Our verdict on the latest beauty and wellness trends

Just when you thought wellness trends couldn’t get any wackier than, say, penis facials and vabbing, another TikToker is on the cusp of birthing a new micro-trend that will divide us into one of two camps: those looking on with wonderment, and those grimacing with disgust. 
 
As Soho House’s Wellness Editor, I thoroughly enjoy seeking out these weird and wonderful trends, but when it comes to trying them, well, let’s just say there’s a line that must occasionally be drawn – not least when science is shunned and the very notion of ‘wellness’ is dangerously compromised. This week, we’ve rounded up a selection of the current wellbeing and beauty trends, and prescribed each with a guidance rating of ‘try’ or ‘don’t try’. 

1. Skin cycling

Sealed with a dermatologist stamp of approval, ‘skin cycling’ adopts the practice of integrating rest days into your skincare routine. The theory goes that by giving your complexion dedicated breaks from powerful active ingredients, you avoid the skin barrier being compromised, and therefore support it to work more optimally. With scientific legs to stand on – and the ideal Soho Skin product to integrate into the routine (see: Liquid Exfoliator) – skin cycling gets a further stamp of approval from us.

Verdict: try

2. Moonmasking

Also known as ‘menstrualmasking’, this alternative DIY facial involves smearing fresh period blood all over your naked face. It’s a peculiar technique – and to date has no supporting evidence to prove its efficacy – yet despite this, #periodfacemask continues to rack up billions of views on TikTok. Baffled? So are we. But like the many dermatologists who are advising against the trend, we’ll also be passing on moonmasking.

Verdict: don’t try

3. Orgasmic manifestation

Branded as ‘the O-method’, manifesting just got a hot new re-brand. Forget journals and Pinterest vision boards, this is ‘sexy magic’ – and apparently all you need to do is picture in your mind what you want to call into your life, right at the moment of climax. Sceptics may push back on this one, but the thinking goes that from a rush of feel-good hormones, launched at peak pleasure, you’re more likely to be able to focus in on personal goals and get clearer about what you want. OK, it’s not exactly factual evidence, but surely this one’s worth a go – at the very least you’ll have a great time trying it out.

Verdict: try

4. Hormetic stress

Admittedly, this trend sounds slightly counter-intuitive, but in the case of hormesis, stress can actually be a good thing, and ironically even reduce real stress, alleviate anxiety and boost your immunity. It works by exposing the body to short bursts of controlled pressure (like a HIIT class), and a growing body of research is already here to back it up. Recently, this thinking has also reached the popular concept of hot and cold-water therapy. At its simplest this can involve standing under the shower and alternating between hot and cold water; at its most impressive it can see you jump from ice room to infrared sauna, to sunken hot tub to cold shower – just like we do at Soho Farmhouse’s new Lazy Lake.

Verdict: try

5. Crying makeup

You can thank Boston-based content creator Zoe Kim Kenealy for sparking the melancholic trend, which she released for her ‘unstable girlies’ on TikTok last month. On the surface it appears quite harmless – a glossed up ‘puffy’ lip, glitter-lined ‘teary’ eye, and a blushing red-tipped nose – but backlash around the underlying message this beauty look portrays is fast-earning crying makeup a bad rap. For some, the sad look simply reflects the state of the world, yet for others it’s a further misrepresentation, and therefore suppression, of women who feel the need to ‘beautify’ themselves, even in a state of grief. 

Verdict: don’t try