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The most purchased wellness and tech products we've covered

From air fryers and routers to dog harnesses, UV light sanitizers and weighted blankets we covered, these were the top items readers purchased last month.
Shopping for skin care, tech, kitchen or home products? Here are the 16 most purchased products we've covered in the last month.
Shopping for skin care, tech, kitchen or home products? Here are the 16 most purchased products we've covered in the last month.NBC News
By Gideon Grudo

NBC News readers are serious about wellness — from diet to fitness — as well as their personal tech, sleep and skin care. Throughout February, some of our most-read articles included personal takes on using air fryers, sleeping with weighted blankets, choosing the right Lego set and reading e-books on a Kindle; the best ways to reduce under-eye circles, heal chapped lips and treat teen acne; finding the right sports shoes, dumbbells, dog harnesses and coffee tables; and how to best sanitize your phone and other tech — which we saw become increasingly relevant (and popular) last month and into this very minute as the COVID-19 coronavirus dominates headlines and readers sought solutions for their personal tech devices.

In this article

  1. Popular skin care products
  2. Popular tech products
  3. Popular home, fitness and other products

As you check out the shopping guides and recommendations above, we also wanted to be sure to share which of the skincare, tech and home products were most popular among readers last month. Below are the top 12 most popular products across these categories.

Popular skin care products: dandruff shampoo, under-eye cream and moisturizers for rosacea

1. LivSo Moisturizing Shampoo

In our guide to the best shampoos for dry scalps, Livso was a recommendation from Shari Hicks-Graham, MD, a dermatologist in Columbus, Ohio. They're a fan of this shampoo because it has a gentle sulfate-free formula that still lathers and feels great on your hair. Xlyitol in the formula fights yeast, while salicylic acid, glycolic acid and willow bark extract exfoliate and soothe.

2. Neutrogena T/Gel Extra Strength Therapeutic Shampoo with 1% Coal Tar

Another top pick from the dandruff shampoo guide is a recommendation from dermatologist Lauren Cerullo, MD. This shampoo relies on one percent coal tar to ease flaking and scalp irritation associated with seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff and scalp psoriasis.

3. Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair

Heidi Waldorf, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and owner of Waldorf Dermatology Aesthetics, previously told us that when it comes to under-eye circles, the most common reason dark circles form is hollowing in the under-eye area from the loss of deep fat. Made with retinol, hyaluronic acid and dimethicone, Neutrogena’s rapid wrinkle wrinkle repair eye cream is an excellent drugstore option, Waldorf said. It not only works to diminish fine lines and dark, under-eye circles, but it also keeps your skin plump for a youthful dewy finish.

4. L’Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Eye Treatment

L’Oreal’s eye cream provides a triple threat of retinol, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid to de-puff under eyes and brighten dark circles. It got top marks from Waldorf in the under-eye cream guide we mention above for having skin-plumping glycerin and dimethicone, and caffeine for reducing redness.

5. Differin Restorative Night Moisturizer

In our guide to the best skin care products for rosacea, New York-based dermatologist and founder of Sobel Skin Howard Sobel, MD, told us that "this rich, creamy formula is packed with a mix of hydrating ingredients such as soybean oil and chamomile flower extract, which help to moisturize and soothe skin without clogging pores or causing breakouts. It rinses off easily and visibly improves skin’s suppleness."

6. Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser and Makeup Remover

In the same guide, Noelani González, MD, director of cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai West in New York City, said, "This cleanser is very gentle on reactive or sensitive skin, which most patients with rosacea have. It also contains feverfew, an ingredient known to decrease redness and help with irritation."

7. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer

"This ultra-gentle moisturizer is made with a soothing blend of hydrating, anti-redness ingredient," said Sobel said in the same guide. "It's infused with ceramides, niacinamide, calming glycerin and prebiotics that work to restore the skin barrier. It’s a great, safe option for those with rosacea."

Popular tech products: UV light sanitizers and Wi-Fi routers

8. BRIGHTINWD UV Light Mini Sanitizer

One of the top picks in our guide to cleaning and sanitizing your tech products, the travel-ready handheld UV-C light comes in wand form, allowing you to wave it over your target in places like hotel rooms or anywhere for your bedding, hair brushes, bathroom counters and so on.

9. PhoneSoap 3 UV Smartphone Sanitizer and Universal Charger

Another top pick from that aforementioned guide to sanitizing tech, the PhoneSoap 3 can charge whatever device you drop into it via USB-A or USB-C — which means you can count it among your portable chargers. It's a solid addition to any office, too.

10. TP-Link AC1750 Smart WiFi Router

From our guide to the best Wi-Fi routers of 2020, the TP-Link AC1750 comes in as the most affordable wireless router. The Archer A7 comes with all the basic features you’d expect, as well as Alexa support, meaning you can turn on guest Wi-Fi with your voice or trigger certain actions when a device connects to your network.

11. NETGEAR Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream Wifi 6 Router

The best high-end Wi-Fi router for top performance from that same Wi-Fi guide, the Nighthawk AX12 is one of the fastest, congestion-busting-est routers you can buy right now, thanks to its combination of Wi-Fi 6 and those tri-band antennas.

12. Samsung 82-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart QLED TV

While Presidents Day has passed, Walmart has kept Samsung's 82-Inch QLED TV on sale — clearing inventory for spring and fall arrivals. The 4K UHD resolution of the TV is the only type you want to shop for if you're going to invest in a new TV. If you don't know, the Samsung (and Vizio) tech called QLED denotes a filter they built between the LEDs in their TVs and their LCD displays. That filter, sometimes inset with light zones that turn on and off, increases the contrast and vividness of the image.

Popular home, fitness and other products: weighted blankets, shoes and air fryers

13. Rocabi Luxury Adult Weighted Blanket

Weighted blankets are exactly what they sound like — they’re heavy blankets (typically 15 pounds or more) filled with a material such as plastic pellets. As Christina Heiser reported previously, "When I slipped under the blanket, I felt like I was wrapped in a cocoon, as if the blanket were hugging me."

14. Ryka Women's Devotion Plus 2 Walking Shoe

With more than 1,100 positive reviews on Amazon, BETTER previously recommended these as some of the best sneakers for women — they’re lightweight, breathable and not too bulky.

15. Savvy Infusion Water Bottle

This bottle — one of the nine we featured in a guide to drinking more water — comes with an infuser to hold sliced fruit, veggies and herbs for all-natural (and sugar-free) flavor. The bottle solves the issue of sucking up pulp and herbs while you sip. Plus, making your own flavored water at home is a money saver.

16. COSORI 5.8-Quart Touchscreen Air Fryer

A larger air fryer will give you the space to roast a chicken, and some include a rotisserie, Brandi Crawford, author of "The Super Easy Air Fryer Cookbook," previously told BETTER. She likes its square basket, since things like a whole chicken or a turkey breast fit better in that than in a round basket. She’s such a fan of the air fryer that she owns several versions, and on a typical weeknight, she will cook her veggies in one and her meat or chicken in another.

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Gideon Grudo

Gideon Grudo is the former editorial director of Select on NBC News