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.

“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,”says Minou Clark, CEO of US healthcare marketplace Realself.

“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.