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journalism → support → readers
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we → purchase → commission
Wellness is a trillion-dollar industry and is now so oversaturated that it can be incredibly hard to separate an effective product from a pretender.
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it → separate → pretender
Many well-meaning influencers compound the issue, offering recommendations because a brand has paid them to do so, not because a product is genuinely proven to work.
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product → mean → them
It’s easy to assume marketing jargon is unequivocal truth if you don’t know which questions you should be asking of a product, and that’s where experts and editors do the hard work for you.
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experts → ’ → you
But everyone is different, and that’s why your own wellness routine should be tailored to your lifestyle, your particular health concerns and what’s actually sustainable for you.
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what → ’ → you
For example, I don’t do things that feel uncomfortable for my body, like ice baths or run clubs.
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that → do → baths
You might love them, but my habits are based on what suits me, and I find those things torturous.
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things → love → me
Building healthy habits also takes time and consistency, and the free stuff like walking, fresh air, connecting with people you love and getting enough sleep will always outweigh expensive tech.
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you → build → tech
However, I’d be lying if I said the products on this list didn’t make a difference to how good I feel day to day.
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I → lie → day
They’ve all become a non-negotiable part of my routine over the past few years.
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They → become → years
Read on for my ride-or-die products and the things I would actually recommend after a decade of testing, trialling and building a solid wellness routine.
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I → read → routine
How I tested
I’ve tested many of the items on this list for many years; they’re the things I keep coming back to.
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I → test → years
I look for third-party testing, sustainability credentials, good design and user experience, clinically meaningful doses, innovative technology, an improvement in my own health outcomes that I can actually track and observe and whether a product genuinely made my life easier.
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life → look → that
Whoop 5.0 MG
What we love: Medical-grade sensors, three membership tiers, Free access to Natural Cycles, 14 days of battery life, can track up to 70 biomarkers,
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we → love → biomarkers
New jewellery straps look great
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straps → look → ?
Device and membership costs are separate, some features limited to knit strap, MG doesn’t have GPS
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MG → have → GPS
According to hi-tech health scan company Neko, 45 per cent of people in the UK have a wellness wearable.
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cent → accord → wearable
That doesn’t surprise me at all.
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That → surprise → me
I look around on any given day, and I see people sporting fitness trackers, smart rings and running watches.
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I → look → trackers
When I first started wearing a WHOOP I didn’t expect much, but using the technology to track my sleep, hormones and habits actually changed my life.
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using → start → life
I was able to map symptoms I’d been struggling with and connect the dots between headaches, anxiety and missing periods.
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I → map → headaches
I also ended up taking much better care of myself day to day.
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I → end → day
So now I’m a WHOOP evangelist, and I’ve upgraded from the 4.0 to the 5.0 MG.
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I → ’m → MG
I think it’s empowering to be able to gather data on my health given that women’s health research is so underfunded, and it’s useful for me to be able to share that data with medical professionals to avoid being fobbed off or ignored – which is what happened to me for years.
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what → think → years
You might prefer a different style of tracker or find that keeping a written diary works better for you.
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keeping → prefer → you
In my view, tracking your health is worth it, however you do it.
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you → track → it
My only criticism of the WHOOP was an exercise in vanity – I didn’t like the chunky fabric strap because it didn’t really go with my outfits.
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it → like → outfits
But obviously this is a company that thinks of everything, and the latest strap looks like designer jewellery.
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strap → think → jewellery
The device itself and the subscription are an investment, but if you see benefits in tracking your health or you have specific wellbeing goals, I think it’s the best wearable in the game.
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it → see → game
CurrentBody red light helmet
What we love: 620-660nm wavelength, 120 red light LEDs, Built-in headphones
Take note: Big and bulky, and hair can get caught
For years I’ve been trying to get my hair back to how it looked before I took a pair of kitchen scissors to it at age 15.
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I → love → age
It was long, red and shiny and for a long time I used extensions to mimic the swish of healthy hair and bleach to fake thickness and body.
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I → use → thickness
After I started seeing Izabella Bordignon, a trichologist who advised me to ditch the extensions, I also started using a red light device to stimulate new hair growth.
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I → start → growth
These glowing helmets come in various shapes and sizes (beware dupes and duds in the LED space because there are many), but the most effective I’ve found, due to the placement and power of its LEDs, is the one from CurrentBody.
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I → glow → CurrentBody
A combination of using the helmet and making some lifestyle and hair product changes over the past couple of years has meant that my hair now grows six inches in a matter of months – most people’s grows six inches in a year.
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people → use → year
Sure, I look a little odd wearing the helmet for ten minutes every day, but my hair is long, strong and shiny, so I have no regrets.
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I → look → regrets
The every day part is important because red light only works if you’re consistent with it, like most wellness devices.
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you → work → devices
The helmet comes in two sizes, so it’s suitable for everyone, and it has built-in Bluetooth headphones so you can continue watching or listening to something or take a call while you wear it.
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you → come → it
It’s bulky, plastic and ironically catches on my hair a bit when I take it off, so I’d advise removing it with care, but for the results I’ve seen, it’s one of my favourite pieces of wellness tech.
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it → ’ → tech
SURI toothbrush
What we love: Sustainable materials, sonic vibration, quiet motor, comes in a range of colours, and UV charging case
Take note: Two-minute timer isn’t long enough, and Sonic can feel tickly at first
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Sonic → love → note
…and 78 more, not listed.
The Aporia
