The 2026 WSL Women’s Wellness Summit, themed The Next Revolution, gathered a bevy of beauty insiders for a day packed with panels exploring the challenges and opportunities facing the category today.
Industry experts, retailers and investors dove into a range of critical topics, including the “SHEconomy,” menopause, sexual wellness and longevity, answering questions on how we can effectively innovate and market to the modern-day consumer, who no longer sees beauty and wellness as two separate entities.
Ahead, key takeaways from the 2026 summit, hosted by Wendy Liebmann, chief executive officer and chief shopper at WSL.
Consumers Are Now CEOs of Their Own Health
According to Sherry Frey, vice president of Total Wellness at NIQ, consumers are “changing the script” on an industry that’s been “building for a woman who no longer exists.” Today, the consumer is “tech-savvy,” sophisticated and skeptical. With access to information and data like never before, thanks in large part to AI, 64 percent of women say they’ll conduct preliminary research online first before contacting — and in some cases challenging — their doctors and specialists with more in-depth questions.
