picture of a society reorienting itself between technological upheaval and the desire for authenticity. According to the study, AI-generated beauty ideals and social media create, on the one hand, enormous pressure to optimise one’s appearance through excessively high expectations and a rapid pace of change – and, at the same time, a strong counter-movement: beauty is becoming a holistic well-being project, with inner rather than outer appearance becoming the new credo. Extreme AI-generated images are giving way to imperfect naturalness and natural humanity, the study suggests.

Beauty that suits

At the same time, according to the IKW study, skincare is becoming even more personalised through technology and more closely linked to health and prevention. There is a demand for products that break away from gender roles and flexibly adapt to one’s current life situation. Beauty care thus becomes a lived form of self-determination: independent of role models, adapted to the moment, reduced to the essentials. Being a ‘working mum’ in the morning and a ‘party girl’ in the evening is therefore not a contradiction, but an expression of a modern self-image. At the same time, there is a growing desire for ‘less is more’. This is reflected in products that focus on scientifically proven efficacy. An informed generation of consumers demands scientifically proven effectiveness as a key quality standard.

Beauty that lasts

According to the trend study, medical aids such as the weight-loss injection Ozempic or cosmetic surgery give the impression that a flawless, slim body can be achieved without much effort. At the same time, the longevity movement is turning systematic preventive healthcare into a lifelong project. It focuses not only on a long lifespan, but also on long-term health. “Anti-ageing” therefore begins as early as adolescence. The IKW study was conducted by the think tank The Future:Project AG for the first time since 2018. Study director Lena Papasabbas emphasised that beauty and household products reflect key societal developments: in hardly any other sector is it so clearly evident how people’s everyday lives and coexistence are changing.

The IKW will be present at CosmeticBusiness in Hall 2 at Stand A08

Dr Anika Burkard, Head of Beauty Care at the IKW, will give a presentation on 10 June 2026 at 2.40 pm on the topic ‘Update on the German Cosmetics Market: Figures, Trends and Current Insights from Consumer Research’.

Source: IKW