From foreskin to feces: 8 of the wackiest wellness fads

Also known as the "penis facial." Don’t worry, it’s just a nickname — there are no penises present. But it is inspired by the foreskins of Korean newborns. Called the "Hollywood EGF facial," this supposedly anti-ageing beauty treatment uses a synthetic version of a molecule taken from circumcised foreskins. It’s supposed to encourage collagen and elastin growth and will cost you $650 (€580).

Goat yoga (just that — yoga with goats) really took off in 2016. But the wellness scene has since expanded to include other farm animals and their feel-good properties — namely, cow cuddles. Luxury farmstays offer cow cuddling to help people lower their stress levels, aided by the animals' high body temperature and low heart rate. What might stress you out, though, is the $300 (€268) price tag.

It might be new to you, but the bird poo facial has been around for years. It's a traditional Japanese beauty treatment that mixes the excrement of the Asian nightingale with rice bran, offered for $180 (€160) in places. If you're tempted to recreate this at home with, say, a less exotic bird, you might want to be careful — the nightingale poop is passed under a UV light to sanitize it before use.

From GOOP founder Gwyneth Paltrow to science writer Michael Pollan, everyone is talking about the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. Micro-dosing involves taking tiny portions (0.1 grams) of drugs like LSD, mushrooms and DMT, to enhance focus, creativity and productivity. It might seem like the perfect collision of business and pleasure, but there's no science that says it isn't just placebo.

Taking off on Instagram in particular, diet and detox teas are promoted as cleansing, weight-loss miracles. Some proponents even suggest just drinking tea for a week straight. While you could lose weight doing this, health professionals say the only magical qualities in such teas are water. And the way they magically empty your wallet.

This is exactly what it sounds like — live snails crawling on the face. The snail's mucus is thought to contain skin-rejuvenating proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid. It's been around for several years now, surfacing in the hills of northern Thailand — although beauty concoctions featuring mollusk mucus date as far back as ancient Greece.

Some approaches to wellness really turn things on their heads. Poo on our faces is okay (if it's from an exotic bird), but in our rectums? Nope. Clean that s#*% out! Enemas, colonics and colon cleansing have resurged as a popular way for people to 'detox' their bodies, with claims it improves digestion and complexion. But, again, doctors say it is completely unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

Crystals were used by ancient cultures like the Sumerians and Egyptians long before they became the face of healing for Western wellness warriors, but nowadays they're mostly used to rack up the price of regular items. Like crystal-encrusted water bottles and yoga mats — said to purify, energize and alkalize. But like many weird wellness fads, this one isn't rooted in scientific evidence.