John Lewis reveals top health and beauty trends for 2023

The retailer predicts the next 12 months will take self-care in a new direction, moving away from the all-consuming “sunrise yoga, a green juice, 10,000 steps and three hours of mindfulness before 7am”. 

The John Lewis Beauty & Wellness Moments 2023 report suggests there is “a wellness moment in everything” and consumers are more willing to develop habits and utilise time in a way that makes a difference to how they feel. The top trends are highlighted below.

Mushrooms take centre stage

According to John Lewis, 2023 will see fungi such as mushrooms take over the world of beauty and skincare. Predicted to take centre stage as an ingredient, their benefits are said to include reducing inflammation, treating pigmentation and soothing skin, according to John Lewis lead for skincare and wellness Tomas Warwick.

To meet consumer demand, companies including Origins, Shiseido and Dermalogica have developed face mists, eye creams and serums; John Lewis plans to extend this into supplements later this year.

The nutrition community is seeing demand for mushrooms grow too, with searches on Waitrose.com for porcini mushroom powder increasing by 200% versus the previous month.

Building skin barriers

Google Analytics search data shows searches for the words “skin barrier” have almost doubled year on year. In a year that was witness to some of the warmest and coldest periods on record, consumers are expecting more from their products to protect their skin from shifting weather extremes.

Resilience and strength training for skin will be high on the agenda for consumers, with morning multi-step skincare regimes being replaced by hero products that protect and build our skin barrier, according to Warwick. 

Peptides and ceramides that provide long-lasting protection and lock in moisture will be popular ingredients. Consumers are already shifting towards brands such as The Ordinary, Dermalogica and Dr Jart+, which saw a 76% increase in its Ceramidin range sales as compared to last year. 

Good gut health

Waitrose kefir yoghurt’s sales increased by 51% compared with last year, an indication that improving gut health is a priority for many. Research conducted by Waitrose showed that 40% of respondents like to choose foods that ‘help keep their gut healthy’. 

Experimenting with fermented foods that are a rich source of probiotics is a top trend to watch out for this year, according to the report.

Not only can having good gut health potentially strengthen your immunity, digestive and skin health, but it may also impact your mood as research shows the gut is estimated to hold up to 95% of the serotonin in our bodies, according to Waitrose nutritionist Kate Overy.

The 13-minute mind challenge

Mind management has replaced traditional meditation. Data from Google Analytics highlights that “we are taking a more holistic approach to our health, including looking after mental wellbeing as much as physical with Google search trends in 2022 being driven by heightened emotions”. 

For those who are time-constrained, the 13-minute mind challenge that involves focusing on a point within the body and bringing the focus back is set to be the more accessible quick fix. 

This Works chief executive and biochemist Anna Persaud said conducting this exercise every day for eight weeks can help to improve neural plasticity, focus, memory and attention.

The lipstick effect

John Lewis predicts that the lipstick economy 2.0 will see a shift from “luxury pickups” to “daily me-time” with consumers keen to celebrate the small wins in life as much as the big ones.

Facial bookings at Cavendish Clinic in store at John Lewis went up by 296%, and sales of Dior, Clarins and Charlotte Tilbury increased by 222% as more consumers treated themselves to an entry-level product from a luxury brand.