The Anti-Ageing Debate

Why are anti-ageing beauty and wellness trends so popular among young people? And what effect does this have on their mental health?

- WORDS BY THANDO PATO

Is it possible to slow down or even physically reverse ageing? If you believe it is, it would be easy to see why. There are many anti-ageing creams, serums, masks and supplements that claim to improve skin elasticity, reduce wrinkles and enhance youthfulness.

Besides beauty products, anti-ageing procedures like botox, injectable fillers, microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing, chemical peels, microneedling, collagen induction therapy and, the latest trend, collagen banking (increasing natural collagen production in the body by taking collagen-inducing supplements) are booming among younger generations – millennials and Gen Z – according to The Future of Wellness, a 2025 trends survey by McKinsey.

“Younger consumers are increasingly seeking anti-ageing treatments they consider ‘preventative’, and are doing so at a younger age than the generations before them did,” says the report.

In the US, Gen-Zers (those in their 20s) are the biggest consumers of anti-ageing beauty products and, in 2024, accounted for 53% of spending on preventative anti-ageing treatments and procedures that make up the $2-trillion beauty, cosmetics and wellness industry.

ANTI-AGEING BEAUTY STANDARDS