Dr Idriss Addresses… The Future of Skincare (and the Ingredients Shaping 2026)
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Dr Idriss is a board-certified dermatologist practising in New York. Known as #PillowTalkDerm to her over 4 millions followers on socials, she has a burning passion for demystifying skincare and busting beauty myths at every turn. Dr Idriss is also a regular Live That Glow columnist, sharing her unedited views on all things trending with our readers in her column, ‘Dr Idriss Addresses…’. Here she talks what’s going to be big in skincare ingredients in 2026.
I’m often asked whether the ‘latest’ skincare ingredients are always better… Here’s why I don’t think that innovation is always worth the hype – and the ingredients that I do actually rate.
Firstly, newer doesn’t automatically mean better. Some of the buzziest ingredients are genuinely exciting, but many are just old molecules repackaged with shinier marketing. Retinoids, exfoliating acids, peptides, and sunscreen filters remain gold standards because we actually have decades of real human data proving their safety and efficacy.
That’s not as sexy as “exosomes” or “PDRN,” but it’s the truth.
Because the reality is that most new ingredients don’t come from a lone scientist having a eureka moment. They usually come from raw material suppliers pitching new actives, or from ingredients that have been in pharmaceuticals, food science, or even traditional medicine for years.
Brands test them in small studies, often in-house or sponsored, and if they look promising- and can be marketed well- they end up in your serum.
As well as individual ingredients coming into fashion, whole countries are often touted as being ‘the most innovative’ when it comes to skincare formulation. In particular, I’m constantly asked about K and J beauty – and who’s really ahead in the innovation race.
In my honest view, they’re even in terms of tech – it’s just that one country overwhelmingly receives more PR.
Korea has a uniquely competitive and fast-moving beauty market. Consumers there are willing to experiment, and companies can bring new ideas to market very quickly, which makes it feel like they’re decades ahead.
But Japan is just as innovative, but their system is more regulated, more conservative, and less flashy in terms of marketing. They’ve given us some of the most advanced sunscreen filters in the world – they just don’t always get the global spotlight.
For my scepticism over ‘the coolest’ ingredients though, there are four that I genuinely do rate.
- Retinoids: still the gold standard for anti-aging.
- Peptides: Some have solid science – like signal peptides that nudge your skin to make more collagen, or carrier peptides that help deliver trace minerals.
- Growth factors (like EFGs): These are naturally occurring proteins that signal your cells to repair and regenerate. In skincare, the best evidence comes from topical formulations derived from human cell cultures or engineered bioidentical growth factors. Clinical studies show they can improve fine lines, texture, and overall skin quality when used consistently.
And I’ll say it again – sunscreen filters, especially the newer UVA filters available outside the U.S., are truly innovations that matter.
Aside from those newer ingredients that I really love, in some ways, what actually works in skincare has stayed the same for years – it’s just the way we formulate the basics that’s changed.
You look at products from the 70s and 80s, and- despite the bad name that beauty from that period has- ingredients like petrolatum and glycerin were great then and they’re still great now.
What has improved though is our understanding of the skin barrier, so we now make moisturisers that actually mimic the skin’s natural lipids. Formulas feel better, stabilise actives more effectively, and packaging keeps them fresher. So in some ways, even the basics have gotten smarter.
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