When the Global Wellness Summit met in Mexico City in November, experts identified a number of shifts in the way we’ll approach wellness in 2016. They forecasted that healthcare will become more truly integrated in our lives, in government legislation and in medicine, with a greater emphasis on prevention and wellness, and we can expect scientific and technological breakthroughs to continue at an even more rapid pace. 

For healthy hairdressers, two predictions seem particularly pertinent:

• A shift from “superfood and diet-trend hysteria” to sane eating. As we flip from one food fad to the next, the experts suggest that we may be experiencing a collective, global eating disorder. Nutritionists report that what we eat has changed more in the past 40 years than in the previous 40,000 years! Furthermore, our manic importation of fad foods like chia seeds, quinoa and goji berries is disturbing global ecosystems. The group predicts that our future will be filled with more locally sourced and personally intuitive foods as we return to thinking of eating as pleasure.

• A move from workplace wellness “programs” to a total workplace culture of wellness. Because the programs that have been tried in the workplace are not working, the new work culture will be more comprehensive, tackling everything from physical and emotional health to financial wellbeing, work/life balance and healthy workspaces. You may find that vacations are required!