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In a market saturated with wellness products that promise to fix your whole life but rarely deliver much of anything, this year’s personal care winners stand out for actually solving real problems. The 2025 class represents genuine inclusivity and thoughtful design—from a breast pump that goes old school to level up its wearability, to world-class headphones that double as hearing aids and workout coaches. These products aren’t just chasing trends or throwing around pseudoscientific buzzwords. Instead, they address overlooked challenges with smart engineering: making fragrance bottles easier to grip, transforming sleep routines for exhausted parents, and rethinking recovery gear so athletes can soothe strained muscles while on the move. Each winner proves that meaningful innovation happens when companies consider users’ actual needs—and use that knowledge to make good products great.
(Editor’s Note: This is a section from Popular Science’s 38th annual Best of What’s New awards. Be sure to read the full list of the 50 greatest innovations of 2025.)
Grand Award Winner, Personal Care
Willow Wave Manual Breast Pump by Willow: Modern mobility meets manual pumping
The wearable breast pump market has exploded in recent years, allowing parents to pump without tethering to a plugged-in device or getting tangled in tubing. Some options now fit the whole pumping mechanism into a form that can slip into your bra, promising a level of discretion that would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. But most come with a significant caveat: They’re loud. Motor noise can make pumping that might be otherwise undetected during a video call or in a quiet office practically impossible. The Willow Wave solves this problem by replacing a humming motor with an old-school, manual pump mechanism—but without sacrificing the mobility that makes wearable pumps so appealing in the first place. Building on the company’s experience creating the first fully in-bra wearable electric pump, Willow has reimagined what a manual pump can be. The Wave fits completely inside a standard nursing bra. Its ergonomic handle prevents hand fatigue while pumping and connects via 34 inches of adjustable tubing, giving users genuine freedom of movement and total control over their device’s hospital-strength suction. The result is a wearable pump that’s finally quiet enough to use anywhere—even during that morning video meeting.
Hyperboot by Nike Ă— Hyperice: Recovery that keeps up with you
Compression boots have rightfully become a trendy recovery tool, but most require you to sit still for treatment. The Hyperboot offers an on-the-go alternative in the form of a battery-powered shoe. It combines Hyperice’s Normatec dynamic air compression with targeted heat therapy, all in a wearable form that lets you recover while standing, walking, sitting, or traveling. The air compression pushes heat deeper into the tissue of the ankle and Achilles tendon for more effective treatment. Whether you’re getting a walk in between meetings or traveling from one marathon to the next, the Hyperboot delivers professional-grade recovery without making you stop and sit. It’s the kind of multitasking recovery tool that busy athletes and weekend warriors alike have been waiting for.
Rare Eau de Parfum by Rare Beauty: Fragrance designed for everyone
Most perfume bottles prioritize aesthetics over accessibility, leaving people with limited hand mobility to overcome delicate caps and stiff spray mechanisms. Rare Beauty founder Selena Gomez, who lives with lupus-related arthritis, wanted her brand’s first foray into scent to do better. The bottle features an easy-grip shape and a low-force spray mechanism that makes application simple for people with limited mobility or strength. The oversized pump can be pressed down with any part of your hand or even your arm, eliminating the need for precise finger pressure. Beyond accessibility, the perfume itself offers unusual versatility: Wear it solo or combine it with the brand’s Fragrance Layering Balms to customize the scent to your mood or occasion.
AirPods Pro 3 by Apple: The world’s most capable earbuds can also keep you feeling your best
Apple’s latest AirPods Pro would probably earn a spot somewhere on the BOWN list for their upgraded Active Noise Cancellation and improved acoustic seal alone. But the earbuds’ health and wellness features made it a shoo-in for personal care. Apple’s smallest-ever heart rate sensor pulses invisible light into the ear at a rate of 256 times per second to deliver accurate workout metrics without a chest strap. The Apple Intelligence-enabled Workout Buddy feature delivers personalized motivational messages mid-session, while sensor fusion from the built-in accelerometers, gyroscope, and custom photoplethysmography sensor tracks heart rate, calories burned, and progress across up to 50 types of workouts. The AirPods Pro 3 also offer an end-to-end hearing health experience. Users can take a scientifically validated hearing test, then use the Hearing Aid feature to adjust for mild to moderate hearing loss. Meanwhile, Hearing Protection uses machine learning to prevent further hearing damage, reducing environmental noise 48,000 times per second. These aren’t just exceptional earbuds; they’re a comprehensive health companion that also happens to deliver pristine audio.
Ozlo Sleepbuds by Ozlo: The sleep tracker that actually helps you sleep
Sleep-tracking devices are everywhere, but most just give you data. Ozlo Sleepbuds take a different approach by combining comfort-first hardware with advanced noise-masking technology and genuinely useful insights. Designed to stay comfortable all night—even for side sleepers—the tiny buds let you stream calming content, audiobooks, meditations, or your favorite playlist as you drift off. Using built-in biometric sensors to detect when you’ve fallen asleep, they automatically switch to noise-masking audio that blocks out snoring, traffic, and other disruptions. The charging case also acts as an environmental senso
