Select’s Best of Wellness Awards are the culmination of hundreds of hours of trying hundreds of products and interviewing experts across sleep, fitness tech, fitness apparel and self care categories. Below, we rounded up winners that cost $25 or less for anyone who wants a wellness routine that’s wallet-friendly without sacrificing quality.
How we chose our winners
To find our winners, our editors and staff tried hundreds of products across fitness, sleep and self care categories. Products underwent a five-week trial period before being selected as our favorite in their respective category. We utilized our editors as shopping and trying experts, along with medical professionals, who provided us with information and advice they give their patients.
When we look at any products, especially wellness items, we look at them comprehensively. To be our favorite in a category requires fulfilling a multitude of your needs. We want to provide you with products that perform well, but we also want to share ones that allow you to upgrade your life. Among other things, we specifically looked at price, size-inclusivity and overall quality and effectiveness.
Shop our complete list of winners — including fitness apparel, fitness tech, sleep and self care products — on Select’s site.
Select Best of Wellness Awards winners under $25
Dr. Scholl’s Women’s Extra Support Insoles
Award: Best Insoles
These structured insoles offer arch support and cushioning along the full length of your foot, according to Dr. Scholl’s. As someone who weighs more than 160 pounds (the body weight these insoles are designed for), I found that they helped my chronic foot pain and made even the firmest of my loafers and boots feel like sneakers.
Fit Simplify Resistance Loop Exercise Bands
Award: Best Resistance Bands
Whether you’re new to exercising or a seasoned gym-goer, this pack of five resistance bands can be integrated into any workout. Mili Godio, Select’s updates editor, found them “super stretchy — much more than any other resistance band I’ve tried,” allowing her to better customize her workouts. “I also love that they come in a small carrying pouch, which allows me to take them with me to the gym,” says Godio.
Obé
Award: Best Fitness Apps | Activity: All
The Obé fitness app, our favorite overall fitness app, has the “most diverse assortment of class types and lengths, plus live and on-demand workouts,” says Zoe Malin, Select’s associate updates editor. According to Obé, the app offers over 10,000 options across 20 different class types. “Anyone could download this app and find some sort of workout they enjoy doing,” says Malin.
Alo Moves
Award: Best Fitness Apps | Activity: On-Demand Classes
If you prefer on-demand classes to live options, Alo may be a better fit for you than Obé. The app is “extremely easy to navigate, there’s a wide variety of class types and class lengths, and trainers always offer modifications,” says Malin. Plus, Alo Moves is great about adding new content so the classes “feel fresh,” says Malin.
Loop Quiet
Award: Best Earplugs
These silicone, washable earplugs reduce noise so well, Select managing editor and city dweller Leah Ginsberg thought she was sleeping in a different apartment. The earbuds come with four interchangeable ear tip sizes.
Nu Skin AP 24 Toothpaste
Award: Best Toothpaste | Type: All
This toothpaste from Nu Skin contains fluoride, which aids in preventing cavities, and whitens teeth without the use of peroxide, according to the brand. Malin liked its subtle, vanilla mint flavor and smooth texture.
Sensodyne Fresh Mint Sensitivity Protection Toothpaste
Award: Best Toothpaste | Type: Sensitivity
This is a great option for people with sensitive teeth who still want that minty fresh flavor and feeling, according to Select senior social media editor Rosalie Tinelli. Sensodyne’s toothpaste diminishes surface stains and uses active ingredient potassium nitrate to soothe tooth pain, according to the brand.
Colgate Extra Clean Toothbrush
Award: Best Toothbrush | Type: Manual
Select editorial director Lauren Swanson liked that this manual toothbrush was soft on her gums. “I feel like I’m able to really get those far back spots,” says Swanson. It has an ergonomic handle and should be replaced every three months.
ACT Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash
Award: Best Mouthwash
Both Godio and Select reporter Harry Rabinowitz liked that this alcohol-free mouthwash didn’t leave any burning feeling, like other mouthwashes do. “The lid is also awesome,” says Rabinowitz. “Instead of pouring into a screw cap, it fills into a clear top section when you squeeze the bottle, making it much easier to see the fill line compared to black plastic caps.”
DenTek Clean Floss Pick
Award: Best Floss | Category: All
Food stuck between your teeth? Malin and Select editorial projects associate Rebecca Rodriguez found these flossers did the trick and were much easier to use than string floss. Malin liked how the picks were “easy to grip” and have a “minty mouthwash blast flavor that leaves your mouth fresh.”
Being Frenshe Renewing and Hydrating Shower Gel Soap
Award: Best Body Wash | Type: All
I liked the zesty, almost citrus-y scent of this Being Frenshe body wash so much I later went and bought the candle version from Target. It’s formulated with oat extract and niacinamide, which I found was hydrating but still made me feel squeaky clean and refreshed.
Dove Go Fresh Refreshing Body Wash
Award: Best Body Wash | Type: Drugstore
Shari Uyehara, Select’s manager of editorial operations, found this body wash gently cleaned without overdrying, leaving her skin feeling soft right out of the shower. The body wash has a cucumber and green tea scent.
Cetaphil Acne Relief Body Wash
Award: Best Acne Treatment | Type: Body Wash
If you have sensitive skin or body acne, Cetaphil’s body wash is a great option. “It doesn't get sudsy but lathers well, and leaves skin feeling soft and clean,” says Malin, who also notes that its gentle formula hydrated her skin and helped heal dry patches.
Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch
Award: Best Acne Treatment | Type: Pimple Patch
A favorite in Select’s guide to the best pimple patches, these Hero patches use colloidal gel to draw out all the fluids from your acne, according to our experts. When the patch turns from translucent to white, you’ll know the patch’s work is done. “Out of all the pimple pastes I’ve tried, it’s the one that blends into the skin the most,” Rodriguez says.
Differin Gel
Award: Best Acne Treatment | Type: All
A favorite in our guides to treating cystic acne and acne scarring, Differin gel clears breakouts and helps skin’s texture, according to the brand. Bethany Heitman, contributing editor at Select, says she has been using Differin for years and puts it on whenever she feels a blemish popping up. It helps get rid of the blemish right away, she says, plus “it doesn't leave behind white residue as it dries.”
Dune Bod Guard
Award: Best Sunscreen | Type: Body
Of the several sunscreens the Select team tried, this option was social media editor Sadhana Daruvuri’s favorite. “It absorbed immediately, so I didn’t have to spend a lot of time blending it into my skin. I also loved how it made my skin look more hydrated and gave it a natural-looking healthy glow,” says Daruvuri. The compact container is also easy to fit into a purse or bag, especially during trips to the beach. The broad spectrum sunscreen offers SPF 30 protection and an aloe vera scent.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
Award: Best Moisturizer | Skin Type: Oily
Both Godio and Ginsberg had been CeraVe devotees well before trying it for the Wellness Awards. “I love the texture, it moisturizes so well, it is so gentle on my skin, it’s affordable and a lot of dermatologists recommend it,” says Ginsberg. Godio loves how lightweight it is. “I never feel like I’m applying too much or that it sits on top of the skin.”
4U by Tia Curl Cream
Award: Best Hair Treatment | Type: Cream
Malin, Select’s resident curly girl, liked pairing this curl cream with the brand’s defining gel to perfect her curls and tame frizz. “It’s a thicker product, so in addition to hydrating hair, it helps define curls and gives them some hold,” says Malin, who recommends using the product alone if you have looser curls or waves.
About our experts
To ensure our product picks are more than just editor-approved, we used a panel of experts, including dermatologists, sleep doctors and personal trainers to share buying advice. Experts did not recommend individual products. When conferring with our unaffiliated panel of experts, we asked them for advice they would give to their patients or clients. You can learn more about our expert panel on our Best of Wellness Awards page.
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