Kinder, gentler ... and bacterial

Toni Carroll, founder of local beauty supplements brand My Beauty Luv, shares her predictions of the next best things in wellness and self-care trends

1 Expect more plant-based ingredients: There has been a huge shift towards more plant-based ingredients and biobased formulations that are likely to overtake the popularity of laboratory manufactured or synthetic ingredients. “New scientific methods for testing, extracting and processing plant-derived ingredients like chlorophyll are now available,” Carroll says. “Still, be sceptical of ingredients that suddenly reach godlike status and make sure there’s enough research backing your beauty choices.”

2 Say hello to more at-home solutions: Let’s be honest, self-care and at-home skincare saved us in 2020 and 2021 and it looks like this year at-home beauty solutions will still be on the rise. “The game-changer will be medical aesthetic professional skincare brands (that you can only purchase through your clinic or salon) offering medical-grade solutions that consumers can use at home. Also, home galvanic machines, home laser and home light therapy devices have advanced significantly, so the trend to use homecare beauty devices will grow.”

3 Kind beauty will be the norm:

The past couple of years have seen a rise in the demand for clean, vegan, kind and sustainable beauty products and solutions that make people feel good about their environmental footprint and their bodies’ wellbeing. “Even consumers who are not eating a vegan diet identify with the ‘cleaner, kinder, gentler’ philosophy. In response, we’re extending our product range, starting with veganfriendly products in 2022, including highly advanced anti-ageing products with uniquely sourced ingredients.”

4 Anti-stress is the new anti-ageing:

The management of our high stress levels and their long-term effects on the skin and body will be a huge focus of beauty formulations and wellness this year. “Some ranges are focusing on antistress rather than anti-ageing, but the two are very intertwined. Beauty has become more holistic, which is a good thing, as we start to understand the connection between stress and ageing.”

5 Crafted bacteria set to take off:

Beauty and wellness is predicted to go to a bacterial, even microbiome, level to innovate formulations and supplements containing cultured bacteria and probiotics solutions. “The future of all beauty and health will be carefully crafted, unique bacteria strains. Not the half-dead ones you purchase as probiotics on the shelves, but live, edible cultured bacteria done in the comfort of your own home. We will literally be eating our beauty products,” says Carroll.

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