Did 2025’s Biggest Wellness Trends Live Up to the Hype?

From mouth tape to weighted vests, here were the biggest wellness trends of 2025. / Photographs courtesy of Getty Images

By the end of 2025, the term “holistic health” was everywhere — from weighted vests for optimizing your nature walks to mouth-sealing sleep tape to support better rest. The result? A tsunami of products and practices marketed as the missing piece of whatever self-care puzzle we hoped to jigsaw into place.

So which of the year’s hottest trends actually delivered, and which were well-branded shams? We asked five Philly wellness experts to cut through the noise of 2025 and to predict what will dominate our feeds — and our routines — in the year to come.

Fitness

2025: Weighted vests

These accessories were seen on walkers everywhere — parks, hiking trails, luxe gyms, unassuming culs-de-sac — thanks to claims by celebrities and fitness influencers that rucking, as it’s known, could boost personal strength, burn calories, improve bone density and enhance endurance.

But the practice probably isn’t worth the hype, says Nick Perugini, owner of More Than Movement, a physical-therapy practice in Northern Liberties. Weighted vests “likely don’t provide substantially more benefit than regular walking for most people,” he says. “The added load is typically too light to meaningfully build strength or drive major fitness adaptations.”

He does, however, believe there can be a great benefit in the ritual of donning your vest and committing to your walk: “The perceived effort of walking with a vest may feel higher, which can increase engagement and consistency. If wearing a weighted vest is the catalyst that gets someone out the door, moving more, and accumulating more steps, that’s a net positive. It just shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for proper, progressive strength training.”

2026: Targeted workouts

In 2026, Perugini sees gym-goers pursuing specific workouts for specific goals, a shift from challenging our lungs, heart, and other muscles in single fitness classes. “For the past decade, the fitness landscape has been dominated by high-energy group classes with dim lights, loud music, and workouts that blend cardio and strength into one experience. These environments are engaging and social, which is why they have been so effective at keeping people consistent,” he says. “The trade-off is that when everything is trained at once, meaningful progress in specific areas of health can stall.”

He expects people will compartmentalize their fitness goals by “intentionally separating strength, endurance, and cardiovascular development” via targeted programs. A big motivator is the simple fact that Americans are living longer and will want to make the most of the extra years ahead of them. That’s why Perugini predicts an uptick in the use of tech to track health metrics — like lean muscle mass, bone mineral density, and resting heart rate — for a clearer, more holistic understanding of personal health and longevity.

Nutrition

2025: Protein in everything

This essential nutrient had a major moment in 2025 (protein popcorn and cottage-cheese-based desserts, anyone?), and it’s no wonder. Protein is a power player in our diets, helping to build and repair muscles, support cell and tissue structure, and boost metabolism, among other key responsibilities. But our bodies can process only so much protein at once, warns Ashley Berthoumieux, a Northern Liberties-based registered dietitian nutritionist.

“Excess protein can place unnecessary strain on the kidneys, even in individuals without kidney disease,” she says, also noting that “adding protein to candy or soda doesn’t make them healthy.” Instead of ramping up protein intake, she’d like to see us balance it with more fiber, which supports digestion, slows the release of energy, prevents blood sugar spikes and crashes, and helps manage cholesterol. “I frequently encourage my clients to pair fiber with protein at meals and snacks — whether it’s fruit with nut butter, popcorn with nutritional yeast, or adding a side salad to a slice of pizza. Protein and fiber truly function as a dynamic duo.”

2026: Creatine goes bigger

This amino-acid derivative has long been associated with gym bros and bulging biceps. But a growing body of research suggests its benefits extend well beyond the weight room — including to people who have never tracked a macro in their lives. At the cellular level, creatine plays a central role in energy production, which helps explain why scientists are now studying its effects on muscle function, fatigue, and even brain health.

That broader reach may be especially relevant for women navigating the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause, as well as for people managing medical conditions that affect muscle function, energy, or recovery, says Berthoumieux. As with any supplement, she adds, it’s wise to first identify your individual health needs and then consult with a healthcare provider before adding it to your routine.

Skin Care

2025: Salmon DNA facials

Yes — that really is a thing. Jacqueline Clarizio, a board-certified plastic surgery physician assistant and founder of The J Spot in Fitler Square, says salmon DNA has been used in skin treatments in Europe and Asia for years. In these treatments, DNA fragments derived from salmon are thought to act as “signaling molecules,” encouraging skin repair and collagen production.

The trend didn’t enter the U.S. mainstream, Clarizio says, until social media creators began sharing photos of their so-called “glass skin” facials and crediting the results to salmon DNA. “Those viral videos made the skin appear instantly dewy and radiant, which created huge curiosity,” she says, even though injecting salmon-derived DNA into human skin is not FDA-approved. “The lack of large, controlled studies validating dosing, durability, and true regenerative impact underscores the need for responsible use,” she says. That’s why her med spa uses salmon DNA only in topical treatments, rather than injectable ones.

2026: Regenerative skin care

The phrase “anti-aging” will fall to the wayside in the coming year, says Clarizio. In its place: regenerative skin care — an approach focused less on trying to “reverse” aging and more on supporting the skin’s ability to repair, strengthen, and function well over time. That includes treatments built around healing agents like peptides, which help naturally boost firmness and soften fine lines, as well as exosome-inspired technologies that “imitate how natural exosomes communicate with skin cells, helping improve healing, collagen production, and post-procedure recovery,” says Clarizio. “It’s like creating a 401(k) for the face,” she adds — meaning you’re investing early and consistently in skin health, rather than scrambling to correct damage later.

Sleep

2025: Mouth tape

This better-sleep practice sounds bizarre: tape your mouth shut at night with medical-grade, skin-safe adhesive so you’re forced to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth. Fans claim it helps prevent snoring and dry mouth and improves sleep quality by encouraging nasal breathing, which is generally considered healthier than mouth breathing.

The problem? It treats the symptom, not the cause of sleep issues. Funke Afolabi-Brown, a board-certified sleep physician in Horsham, says using mouth tape to prevent mouth breathing without understanding why you’re preventing it can be more than misguided. “Instead of treating the problem, [it] becomes a Band-Aid that can potentially be dangerous, especially if no proper evaluation is done,” she says — particularly for people with undiagnosed sleep apnea or other breathing disorders.

2026: Individualized sleep support

In the new year, Afolabi-Brown expects the sleep conversation to grow up. As GLP-1 medications become more widely used to treat obesity and other metabolic conditions, she predicts more attention will be paid to the deep — and often overlooked — links between metabolic health and sleep quality. Weight, insulin resistance, hormone shifts, and medications can all affect how well we breathe, how deeply we sleep, and how rested we actually feel.

The result? Fewer viral fixes and more individualized care. Think proper sleep evaluations, personalized treatment plans, and a focus on long-term sleep health — not just whatever life-hack is trending that week.

Gut Health

2025: OTC colostrum

Colostrum — the nutrient-dense milk mammals produce immediately after giving birth — flooded social media feeds last year, with influencers and wellness brands like Armra and Cowboy Colostrum touting it as “liquid gold” for gut and immune health. (In supplement form, it’s typically derived from bovine milk.) The science behind the hype, says Ashley Furlong, an integrative health practitioner and owner of Whole Health Studio in Washington Square West, centers on colostrum’s bioactive compounds, which may help support the gut lining and temper inflammatory processes that can interfere with healing.

The catch? The research doesn’t line up neatly with what’s being sold. Most clinical studies use doses far higher than what’s found in typical over-the-counter supplements, Furlong notes — which is why, she says, “it’s not the magic healing agent TikTok makes it out to be.”

2026: Love for probiotics

Looking ahead, Furlong expects gut health conversations to shift away from single-ingredient stars and toward a more holistic understanding of gut health. “Science is still catching up to just how powerful the microbiome really is,” she says. “We’re made up of more bacterial cells than human cells, and gut health influences everything from immunity to skin to mental health.”

That growing awareness, she believes, will fuel even more interest in probiotics — along with digestive enzymes, which help break food down into usable nutrients — as wellness culture begins to better understand not just that the gut matters but why it’s effectively running the show. Rather than chasing the next miracle supplement, 2026 may be about supporting the entire ecosystem that keeps digestion, inflammation, and immunity in balance.