The UK’s wellness market is flexing its well-toned muscles. According to the Global Wellness Institute, we’ve been leading the charge in global wellness for a few years now and we’re now ranking first globally. British wellness companies are seen as “innovators” in everything from fitness and spa retreats to holistic hospitality. So, what’s next in our pursuit of living well? Muddy has looked into the top five wellness trends, so you don’t have to.

Spiritual haircuts (no, seriously)

Forget the standard salon small talk about your next holiday – haircuts are going spiritual. Yes, you heard that right! In 2025, we’re talking haircuts infused with Reiki, energy healing, and crystal therapy. Who knew your split ends could be a magnet for bad vibes? Jaclyn Smith, aka “The Hair Priestess,” who works out of Errol Douglas in Knightsbridge, London is already pioneering this with her “Release and Refresh Ceremony”. As you get your hair trimmed, you’ll also experience crystal healing and sage smudging to release negative energy. It’s like a spa day for your soul, while you’re getting a blowout. According to Smith, our hair acts like antennas picking up energy around us (who knew?). The idea is to snip away more than just dead ends—consider it a spiritual cleanse for your strands. 

Facials are also getting a serious woo-woo upgrade. Over at Glasshouse salon in Hackney, founder Olivia Crighton (a systematic kinesiologist, no less!) is offering treatments that are less about lotions and potions, and more about energy healing. Enter the Energy Medicine Facial – a blissful combination of muscle testing and reiki that promises to leave you and your skin feeling bright, balanced, and totally zen.

Wild watering

If you thought 2024 was all about wild swimming, buckle up (or should we say strip down) because things are about to get wilder. With the buzz building about Emma Simpson’s debut new book Breaking Waves: Discovery, Healing and Inspiration in the Open Water for 2025 and wild swimming festivals selling out faster than Glastonbury, the UK’s 400+ wild swimming spots are leading the charge in water-based wellness as a community activity.

For 2025, it’s not just about braving a chilly dip in a lake (though that’s still very much a thing), it’s the social bathhouses, wild saunas, and community pools that are stealing the limelight. In Scotland, wild saunas are popping up along the coast like something out of a Nordic dream – you freeze your bits off in the sea and then warm up in a toasty sauna by the shore. 

Even London’s jumping in with Hackney Community Sauna offering everything from sound baths to queer poetry nights, as well as a cheeky cold-water dip. With the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships are back on 25 January 2025 in Tooting Bec Lido London – it’s never too cold or too early to get back in the water – we will if you will. Meet you at the edge.

Biohacking & longevity clinics

Longevity is the buzzword for 2025 – and biohacking is the ultimate wellness obsession. It’s all about supercharging your body with cutting-edge science. Longevity clinics are popping up all over the UK, offering treatments that make your yoga class look like child’s play. From NAD+ drips (which boost brain function and energy levels) to hyperbaric oxygen chambers (to help the body heal and recover faster), the focus is on enhancing your “healthspan”—that’s the number of years you live in peak health, not just how long you live. Check out London’s new wellness centre Rebase which offers all the latest tech and services but in a space so luxe you’ll never want to leave.

And it’s not just clinics. Endless podcasts and tomes by longevity-fluencers like Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia (whose book Outlive became a bestseller), and Mark Hyman with his 15 longevity bestsellers are continuing to make waves. Meanwhile, luxury wellness destinations like Lanserhof, which started out in Austria with £4k fasting retreats, now put healthspan extension front and centre. With biohacking becoming mainstream, you can expect less fly-and-flop holidays and more hyperbaric oxygen chambers with your holiday spritzers. Fancy a drip with your morning coffee? Thought so.

Pilgrimages are the new marathons

Forget sweating it out in stuffy gyms, 2025 is all about lacing up for a pilgrimage – think spiritual strolls, epic views, and a serious dose of mind-body-soul wellness. With walking classes lighting up TikTok (#softhiking and #hotgirlwalk), and a record-breaking half a million people hiking Spain’s Camino de Santiago last year, it’s clear this trend has serious legs (pun fully intended). You don’t have to be spiritual to sign up. According to the Camino de Santiago’s Bureau of Registration, only 40% of walkers hit the trails for religious reasons – the rest are there for a full-body reset.

Join the UK pilgrimage trend for 2025 by walking the brand-new Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way, a stunning 86-mile route connecting Ireland and Wales, complete with cliff-top walks and hidden coves. (If you want more far flung adventure, take a crack at Bhutan’s recently restored Trans Bhutan Trail – 16th-century temples, mountain passes, and all.)

Studies show walking can reduce anxiety, improve cardiovascular health, and promote weight loss. Even virtual pilgrimage challenges are booming – Conqueror launched its Camino de Santiago challenge so you can rack up the miles on your smartwatch (from the comfort of home, if you’re so inclined). So, whether you’re walking for inner peace, killer scenery, or the ultimate mental detox, it’s time to hit the trails – because pilgrimages are officially the hottest fitness trend for 2025.

Social prescriptions & nature therapy

Ever heard of social prescribing? It’s a way for doctors to prescribe non-clinical activities like nature walks, tree planting, and community gardening to help improve mental and physical health. The NHS kicked off a three-year pilot scheme for this in 2022, encouraging walking and cycling to boost wellbeing with impressive results so far. Those who’ve taken part in nature therapy programmes have seen significant drops in anxiety and depression levels.

In 2025, a new Labour government is making prevention a priority by embedding social prescribing in wider civic and community services – including in workplaces. We will see a push towards integrating wellness into healthcare with the government continuing to funnel money into public exercise facilities and nature connection projects. In other words, your next GP appointment might include a prescription for a gardening session instead of a pill. How’s that for a mood booster?