The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) yesterday released its annual Future of Wellness report, a forecast of the ideas that will transform health and wellness in the coming year and beyond.

GWS identified 10 trends in its comprehensive report. Three come from the beauty and personal care sphere, indicating the continued and large role that this industry plays within the $6.8 trillion global wellness economy.

Top 10 Wellness Trends 

No. 1: Women Get Their Own Lane in Longevity

The booming longevity market, like medicine before it, is tacitly male with a woman’s path to health extrapolated from men’s data and protocols designed for men. That era is ending, says GWS. Research is mounting that women age fundamentally differently, with the ovary functioning as “command central” for women’s health, and its decline (menopause) dramatically accelerating systemic aging in women. . The wellness market, says GWS, will now move beyond managing menopause symptoms to tackling ovarian aging and its specific health fallouts.

No. 2: The Over-Optimization Backlash

Wellbeing has shifted from something we feel to something we perform correctly, notes GWS. Therapists warn that data-driven wellness can tip from motivation into fixation, turning insight into pressure. While longevity research, diagnostics and health technology have undeniably expanded human potential, optimization without integration is proving costly. The over-optimization backlash marks a decisive cultural pivot away from peak wellness and toward something far more human. In response, the fastest-growing spaces in wellness are prioritizing nervous-system safety, emotional repair and pleasure over metrics: social saunas are growing around the world as ritual, not endurance; clinics are reframing aesthetics as psychological care rather than correction, according to GWS.

No. 3: The Rise of Neurowellness

Neurowellness is moving from niche to mainstream as people realize one of their biggest health bottlenecks isn’t willpower, it’s nervous system overload. Sleep, says GWS, has become the on-ramp. “Hard-care” neurowellness is arriving through consumer-friendly neurotech like vagus nerve stimulation devices. At the same time, long-standing “soft-care” wellness anchors are being re-framed as nervous-system medicine: breathwork, touch therapy, yoga and Feldenkrais are increasingly recognized for their measurable effects on regulation, making them more mainstream, more repeatable and, in some settings, even prescribed. GWS says expect brain–body research to push neurowellness into everyday spaces like mental health care, local fitness studios, hospitality and next-gen destination spas and clinics.

No. 4: Fragrance Layering

According to GWS, fragrance layering is changing the way people express themselves, shape moods and interact with others. Fragrance is re-emerging as a cultural and emotional language, echoing ancient traditions from Egypt, Arabia and India, where scent signified ritual, status and meaning. Today, Gen Z and Millennials are reviving this heritage through experimentation, fueled by TikTok, indie fragrance communities and brands like Kayali and Rare Beauty that encourage mixing, mood-shifting and the creation of fragrance wardrobes. This rise of smellmaxxing coincides with experimental cocktailing, social-coded scents and layering workshops, which transform fragrance into a participatory, skill-based hobby. Layering is extending beyond personal fragrance into spaces and experiences, with environments crafted to carry evolving aromas that shape mood and ritual. Technology is amplifying this with smart fragrance systems and AI tools allow scents to shift dynamically throughout the day, responding to activity, context or emotional state.

No. 5: Ready Is the New Well

Wellness has always promised protection from disease, from burnout and from the slow erosion of mental health. But the next wave of wellness will promise something different: survival itself, says GWS. Just as preventive medicine once transformed healthcare, disaster readiness is becoming the next evolution of everyday resilience; having a disaster plan is as essential as having a fitness plan. This shift connects mental health, physical readiness and community interdependence into one continuum of care. The implications for the global wellness economy are vast, asserts GWS. Gyms and fitness studios will double as emergency shelters; wellness retreats will teach readiness; and demand for disaster-proof architecture will surge.

No. 6: Skin Longevity Redefines Beauty

According to GWS, industry experts agree that skin longevity is a defining turning point in beauty and wellness, where the cross-pollination of science, biology and technology is unlocking unprecedented horizons for personalized, visible results and long-term health optimization.  According to GWS, skin longevity merges cutting-edge biotech, proactive skincare and holistic wellness, reframing the conversation from reversing the unwanted effects of time to optimizing the skin’s health and function over the long term. The movement is gaining significant momentum, backed by major investments and deep scientific research.

No. 7: The Festivalization of Wellness

Inspired by festival and rave culture, wellness raves, sober morning dance events and multi-day immersions are reframing wellbeing as experiential, social and identity-driven rather than prescriptive or perfection-oriented. Spanning movement, music, sauna culture, learning and creative expression, they emphasize participation over performance and lower barriers to entry by creating judgment-free spaces where people explore what intuitively feels good. At the same time, mass-participation fitness festivals such as Hyrox attract hundreds of thousands of athletes and spectators to sweat, celebrate and heal together, notes GWS.

No. 8: Women and Sports: The Revolution Continues

Women’s athletics moves from the margins to the mainstream—reshaping fitness, media, fashion, fandom and business along the way, according to GWS. Around the world, new leagues like the Professional Women’s Hockey League, League One Volleyball and the upcoming Women’s Professional Baseball League are launching alongside bold, culture-forward events such as Athlos in New York City, which turned women’s track and field into a Times Square spectacle complete with instant prize payouts and a Ciara concert. Female fandom is exploding too, visible in the rapid rise of women’s sports bars like The Sports Bra (which is now franchising nationwide), record-breaking attendance at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and massive global viewership for women’s cricket in India. At the same time, female athletes are becoming cultural and commercial powerhouses, according to GWS.

No. 9: Tackling Microplastics as a Human Health Issue

According to GWS, as concern grows around microplastics and human health, the wellness and medical sectors are moving from observation to intervention. For example, in London, private clinics are already offering costly treatments claiming to reduce microplastic loads in the body, while consumer-facing innovations such as plastic-free underwear are also emerging. Looking ahead, microplastics may become a routinely measured health marker—tracked alongside cholesterol or inflammation—and plastic exposure a factor shaping architecture, fashion, food systems and healthcare. The challenge now is not awareness, but whether society acts quickly enough to reduce exposure at the source, before the smallest pollutants create the largest health legacy, noted GWS in its trend report.

No. 10: Longevity Residences

A new category of longevity residences is emerging—think spaces designed to support longer, healthier lives. According to GWS, this trend signals a major shift in how—and where—longevity is delivered, as real estate becomes an active participant in extending healthy life rather than a passive backdrop. New longevity-focused communities are embedding preventive medicine, advanced diagnostics, biohacking and AI-driven personalization directly into daily living.