Towards the end of last year, I wanted to create something more than a new treatment for the Kindred salon menu in 2018 (don't worry there's a few of those in the works!)
I was hearing the amazing stories from our clients and knew we had something pretty special in the community that supports Kindred Toxin Free Facials. It inspired me to launch our first-ever event series where we’ll be working with some of Kindred Toxin Free’s favourite people throughout the year to host events that talk about all facets of wellness.
Our first event was held on Sunday February 4 and I was joined by some truly amazing women to discuss what wellness means to us and what we see ahead for the year. With salads by Yes, Joy and kombucha from Probiotic Kitchen.
The key take-away for me, after hearing everyone’s stories, was that we are all doing our best and that a little kindness towards ourselves is needed. Wellness, as the panel showed, means something different to everyone. For some it is making sure that they feel mentally strong and are ensuring their mental wellbeing is on track which gives them wellness in all other aspects of their life. For others it is around giving themselves permission to sometimes go through the McDonalds Drive-Thru.
It was so special to me to be able to create a safe space for our gorgeous community of women to share and encourage each other on their journey to living an authentic and fulfilling life, and perhaps inspire each other to accept that while none of us is perfect, we can all work towards loving those little flaws and trying our best to give the best foundations for a healthier attitude towards living.
I’m really excited to host more events this year. Keep your eyes out for our next event on April 29th.
And what did our panelists think the big trends for 2018 are. Find out below…
Rachel, Yes, Joy
- Gut Health 2.0 - Kombucha is on its way to becoming mainstream and probiotic kefir, kimchi and kraut all have their role in supporting our gut flora. But what about PREbiotics? You may well be hearing more about what you can do to support 'gut-fungi' that you need for all the healthy bacteria to thrive. Natural prebiotics can be found in onions, garlic and other alliums, along with bananas and Jerusalem artichokes and lots more!
- Flexitarian - The accidental vegetarian / vegan diet will continue to rise in 2018 as plant based menus and recipes foray into the everyday, and eating less meat increasingly becomes the norm. Pulses, grains and other plant-based protein will get more of the spotlight, particularly with a growing interested in Middle Eastern and South American foods. Foods like pomegranates, purple potatoes, and jicama (Mexican yam) - which is considered a nootropic (meaning rich in brain food like turmeric, salmon, eggs). While gut health is still a major focus, we may see more insight into these nootropic rice foods.
Me! Natalie, Kindred Toxin Free Facials
- Probiotics - Think kefir, products like Beauty Chef glow powder and other supplements that support your health from the inside out. Skincare is going internal!
- Crystal Everything - In your skincare, on your skin, rollers, gua sha even in water bottles!
- Dermal Needling - These are microneedles that gently penetrate the skin to allow treatments like serums to really work deeper on the skin. Lily and I are researching more on this emerging trend and we’re already seeing it in brand’s introducing at-home micro needling rollers to full in salon dermal pens. Stay tuned!
Erin, Clean Beauty Market
We’re going to see:
- A demand for results-driven clean products that have science behind the formulations
- Smarter products - scaling back your makeup collection by using products that do more than one thing. For example, a multi-stick cream colour product that can be your blush, lipstick and eyeshadow.
- Minerals are cool again - The mineral makeup trend is back and with a new even better reputation.
Natalie, Soak Society
- Sleep optimization (this is why we created our Sleep wellness soak after I read Thrive by Arianna Huffington) - I could see the trend gaining momentum a couple of years ago but now it is becoming more popular to care about the hours we sleep and the quality of our sleep. A lot of our customers are Mums with small babies and say (on Instagram in captions and comments) that they love having a soak before bed to relax and get a better quality sleep. There is also so much tech to support sleep now (apps etc) however there is also a big trend to remove tech from the area where we sleep.
- Creating Rituals that heal and nurture - There is a big trend towards Lunar everything, moon, horoscopes, crystals, modern day 'witchcraft' and female empowerment, I think they are all connected. What that means for my business is that people are combining all these aspects to create a nourishing self-care ritual at home and utilising our products.
- Self-care staycations and 'analog' destinations (tech-free) - In general I think there is a trend towards more people talking about self-care which is making it more accepted and common, which is awesome! Example, Girl Boss have launched a new podcast called 'Self-Service' which combines a bit of meditation with talking about self-care.
Cate, Brown’s General Store
From a conscious consumption point of view I think we’re going to see:
- A rise in ethical clothing brands, or brands having ethical clothing sub labels. Also, more transparency as ethical fashion is discussed more and more.
- More organic cotton. I know this sounds small, but I know that Bonds is now looking at increasing the amount of products they make with organic cotton, and I think lots of those basics lifestyle brands will follow. Regular cotton is just full of nasties, and the environment impact is terrible, so I think organic cotton will be much more on the agenda.