When it comes to beauty, people often resort to the weird and wonderful, rather than tried and tested. And 2016 was no exception, with bleached beards, fat freezing and scorpion nails, being just some of the unusual trends.

Global beauty and fitness trends

Many of us start the year with good intentions of being healthier and fitter. Some of us though just don't know what's good for us, that's why this yoga school is resorting to bribery in the form of beer.

"I did it because the girlfriend wanted me to come and now, free beer (laughs)," said Carlos Vargas, first time Yoga participant.

The weather in January may make you wish you could escape to the Mediterranean, but now a club in London is bringing the Mediterranean to you. The South Kensington Club has taken 25 tons of seawater from volcanic islands near Sicily and transported it to one of its pools where clients are offered this floating massage experience.

There was no such lolling around in Jakarta. In February we found Indonesia's health-conscious community embracing a new regime. Exercise is a serious business here and people are strapped inside a suit which stimulates the muscles with electrical impulses while they work out. If tweaking your muscles with electricity isn't your thing, you could go back to basics with this high intensity rope class which Californians became very keen on.

As the British stepped into a warm spring they were starting to use freezing facials to aid their complexion. Iced balls were massaged over the face and you could even get rid of some upper arm fat with this new specially-shaped cryotherapy machine. The idea is to destroy the fat cells by freezing them.

Getting into shape for summer saw a new craze for circus school. The workout was developed by the Cirque School L.A. and combined professional circus training and Pilates. Getting fit is so much more fun with a hoop or trapeze.

Going into autumn, British women turned their back on the natural nude summer look for a moodier style. At the Beauty Show we discovered the 'London look', and in case you're wondering what that is, it means having big brows and loads of lashes.

"Lashes is something that is just sweeping the world over. We've launched a competition this year for that," said Ian Archbold, Olympia Beauty London director.

The men in Montreal were discovering why spa retreats were so popular with women. Fifty per cent of the clientele at this spa are male, and a product range has been developed for them.

"I decided to do it. Now I think I'm going to start doing it more often."

Male beauty has been getting to be a bit hairier too. This is Rome's International Barber Convention and just in case you were in any doubt, the beard is back to stay. Now everyone gets to sport whiskers and be proud, especially when they've been as primped and primed as these.

"It's a gift from God, men should have beards," said Yanto Sani, Singapore barber.

The look is not an easy one to pull off. It involves intensive dying, hairdrying and general grooming. In our busy world we don't have the time to spend on preening, so beauticians are putting their heads together to work out how they can help us to look good without the investment that goes into looking like a catwalk model. In October, we saw the rise of 'permanent makeup'. As this shows, with the right treatment you can just wake up and go.

Scorpions are feared around the world for their deadly sting, but in this Mexican town they've been transformed into the latest fashion accessory. The trend for Christmas here will be a scorpion manicure and women are heading to beauty salons to get the poisonous creatures glued to their fingernails. Only five percent of people stung actually die, but Durango is one of the states in Mexico with the most fatalities. When it comes to beauty it seems a little risk is always worth it.