Longevity – the idea of extending lifespan whilst maintaining health and appearance – is arguably one of the most important movements of 2025; influencing a whole host of industries, from healthcare to food and beverage into fitness, beauty and wellness.
On the beauty side, longevity research and product development is taking on many forms, with scientists and brands tracking skin health markers over time and developing products like ingestibles, topicals and tools to respond to and influence change. But, as industry continues to innovate around longevity, global beauty major L’Oréal says it will be paramount advances continue to be backed by in-depth scientific research, particularly in skincare.
The longevity “revolution”
“Longevity is a new paradigm,” said Carine Ballihaut, Skincare Research Transformation Director at L’Oréal. Speaking at the Cosmetic 360 tradeshow in Paris, France, this month, Ballihaut said: “...It is a revolution that is impacting all of us as individuals but also as a society.”
Importantly, consumers and industry, alike, are being forced to reconsider the meaning of longevity, the L’Oréal skincare expert said, given proof that it is much more than just about chronological age.
Scientific understanding around age-related damage to various organs, she said, has “grown tremendously” in recent years. Publications related to longevity, for example, exceeded 100,000 between 2000 and 2024, with research identifying various root causes to age-related impacts on the human body.
Publications on skin longevity were also rising fast, she said. And Ballihaut highlighted this aspect – looking at longevity and the human skin – is where plenty can still be uncovered.
Ageing clocks and biomarkers
Whilst the “longevity scientific revolution” has been significantly bolstered by the development of more than 15 biological distinct ageing clocks, enabling scientists to predict biological age based on molecular profiles, the skin science angle still needs more focus, Ballihaut said.
“Crucically, we now have evidence that ageing clocks are organ dependent,” she explained, “meaning blood-based clocks may not accurately reflect the biological age of the skin. Therefore, advancing skin longevity science necessitates the creation of specific clocks, rooted in a detailed understanding of skin biology.”
For the past 50 years, she said L’Oréal has been dedicated to “illuminating” the mechanisms and markers of ageing in skin biology, a lot of which has been backed by clinical evaluations. Under its in-house programme L’Oréal Longevity Integrative Science", the company is exploring how cellular activity, communication, and inflammation impact skin ageing and the creation of a ’Wheel of Longevity for Beauty’ aims to decode skin ageing at the cellular, molecular and tissular levels, she said.
“We have meticulously charted all these biological transformations–across molecular, cellular and tissular levels–combining and compiling excess data on 267 biomarkers of the skin. The measurement of those biomarkers provides an invaluable snapshot of a dermatological status, enabling us not only to predict but also to critically influence the skin’s future trajectory,” Ballihaut explained.
This sophisticated data set could then be integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to link biomarkers with active ingredients and ultimately empower targeted product development that can potentially slow down the ageing progress and extend the lifespan of skin, she said.
“The incorporation of these biological hallmarks unveils promising new targets and intervention strategies (…) As a beauty company, we are committed to the visualisation and proven benefits of ingredients on skin and how we can use this information to guide new product development.”
Skin longevity markers
However, Ballihaut said there remains a “critical need to develop targeted innovation strategies, specifically designed to enhance skin health”.
Longevity skincare must be “grounded in detailed understanding of the skin’s biological iterations over time”, she said, “leveraging what we refer to as longevity markers”. Looking ahead, this will require investment from the beauty industry and knowledge and engagement from skincare experts across the field, she said – something her company remains heavily focused on.
L’Oréal, for example, has already developed a high-tech diagnostics device – L’Oréal Cell BioPrint – that it unveiled at the CES 2025 tradeshow in Las Vegas, USA, earlier this year. The hardware device uses a patch to measure proteins on the skin’s surface and provide a detailed, personalised analysis of a person’s biological skin age in under five minutes.
Ballihaut described the device as a “major breakthrough” for industry and something that should help advance efforts in skincare longevity further. “As skin biologists, we are thrilled. We can now proactively support skin health before the visible signs of ageing, helping your skin function, optimally, for longer. This is a new era of longevity.”
