EDITOR’S COMMENT

January is traditionally a time for predictions and forecasting, as business owners shape their plans for the year ahead. This year, amidst the uncertainty of the ongoing financial crisis, trends are taking a “cautiously optimistic” theme as we all seek out new opportunities for growth in a challenging market.

From the back-to-basics beauty and neat nails suggested by Pinterest’s “micro makeovers” trend (see page 16) to the animal therapy and working-wellness retreats tipped to be spa trends (page 17), the signs suggest that clients will be seeking practicality, affordability and escapism in the months ahead.

With consumers increasingly influenced by the beauty trends they see on social media, we are also now seeing an interesting resurgence in popularity of some classic therapies.

Manual lymphatic drainage, for example, is having a moment as a new generation discovers the versatility of the massage for everything from facial contouring to medical conditions such as lipoedema. Read our in-depth guide to the therapy on page 48.

Meanwhile, dermaplaning is also a hot topic as TikTokers demo the capabilities of the exfoliating treatment. As with any aggressive exfoliation, however, dermaplaning can be dangerous in the wrong hands and our feature on page 58 gets the expert view on how to perform the service effectively and communicate the risks to clients.

While the months ahead may look uncertain, as Hellen Ward points out in her column on page 32, smaller businesses such as salons and spas are often better placed to cope with economic downturns than larger corporates “because we can be more reactive, more nimble, more agile and more responsive”. Here’s to an innovative and successful year ahead.

Editor