As climate risks rise, skin protection is more than cosmetic — it’s environmental. Choose products that care for skin and planet.
As climate change accelerates, we’re not just witnessing impacts to the planet, we’re feeling them in our bodies. From heatwaves and wildfires to air pollution and water scarcity, environmental stressors are beginning to shape both our inner health and our outer appearance. Our skin, the body’s first line of defence, is already showing signs of strain. Rising rates of inflammation, acne and dermatitis-related conditions are a clear sign that we need more from our skincare.
The beauty industry is responding — think pollution-shielding formulations, packaging that’s not just refillable but reimagined, personalised AI-driven solutions and products that adapt to specific climates and conditions. The future of beauty depends on more than the next miracle serum. It’s about integrity, transparency and sustainability. We need solutions that genuinely support skin resilience in a changing world, are environmentally responsible and are accessible to a range of consumers, not just those at the premium end of the market.
Why our skin is under siege
A 2024 study by researchers Jinkyung Lee and Ki Han Kwon confirms what many of us are already feeling: heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense and long-lasting. This ongoing thermal stress disrupts our body’s internal balance, with our skin among the first to react. Dehydration, inflammation, redness and increased water loss are all signs that our skin is struggling.
Lee and Kwon remind us that heat isn’t the only issue. UV radiation, intensified by ozone depletion, doesn’t just accelerate visible ageing. It’s a key player in inflammatory skin conditions and cancers such as melanoma and keratinocyte carcinoma. Add in air pollution and you have numerous environmental stressors that trigger oxidative stress, impair our skin barrier and make our skin more sensitive and reactive.
Pascale Brousse, founder of Trend Sourcing and a leading voice in wellness foresight, agrees that pollution is a primary threat to our health. “Following that, the combination of heat and humidity strains our thermo-regulation systems, putting newborns and menopausal women at the greatest risk,” she warns.
In a 2024 study published in the Journal of Clinical Dermatology, researchers found that atopic dermatitis, one of the most common and burdensome skin conditions worldwide, is strongly shaped by environmental factors like temperature extremes, UV exposure and pollution. We’re not just navigating acne or ageing anymore, we’re facing climate-related skin challenges — pollution-triggered breakouts, barrier damage, eczema and hypersensitivity.
Richard Cope, senior trends consultant at Mintel, explains that UV exposure degrades collagen and elastin, causing sagging, wrinkles and uneven pigmentation. Meanwhile, high heat and humidity create a breeding ground for fungal infections and cause oil glands to overproduce, exacerbating acne and congestion. The air is also changing. Dry conditions strip moisture from the skin, leaving it coarse and tight. He points to new research from the University of Michigan warning that rising carbon dioxide levels could increase annual pollen emissions by up to 200 per cent, further aggravating allergies and inflammation.
These environmental aggressors are reshaping the way we need to care for our skin. We need support that is as dynamic and responsive as the environments we now live in. As a natural health practitioner, I know too well that when our bodies are struggling to cope with the outside world, it’s harder to feel good on the inside.
Sobering statistics
According to Cope, the World Resources Institute predicts a 30 per cent rise in global water demand by 2050, and the University of Washington links 4.7 million premature deaths annually to air pollution. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) forecasts that instances of extreme temperatures are in the process of tripling in frequency between 2000 and 2030. The case for protective, adaptive skincare couldn’t be clearer and these needs will grow.
Climate dermatology
Climate dermatology is an emerging field that is beginning to address some of these challenges. “Climate change will amplify most existing health, dermatological and beauty concerns, from allergies to mosquito-borne diseases, wound healing complications to makeup stability,” Brousse warns. Dermatologists will increasingly be required to address patients’ needs for cooling, hydration, UV protection, cancer prevention and allergy management.
How the beauty industry is evolving
Climate-adaptive beauty isn’t just another fleeting trend. It’s a necessary response, driven by science and shaped by consumer awareness. Fortunately, beauty and skincare brands are beginning to act. “Not only because consumers are asking for better protection and comfort, but also because ingredient sourcing is becoming harder under climate pressure,” Brousse explains.
Brands are starting to take cues from climate data, partnering with tech companies to create skincare that responds to the environment. Ingredients are being selected for both performance and resilience and grown through regenerative practices or using bio-synthetic ingredients with minimal environmental impact. Brousse points to indoor and waterless cultivation of rare ingredients as an example.
In regions already grappling with high heat and humidity, skincare innovation is moving quickly. “Asia is currently the most advanced in climate care,” notes Brousse. “In the West, even though suncare is booming, awareness around climate-related skincare needs remains relatively low.”
Trends on the rise
According to Brousse, among the key innovations shaping the next wave of climate-adaptive beauty are thermo-regulating technologies and new-generation cooling skincare textures designed to measurably lower skin temperature. Products will have smart, sorbet-like textures and share claims highlighting the measurable cooling effects they can make on our skin. “They will be smart textures that remain stable and effective across different climates, even when we are travelling,” she predicts. Brousse adds that we are also seeing the development of scalp-care solutions tailored specifically for heatwave conditions as well as anti-ageing formulations that adapt to environmental stresses such as rising temperatures and pollution.
Geo skincare refers to products that are tailored to specific climates, ensuring optimal protection and hydration based on the environmental conditions. Think SPF that works in smoggy cities and multifunctional products that address pollution, UV, humidity and temperature all at once. Cope predicts we’ll see a rise in adaptive products such as moisturisers designed to function in both dry heat and icy cold and deodorants that release odour-neutralising molecules based on body temperature.
“SPF will likely become the basis of all skincare, and we’ll see more products formulated to protect against ozone and environmental pollutants,” he adds.
Next-generation sunscreens are providing enhanced protection. Hybrid sunscreens that combine chemical and physical UV filters are gaining traction, offering long-lasting coverage with less environmental harm. Additionally, new formulations are incorporating antioxidants and DNA-repair enzymes to counteract sun damage at a cellular level.
In addition to heat and drought, climate-adaptive beauty is also about oceans. As ocean acidification and warming continue to threaten marine life, the “blue beauty” movement is gaining momentum. There is greater focus on reef-safe sunscreens, marine-safe ingredients and plastic-free packaging. Mukti, cosmetic formulator, skin therapist and founder of Mukti Organics, predicts we’ll see more sustainably sourced marine ingredients like algae and seaweed, plus greater transparency around where these are harvested and how. According to market intelligence agency Mintel, innovative ingredients such as glycoproteins derived from lobsters will also become more common, developed with processes that support marine conservation.
We are also seeing micro