Wellness Trends… How Far is Too Far?

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key to a well-balanced life. Wellness is what keeps us physically active, our bodies nourished, and our minds at ease. However, wellness often seems to be correlated with physical appearance, causing it to also feel like a burden. The devil on your shoulder that whispers in your ear, demanding you must go to the gym and get that body whipped into shape, forced many to hate the gym and reject that term:  wellness. While physical appearance may account for a portion of our health, wellness is more related to overall emotional well-being—our quality of life, per se. Meaning if we neglect wellness, those negative feelings will harm our minds and instigate a riot on our insides. Your social abilities, emotional health, physical body, and intelligence all contribute to this now broadened term: wellness. Many people’s well-being routines consist of skin care, exercise, stretching, meditation, goal planning, spending quality time with loved ones, etc. But it has also become about more than just physical fitness, fortunately, opening many people’s eyes to its importance. 

In recent years, wellness has transformed into a trend rather than a burden. What are you even doing with your life if you’re not the next Gwenyth Paltrow? Seriously, feeling passionate about health is the “cool” thing to do right now. According to the Global Wellness Institute, “Wellness is now worth up to £2.8 trillion worldwide. The sector is growing rapidly.” This worldwide phenomenon has taken over much of social media. The amount of TikTok and Instagram pages devoted to wellness itself is endless. Although, this begs the question, why has it become such a huge trend anyway? Forbes Council Member, Scott Nelson, had a few theories as to why wellness has rocketed in the past few years, some of which include people living with more chronic treatments, endemic stress from the overload of work, and consumer awareness of health problems. Still, the list could most definitely go on. Personally, I believe that social media glorifies wellness, which is a great thing, but to what extent? Social media, in general, causes many to feel in competition with others, yet now it's a competition as to who is living the all-around healthiest lifestyle. I have seen some wack wellness habits out there, such as appetite-suppressing lollipops (no thanks, I’d like to eat my three meals a day) and vampire facials. Honestly, the vampire facial made me visibly nauseous, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gives you the same feeling after I tell you what it is. This facial requires patients to take blood from their arms, separate the platelets, and spread that same blood all over their faces. This is not for me or anyone who hates the thought of blood and needles, for that matter. Trends like these seriously have me wondering how far people will go. Why are people willing to try insane things just to be “healthy?” Maybe, just maybe, these trends are actually worth it.

Well, I took it upon myself to answer this question. I decided to try out some of the more realistic yet deranged trends, and I myself will determine whether it was worth it or not.

Tea Tox

What is a tea-tox, you may ask? It’s basically a laxative in liquid form. Supposedly, tea-toxes “cleanse” your body from all toxicity! No, really, it just flushes all that sh*t out of you so that you’re skinnier, or as some people would say, not bloated. Many individuals use this method to relieve constipation, but such products can be risky when placed in the hands of people who don’t need them, like a young girl struggling with body image.

Honestly, I was scared to try this one, but I thought to myself, “This is a hoax, and it probably doesn’t work.” I mean, come on, nobody likes to be constantly running back and forth to the bathroom. There came my first struggle; when the hell do I drink this? I was extremely conflicted. If I drank it during the day, there would be no chance of being productive. On the other hand, if I drank it during the evening, dinner would be shot, and I would probably miss out on any opportunity to finish homework. So, I decided I’d take it before bed; that way, it wasn’t affecting my valuable time. Let me just say—I was wrong about it being a hoax… really wrong.

I genuinely was awake every single hour of that night. I will never forget this time simply because it was one of the worst nights of sleep in my life. Never before had I naturally woken up to use the bathroom. I usually just really have to go the next morning. To be honest, I most definitely did not enjoy being woken up every hour by my stomach pains. The next morning was brutal because I was not well-rested. I will say that I enjoyed waking up with a super flat tummy and admit I did feel less bloated. Although overly tired, in a way, my body felt fresh that morning. The main issue at hand is that I don’t think there is a convenient time for a college student or any busy person to drink this tea. It either ruins your day or ruins your night. Pick your battles, I guess? 

Final Rating: 6/10

Caviar Facial 

When I was browsing different wellness options online and first came across caviar facials, I was very intrigued. I had never heard of this before and wondered who in their right mind would even think of trying this in the first place? I ended up reading about all of its benefits, discovering Caviar has omega three and six fatty acids, which act as an excellent moisturizer. In addition, caviar also contains antioxidants that protect and nourish the skin. The thought of putting caviar on my face was a tad bit distressing, but all of these benefits sounded amazing and not entirely crazy.

I first expected it to look like fish eggs, but it appeared to be a generic-looking facial product. I had fears about whether there would be an odor or not, but there was no smell at all, and it was super easy to apply! The facial was extremely lightweight, and I even forgot there was a substance on my face at one point. Thirty minutes went by, and it was time to take the facial off. Now, maybe I did something wrong, but this was more difficult than I anticipated. I thought washing my face would help move the process along, but it ended up turning into a jelly substance—sticky and bothersome. Obviously, though, it came off. My dramatic self thought it’d be the end of the world for a moment. 

I went to bed shortly after and could not wait to wake up with rejuvenated and refreshed skin! Ironically, I woke up with three new friends (pimples)! I am not blaming the facial; I just thought it would prevent those friends from making an appearance—I guess not. So, did the caviar facial do anything? I’m not sure. Frankly, I have yet to notice a difference, and I did apply it a few days following. I hate to bring up money, but caviar facials are not on the cheap side. Personally, I don’t think it’s wise to buy this just because it did not do anything drastic, and it should be for the amount you are paying. However, I feel super cool being able to say I tried a caviar facial, but this didn’t give me the wow factor I had hoped for. 

Final Rating: 4/10

Ice Water Facial 

Over quarantine in 2020, a TikTok trend that constantly popped up on my “fyp” (for you page) was the ice water facial. I tried it once back in 2020 because I was bored out of my mind, but I thought I’d give it another shot and incorporate it into my daily routine. I am a giant baby when it comes to being cold; you could say I was not thrilled to try this one out either. But for you, Strike, I’ll try anything—once, at least. All you need for this facial is a big bowl, cold water, tons of ice cubes, and optional antioxidant ingredients. 

I woke up earlier than usual on the first day of trying this to give myself sufficient time. My eyes were baggy, and my face looked extra puffy. It was the perfect day to test this out. I chose to add cucumbers to my big cold bowl of ice. For fifteen minutes, I dunked my face in and out. Not fun, especially first thing in the morning. The process felt way longer than fifteen minutes, probably because it was seriously the furthest thing from enjoyable. I was so excited to hear the timer go off; I felt ready to conquer the day! I was wide awake and ready to go. My face was significantly red, almost sunburnt looking, but thankfully my eyes no longer had bags. In the hour after doing this, my face was slightly irritated, but it was definitely tolerable. On the second day, I only did this for ten minutes because fifteen was too much. I had the same results as the morning prior, and I was ready to get a move on with my day. Puffy face who? We don’t know her. It was a great decision to shorten the time, considering I had no irritation that day! On the third day, I was expecting the same great results as before, but sadly, after ten minutes of face dunking, my skin decided it would not cooperate and stayed puffy for the next hour. Oh well. You win some. You lose some. 

This hack has not been something I’ve kept up with daily, but I'll likely do some face dunking when I have free time or wake up a little earlier than usual. The only negative comments I have about this facial are that it will possibly irritate your skin, and the method was somewhat difficult to include in my morning routine consistently. Considering this is basically a free health trend, I say give it all that goes in the world! If you have the strength to hold your face in freezing water, do it. You have nothing to lose. This is perfect for college students; it’s easy and free! Ice water facials, you aren’t so crazy after all. 

Final Rating: 10/10 because I am feeling extra generous. 

So, are these crazy trends worth it? In my experience, it depends on the person and how crazy you’re willing to get. If it’s cheap, try it. What do you have to lose? If it’s going to keep you up on your toilet through the wee hours of the night, maybe not so worth it. I recommend being adventurous and trying different products, which might become pretty fun in the long run. However, I do not recommend that you blow all your money on these trends, considering they might not work or could have the complete opposite effect on you. 

Overall, I learned that you don’t need to go above and beyond to live that idolized healthy lifestyle through this venture. There are so many easy at-home tricks like the ice water facial that are just as trendy, and there’s no point in spending tons of money simply to put your mind, body, and wallet through the chaos in an attempt to keep up. Do keep in mind that trends die out; it won’t always be cool to draw blood and spread it on your face. Ultimately, whether these hacks are beneficial is up to the specific person. Some people swear by these wellness routines. I’m a realist and don’t see the big hype. But hey, you might.

It’s important to remember there are plenty of other ways to live a healthy lifestyle, such as running, reading, meditating, or anything that gives you peace of mind and happy thoughts. Try these trends, crazier ones, or don’t. Everyone has their own wellness journey, and it is an exciting experience to discover what that is.

Strike Out,

Lili Jahromi

Boca Raton

Lili Jahromi is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine FAU. She spends an unnecessary amount of her time idolizing Lady Gaga, sharing intimate moments with her friends, and beachin’ it with her b*tches. You can reach her at jahromilrose@yahoo.com