Gen Z beauty: 3 hero botanical ingredients cosmetics brands can’t ignore

Prejuvenation - Gen Z’s approach to staying youthful, resilient and glowing

Prejuvenation refers to a proactive approach to skin health and appearance — focusing on preventing visible signs of ageing before they appear, rather than correcting them later. It includes both protecting skin against external aggressors (UV, pollution, blue light, stress) and reinforcing natural skin functions (barrier integrity, hydration, antioxidant capacity) while supporting long-term skin health.

Where older generations focused on anti-ageing in their 30’s and 40’s, Gen Z starts in their late teens but with a wellbeing, minimalist, and prevention-first mindset.

Prejuvenation is an extremely important matter for Gen Z: 

• 58% of Gen Z beauty consumers say skin health is their #1 beauty concern (Harper’s Bazaar x Circana Gen Z Beauty Report, 2024). 
• The term “prejuvenation” has gained over 60% year-on-year search growth on TikTok and Instagram (Mintel 2024). 
• Gen Z prefers multifunctional, preventive products over aggressive treatments — focused on skin barrier, glow, hydration, and stress protection.

Why? Because this generation grew up online, hyper-aware of how skin looks on camera and screens and exposed early to aesthetic trends like Botox and fillers — but they favour non-invasive, natural alternatives to preserve a youthful appearance in a healthy, ethical way.

Phytessence™ Wassaï – to protect and preserve beauty, with flawless sourcing

Thanks to Phytessence Wassaï, Gen Z can rely on a complete beauty routine based on acai berries, a superfruit they already love, from breakfast acai bowls. This ingredient meets the aspirations of this generation in search of a lifestyle meticulously tailored to well-being, as it naturally protects the skin against the first signs of ageing. Benefits include:

• Protects the skin from oxidative stress from environmental aggressors, by countering the formation of free radicals.
• Stimulates the cellular mechanisms to boost ATP synthesis.
• Helps maintain skin elasticity by reducing the glycation reaction, while also reducing the elastase activity and boosting elastin synthesis.

Phytessence Wassaï’s multiple benefits are a great asset for any formulations targeting Gen Z with the concepts of protection from environmental stressors, skin barrier support, well-ageing and glow-enhancing benefits. 

Phytessence Wassaï is also an excellent fit for the green beauty mindset, as it resonates well with Gen Z’s eco-conscious values. First, a long-standing ethical partnership with an organic producer in French Guyana allows us to offer transparent and sustainable sourcing. Then, the optimised supply chain combined with an innovative extraction method, including our exclusive Zeodration technology at multiple stages, allow reductions of CO2 emissions and energy consumption. If you wish to learn more, have a look at this short video that presents the key features of this responsible sourcing.

Finally, Phytessence Wassaï has one more major advantage: it aligns with the rising trend of beauty as self-care, popular with younger consumers. Acai berries are a star ingredient of breakfast bowls or snacks, part of this generation’s healthy diets. This wellbeing-infused habit inspired the Fresh Wassai Snacking cream. This formulation is a perfect example of what can be offered for instantly refreshed and visibly more harmonious skin in a quick and sensorial gesture, particularly aligned with Gen Z’s expectations.

Glimmers and Gen Z: The micro-moments redefining beauty experiences

For Gen Z, beauty is about how it makes you feel. 

The rise of mood-boosting beauty and self-care rituals reflects Gen Z’s demand for products that nurture not only their skin but also their mind.

Glimmers are subtle experiences—like appreciating a sunset or a gentle breeze—that evoke feelings of comfort, calm, and joy, which help rewire the brain's natural negativity bias by orienting attention toward the good in life. Gen Z’s love of glimmers dovetails naturally with the neurocosmetics trend, as both prioritise small, evidence-based actions that go beyond the surface and support holistic well-being. By acting on the skin–brain connection, these ingredients help trigger micro-moments of emotional uplift — exactly the kind of experiences Gen Z seek in their daily rituals.

Phytessence Green Coffee EC - From performance to emotion with glimmers

Combining energising benefits for the skin and a boost of positive emotions, Phytessence Green Coffee EC is designed to speak to a generation that values emotional benefits as much as efficacy in their pursuit of well-being.

We all know the feeling of how a warm cup of coffee energises the body in the morning. This moment of boosting for the body and the mind inspired us to create an ingredient that energises the skin and reduces the signs of fatigue and oxidative stress. It’s great for a formulation designed to fight against fatigue, which disrupts the skin’s regeneration mechanisms and reduces its elasticity. Amplified by stress and lack of sleep, skin is less energised and more sensitive to visible signs of fatigue and premature ageing.

What’s more, by influencing β-endorphin synthesis by keratinocytes by up to +84%, our natural ingredient helps strengthen the skin barrier and visibly improve skin comfort and balance, while enhancing mood. 

Using our accurate electroencephalogram and galvanic skin response measure methods, we were able to prove that Phytessence Green Coffee EC instantly transforms the volunteers' emotional state, promoting positive emotions such as happiness.

With this ingredient, you can be sure to delve into evidence-based beauty that puts well-being at the heart of every formula, without forgetting its sustainability assets: Phytessence™ Green Coffee EC is obtained from ethical and organic Coffea robusta beans cultivated in Tanzania and it is COSMOS organic certified. 

Our Anti-Fatigue Day Cream formulation, has been created to give both skin and mind a happy wake up. 

Inclusivity, body positivity – Gen Z is calling loudly for skin acceptance

For Gen Z, body positivity and skin acceptance movements have reshaped the idea of what beauty means. According to Mintel (2024), 71% of Gen Z think beauty brands should do more to promote positive body and skin image. 60% even say they feel more confident when their skin feels physically comfortable, regardless of visible imperfections (Circana 2024).

It’s not about perfect, flawless, or retouched skin — it’s about real skin, in real conditions, and feeling good in your own body. Gen Z expect beauty brands to:

• Normalise texture, redness, sensitivity, and ‘imperfect’ skin
• Offer products that work with, not against, diverse skin realities
• Encourage positive relationships with their bodies through caring rituals

Beauty products aren’t just about appearance for this generation — they’re about how you feel in your skin.

Zanthocare™ - when body positivity meets multifunctionality

The benefits of our Sichuan berry-derived ingredient align with these concepts of inclusivity and the body positivity movement. They also encourage people to address minor issues and discomfort, rather than covering them up or ignoring them.

As a bold statement that beauty starts with comfort, Zanthocare is a multifunctional ingredient and that's no mean feat for Gen Z. This generation loves smart, multitasking products: in 2023, Mintel already indicated that 65% of Gen Z prefer multifunctional products to minimise the number of products they use daily. 

Rich in phenolic compounds, Zanthocare offers multiple skin benefits:

• Protecting: it ensures a defence against oxidative stress cause by the ROS and glycation, mainly due to external aggressors.
• Strengthening: our ingredient helps combat skin ageing through its effect in the stimulation of the synthesis of ECM compounds and in keratinocyte differentiation.
• Soothing: this botanical active reduces mediators of inflammation to bring comfort and well-being to the skin.
• Balancing: our ingredient has been shown to reduce body odour (anti-lipase effect, astringent activity) while respecting the skin’s microbiome.
• Thanks to our electroencephalogram testing method, we also proved that Zanthocare helps rebalance well-being by boosting positive emotions (happiness, delight) through the mind-skin connection.

Zanthocare is preservative free, 100% natural origin (according to ISO16128), COSMOS validated. It’s therefore an ideal ingredient to meet Gen Z’s expectations for natural formulations that are designed to simplify routines and maximise their value, fitting into both face and body care rituals. Our Soothing Body Mist formulation uses a combination of two of our best soothing botanical ingredients, Zanthocare and Cytokalmine™ EC, to help create a simple routine that will have consumers feeling great in their own skin. It has been designed to reach a 99% natural origin content and to be used on the whole body.

Why are these botanicals so well fitted for Gen Z’s cosmetic desires for 2025 and beyond?

Digital natives, Gen Z individuals discover, review and drive micro-trends like “Glass skin”, “Dopamine beauty” and “Prejuvenation”. But they also demand accountability and meaning, preferring transparent, values-led ingredients, especially when it comes to concepts like neurocosmetics. One last thing, they will favour brands that stand for something and prioritise sustainability: 70% of Gen Z consumers are more loyal to brands they perceive as authentic and socially responsible (Deloitte, 2024).

Gen Z’s beauty and skin care decisions reflect a balance between affordability, authenticity, and the freedom to express who they are. Botanicals are a natural fit for this generation, offering rich storytelling, visible benefits for the skin, and the accessibility today's conscious consumers expect.

The three ingredients we presented here meet the distinctive criteria that are important for this generation’s desire for commitment, value, and inclusivity.