“Having just witnessed the broader system nearly fail this past year, we continue to believe in the convergence of beauty, nutrition and wellness,” Brian Thorne, partner at growth equity and venture capital firm Silas Capital, recently told beauty insights platform Glossy. “More specifically, we expect the momentum behind clean and ingestible beauty to only accelerate post-pandemic, as consumers become that much more attuned to what they’re putting into and onto their bodies, as a form of preventive personal health care.”

Jordan Gaspar, managing partner at AF Ventures, shares the sentiment. “The line between personal care, beauty and food was beginning to blur pre-Covid, and now, 10 months in, that trend has only further accelerated,” she says. “Consumers are shifting their focus toward multi-functional products that not only [improve] physical appearance, but also improve overall health. In turn, we see several companies capitalising on this consumer shift and driving the growth of these products through online communities and strategic consumer awareness campaigns.”

Market figures appear to support this trend. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of new ingestible products launched with a skin health claim was 23 percent between 2017 and 2020, according to Innova Market Insights.

In line with the boom in microbiome skincare, new product lines are also emerging that offer ingestible gut boosters. Or, like Galinee, offer topical skincare and microbiome supplements to ease sensitive skin. Galinee even offers a microbiome-focused toothpaste, and supplements specifically for oral care. Previously relegated to ho-hum health food shops, new concepts are launching that blur with the beauty space and are sold in upscale beauty stores.

Hydration is going to be a rising area of focus, suggests Coefficient’s Whiteman. “Research shows that the majority of Americans are chronically dehydrated,” she explains. “This has impacts on energy, radiance and luminescence. At the moment this is largely targeted in the functional space and products are sold via Whole Foods and Walmart, but it will soon hit beauty and skincare.”

On Tiktok #Hydration now has 178 million views and TikTok influencer Christina Najjar (Tinx) has been touting the value of hydration and Simple Modern water bottles.

Innovative product lines are also encouraging hydration: Cirkul is a water bottle which allows users to inset water-activated flavours into the lid. Elsewhere, Air Up is a new vessel that has scent pods that add flavour without calories. Hydrant is also a rising start-up in the space, offering water activated sachets for hydration with added health benefits such as relaxing melatonin, caffeine to wake up drinkers, and electrolytes.

An early mover in the hydration beauty space is Eau Lab. With the tagline 'Intelligent Hydration', and imagery and packaging reminiscent of London’s Dover Street Market, the upscale waters offer gut support, immunity, as well as facial sprays containing hyaluronic acid and tincture drops for sleep. Interestingly, one of the issues the brand taps into is rising concern about the levels of microplastics in drinking water. A recent study from the World Health Organization showed that 90 percent of the world’s bottled water brands contain microplastics. The ingestion of such microplastics has been linked to a variety of health problems.

Will psychedelics for skincare be next? More companies are touting micro-dosing retreats for holistic health benefits. It’s not a big leap to imagine that enterprising skincare brands will start to research or incorporate these beauty benefits.

Field Trip is one of the more buzzed-about companies entering the space. The company promises that you will “experience yourself in a new way through transformative psychedelic therapies.

“If you’re suffering from chronic depression, you know how disheartening finding an effective treatment can be. Many traditional treatments such as prescription antidepressants or Electroconvulsive Therapy are hard on the body and may not lead to the lasting change you’re hoping for,” it says.

The brand claims its psychedelic-assisted therapy is a modern method of applying ancient, time-tested wisdom that has helped sufferers experience “truly transformational effects.”

Healing and wellness brand Numinous also offers medically-supervised ketamine therapy among other services: “At Numinous we combine the latest advances in psychedelic medicine with the best in evidence-based care and a holistic, integrated approach to healing,” it says.

Many new beverage lines are already touting adaptogens for mood-boosting benefits. Given the rising link between mental health and beauty, mushrooms, micro-dosing and psychedelics could yet be applied to skincare. Watch this space.