Is it trendy to be healthy and fit? In 2017, it is. And sometimes, keeping up with the newest health craze can take you to some interesting places. But as 2017 progresses, it becomes clear that the newest phases in health and personal care aren’t necessarily about one specific product, but an overarching sense of “back to nature” wherever possible.

Not to mention, as millennials (the generation known for demanding more personalized services) influence the health goods and services markets, health trends in 2017 have become less focused on specific images while pinpointing the need for clean, simple lifestyles that are improved by everyday pampering.

Personalized Health and Body Care

It’s no surprise that health and body care manufacturers have diversified their product lines to catch a new consumer — the purchaser who’s looking for a product to fit them, not the other way around. Shampoos and skin cleansers developed based on a consumer’s personal background and health needs are just two examples of how personalization has impacted this market. 

And as health-dedicated buyers look for these unique products, they’re also considering what’s in them — and whether those chemicals and additives are safe for their body and the environment.

Clean and Sugar-Free Eating

Building up to 2017, prior health trends focused on ridding the body of toxins and chemicals through diet, spa services, and exercises like hot yoga. This year, a focus on clean eating — that is, ditching highly processed foods for produce and other high-quality groceries — has taken center stage. Tangentially, the move to reduce added sugars, and in some cases naturally occurring sugars, has held steady. 

As more consumers look to reduce foreign chemicals and factory-made food products, the clean eating trend has evolved to include a variety of diets, such as the previously popular Paleo diet, and emerging low-carb ketogenic diet.

But clean eating isn’t just something done at home. Restaurants and food suppliers are picking up on this trend, providing reduced sugar and less-processed products and meals to draw in health-conscious eaters. This trend also pushes the envelope for using natural foods in new ways, and introducing less-known produce (such as spirulina and some mushrooms) to followers.

Affordable (and Regular) Pampering

Spa services were once considered luxury wants, but now many health-focused bloggers and readers are thinking of them as preventative care. Popular among the CAM crowd (supporters of Complementary and Alternative Medicine), massage therapy, acupuncture, infrared saunas, and other emerging wellness services are seen as avenues to self-care instead of high-class pampering services.

Cooking Well At Home

The issue of food waste has become more prominent, pushing many people to consider their own waste footprint. But, a focus on combating food and water waste has also encouraged innovation in the health market — such as the now-popular meal delivery kit.

Cooking at home is seen as one way to combat food waste while also taking control of your diet by eliminating chemicals and other unwanted food additives. And with social media’s help, meal planning and crafting artisan dishes at home has become easier for those who aren’t so skilled with a skilled. Websites like Buzzfeed, for example, have dominated social media with short videos detailing a meal, the cooking process, and other kitchen “hacks,” encouraging more people to craft nutritionally strong meals at home for a fraction of the restaurant cost.

But dishing up a meal in your home has a related trend — introducing natural products into the home, even those without scientific backing. Mainstream retailers have jumped on this trend, noting consumer interest in crystals, salt lamps, and other natural products with purported uses in clarifying the home environment while magnifying all those good vibes.

Focus on Natural Remedies

As people become more focused on what goes inside of their bodies, they’re also becoming aware of the everyday beauty and health products that impact their exterior look. Whether it be from the rising cost of beauty products, prescription medications or frustration with existing products that just don’t work, health-conscious individuals are now looking to natural remedies to common ailments, such as body pains, acne, dry scalp, and more.

In many cases, consumers are simply looking for high-quality products with minimal ingredients, and are often skeptical or dismissive of beauty and health products with unpronounceable ingredients.

The popularity of activated charcoal, natural clays, and do-it-yourself skin care tutorials have led the trend for “back to nature” health care products that can be created in your own kitchen. And the fight for legalization of marijuana falls within this trend as more people search out non-prescription remedies for pains, aches and ailments that have few options, some of which use hemp and cannabis ingredients.