This article is part of the Future of Appearance, a collection of articles that investigates what we will look like in 20 years.
Invisible plastic surgery, miracle weight loss drugs and age reversal supplements — the beauty and wellness industry is hitting an inflection point, reshaping how consumers will look in years to come.
The trends leading the charge? Weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy have hurtled into the mainstream, moving beyond their original use for diabetes to usher in a resurgence of thinness as the trending body ideal — a stark contrast to the era of body positivity and diversity we are just coming out of. Meanwhile, the ‘undetectable’ aesthetic has taken centre stage as consumers and celebrities alike swap frozen expressions and overfilled faces for subtle fillers, injectables and lasers designed to preserve a youthful look without obvious intervention.
At the same time, the pursuit of longevity has infiltrated wellness, health and beauty spaces. Biohacking (DIY biological tweaks to improve human performance and behaviour) has moved from the fringes to the forefront of societal conversation with hit Netflix shows like Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, about health influencer Bryan Johnson, and TikTok trends like sleepy girl mocktails. LinkedIn influencer Julia Corso aptly dubbed it the “post-human It-girl” era in a post shared to the platform. “We’re not glowing from blush but from mitochondrial health. We’re tracking everything, maximising oxygen consumption and enhancing our biometrics to push the boundaries of human potential, that’s the new luxury,” she tells Vogue Business.
From sleep hacks and 3D body scans to protein supplements, running clubs and social wellness memberships, this longevity movement has since extended to aesthetics, where regenerative treatments such as exosomes (tiny messengers that transport proteins and growth factors to boost collagen production for firmer skin) and stem cell therapies aim to prolong cellular life.
“Appearance and aesthetics are changing,” says Dr Ashwin Soni, plastic and reconstructive surgeon and founder of The Soni Clinic. “People once wanted harsh definition — defined jawlines, lifted cheekbones, curvy bodies and Brazilian butt lift surgery (BBLs). Now, the conversation has shifted toward subtlety and longevity. Twenty to 30-year-old consumers are considering what they’ll look like when they’re 60 and are investing in preventive changes today.”
Minou Clark, CEO of US healthcare marketplace Realself, agrees. “We’re in our smaller bodies, snatched skin and GLP-1 era. The desire to look like our best selves, where you can subtly nip, tuck and tweak your appearance to look like a different human,” she says. “We’ll sit in this new era for a very long time.”
A fresh agenda
Dr Ifeoma Ejikeme, founder and medical director of skincare and aesthetic practice Adonia Medical Clinic, predicts the coming decades will be propelled by “hyper-personalisation, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and regenerative medicine”, introducing aesthetic treatments tailored to individual genetic makeup, lifestyle and environment. This convergence of longevity science and aesthetics is paving the way for biohacking beauty, where internal health and external appearance are intertwined. “The next 20 to 30 years will see AI-driven skincare, peptide technology and gene-based interventions take centre stage,” says Dr Nyla Raja, dermatology GP and founder of Dr Nyla Medispa.
Shakaila Forbes-Bell, consumer insights psychologist at Clearpay financial platform, envisions a “modular” approach to aesthetics, where people can customise their features using advanced cosmetic treatments, enhanced wearable tech and even bioengineered advancements. “AI-driven symmetry adjustments, bioprinted skin and programmable hair and eye colours could redefine personal aesthetics,” Forbes-Bell says, though she cautions that ethical regulation will be key to ensuring these innovations don’t reinforce outdated beauty standards.
Weight management (including weight loss) and diet will continue to recast body image attitudes, “promoting a more clinical and results-oriented perspective to a leaner body type”, adds Olivia Houghton, lead beauty, health and wellness analyst at strategic consultancy The Future Laboratory. But Houghton also says that there will be “a potential societal shift back towards diverse body types as these medications and modalities rise”.
Ageing will take on a new form, too. “Biological age is becoming a new form of identity. People are starting to relate more to their cellular age than their chronological one. If you’re 45 but have the cellular health of a 28-year-old, that’s the age you’ll feel, perform and even identify as,” says Jacob Peters, founder and CEO of health preventative care platform Superpower. As a result, consumers are expected to tap into longevity-focused solutions that go beyond superficial fixes, investing in preventive health scan companies like Neko Health (the company already has a 100,000-long wait list since launching in September 2024) to focus on prevention and well-being. Otherwise, consumers are bypassing their doctors and are taking their health into their own hands in the future with advanced generative AI models that can customise wellness and health programmes based on personalised health goals, predicts consulting firm Deloitte.
The face of the future
Today, ageing is a primary beauty concern according to 97 per cent of the respondents who took part in the Vogue Business beauty standards survey. However, experts predict that in 20 to 30 years, ageing will no longer be feared, as advances in regenerative medicine — from GLP-1s to cellular reprogramming — will shift the conversation from fighting ageing to designing how we age and look. Twenty years from now, ageing will no longer be about loss but choice, where regenerative treatments and skin-tightening innovations redefine how youth and vitality are maintained, unveiling an undetectable, enhanced facial appearance.
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Soni predicts that collagen stimulators and skin-tightening advancements beyond current treatments will reduce sagging and preserve elasticity, creating a healthier, tighter, more radiant appearance. “Patients who are now in their 30s who’ve followed a consistent regimen combining regenerative treatments and skincare will have skin that bounces back with less sagging and a natural glow by the time they’re in their 60s or 70s,” he explains. “Biological age is replacing chronological age as the dominant beauty metric, with diagnostic tools and treatments catering to inner health as much as outer appearance,” says Clare Varga, VP of content at trend forecasting agency WGSN. “Brands must design for needs, not the number,” she adds, highlighting that the future of ageing lies in a personalised, inclusive approach that targets consumers’ skin cell life and quality to prolong vibrancy.
Aesthetic trends will work in tandem. “Now, we’re seeing a move towards dissolving filler and using regenerative treatments like fat grafting,” says Dr Catherine Chang, a Beverly Hills plastic and reconstructive surgeon and founder of Privé Beverley Hills. “We’ll be using substances derived from one’s own body, such as blood, stem cells and fat, over synthetic injectables like filler to make patient-specific filler.” The results, she says, will reflect subtle, long-term improvements that enhance skin quality and internal vibrancy rather than alter. Similarly, Dr Roy Kim, an American Society of Plastic Surgeons member and an aesthetic plastic surgeon based between San Francisco and Beverly Hills, highlights the strength of the undetectable enhancements on the horizon: “We’re moving towards treatments that improve skin quality so effectively that people look better without makeup. It’s not about hiding imperfections — it’s about having skin that genuinely looks healthier.”
The body of the future
The future of body aesthetics will be redefined, combining regenerative medicine, biohacking and AI-driven personalisation. In one instance, people’s shapes will no longer be confined to traditional fat removal or muscle augmentation, with body sculpting becoming a highly specialised, precision-driven art. Kim highlights the shift from conventional BBLs and liposuction to next-generation body contouring, where fat is injected not just to add volume but to enhance muscle arrangement. “We’re moving beyond just revealing a toned, slim physique — we’re injecting fat into the pecs, traps, biceps, triceps and abs to sculpt the body in ways that go beyond surface aesthetics,” he explains. Surgeons are discovering that fat cells injected into muscles may actually convert into muscle tissue over time, enhancing strength and performance and could be a game-changer for body enhancement.”
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As these advancements take hold, a new era of physique aesthetics will emerge, according to Kim, one where sculpted, hyper-defined bodies become the norm. Gordon Miller, an industry futurist and host of the ‘Social Beauty Makers’ podcast, agrees. “We’re looking at a future where people will sculpt their bodies according to personal preferences, not societal trends,” he says. From personalised fat distribution and body recomposition guided by AI to cultured body fat and laboratory-grown tissues used for augmentation, the next 20 years will usher in an era where achieving one’s desired body will become less about genetics and more about choice.
As people live longer, maintaining a youthful body becomes not just an aesthetic pursuit but a quality-of-life improvement. Raja explains the potential for advances in stem cell research, exosome therapy and cellular programming to drastically slow down physical ageing throughout the body. “We’re no longer just treating the surface. We’re targeting the very mechanisms that cause tissue deterioration. While we may never eliminate ageing entirely, we’re getting closer to preserving skin and muscle integrity for much longer,” she says. This longevity-driven mindset is already visible in the rise of Ozempic, says Clark, which, beyond its medical applications, has ignited aesthetic transformations, sparking conversations and societal demand about finding the right balance between weight loss and maintaining a healthy appearance.
Ultimately, the body of the future will be as much about longevity and functionality as it is about aesthetics. As Emma Chiu, global director at VML intelligence, trend forecasting agency, predicts, ageing will no longer carry the visual hallmarks we now associate with growing older. “The stereotypical 70-year-old with wrinkles and a hunchback is out of the window. Instead, we’re entering an era where looking vibrant and moving gracefully well into your later decades will become the norm,” says Chiu.
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Risks, rejection and the price of perfection
However, the road to a tighter youthful face and body, longer life expectancy and optimal health span is not without its challenges. As accessibility barriers emerge, there’s concern that these advanced procedures, treatments and trends could become symbols of privilege, available only to those who can afford them. “The risk is that we’ll have a future where the 1 per cent could look like Benjamin Button, and the rest of us shrivelled raisins,” warns Clark. While technologies such as Sylfirm X, a painless and readily available, no-downtime microneedling device, are making advanced treatments more accessible, the fear remains that these advancements could widen the gap between those who can afford to age in reverse, live longer and have access to the latest health treatments, and those who cannot.
There’s also a growing cultural rejection of extreme modifications. “There’s been an underlying societal moralisation of plastic surgery,” says Forbes-Bell, noting a move towards a more natural, individualised approach. Ejikeme echoes this sentiment: “We’re seeing consumers move away from exaggerated trends and towards regenerative aesthetics that stimulate the body’s natural healing processes and celebrate unique features.” These may even be determined by geographical market. For example, Ghanaian-based consultant plastic surgeon Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah predicts African consumers will want to maintain their fuller hips and bust, while Dr Liesel Holler, an international cosmetics doctor, says Latin American consumers may desire “sculpted but soft, harmonious yet striking faces and bodies”.
Meanwhile, AI has the potential to either drive beauty forward or reinforce outdated ideals. “AI can be playful and experimental, but it can also unintentionally dial beauty standards back in time with its perfectly polished ideas of appearance. Ethical regulation will be key for companies in ensuring that future aesthetics and appearance remain inclusive and diverse,” says Chiu. However, Forbes-Bell still sees the technology’s development as consumers having better agency over their appearance. “Beauty and AI-driven adjustments like programmable hair and eye colours could redefine personal aesthetics. It will likely become a custom aesthetic tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup, lifestyle, health, performance and access to technology,” she says.
Though there is one constant — the beauty industry will remain entangled in what Varga describes as an “eternal contradiction”, whereby the pursuit of perfection clashes with the call for authenticity. “The pressure to stay ageless will coexist with the desire to be authentic. The drive for perfection collides with the need for self-acceptance,” she explains. As science advances and longevity tech pushes the boundaries of human appearance, the psychological burden of navigating these contradictions will only grow with beauty burnout as a potential fallout.
For brands, this shift presents both an opportunity and a challenge as they balance having to meet consumers who demand genetically modified products that are hyper-personalised, adaptive and in tune with health, science and aesthetics as well as those who have tapped out of the advancement race, calling on natural beauty. The solution will mean marketing and product development strategies will become more nuanced than ever to meet and balance emerging needs while taking into account advancements that remain accessible and ethical, or empowering consumers to embrace individuality while exploring enhancement.
In the future, alongside developing cutting-edge treatments and products that answer to growing consumer demand for a youthful, optimal appearance, the industry will also need to guide consumers through an emotional landscape. The next era is “deeply psychological, defined by an ongoing negotiation between who we are, who we aspire to be and designing it”, concludes Varga.
As for what we will look like, Houghton says “[appearance] will be significantly shaped by advancements in longevity science and anti-ageing research. These developments will move the focus from mere aesthetic enhancements to a comprehensive approach that targets ageing on a cellular level, reflecting a trend towards integrating health and beauty.”
*Note on our images:
We created all lead images in this series using OpenAI GPT-4o’s image generation tool. To do that, we leveraged the ongoing partnership between Condé Nast and OpenAI and generated images that best reflect the expert insights and predictions about appearance found in this collection of articles.
We are aware of the debate surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence in image-making, and we share concerns regarding creative ownership as well as that of our own image. In this series, we are talking about a world that doesn’t yet exist, and as AI is in so many ways the tool of the future, we felt it was appropriate to experiment with it in this way.
We guided the visuals entirely through written prompts. No external images or copyrighted materials were uploaded or referenced — every image was created from scratch based on our team’s original concepts.
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