In 2026, do you need a tincture? A liquid supplement? An elixir? Dua Lipa was just showing off her supplements in liposomal form, like the Akasha Superfoods Liposomal Sea Moss Gel she chased with a few swigs of Evian water in her Vogue Beauty Secrets tutorial, liquid multivitamins promising optimal absorption from Sakara and Mary Ruth are popping up in social feeds, and the Japanese-infused brand Apothékary made an intentional move from wellness powders to liquid tinctures that promise to debloat, enhance mental focus, take the edge off sans alcohol, and more. So what can we expect of this new wave?
“I believe tinctures and liquid elixirs will be one of the biggest wellness trends in 2026,” says Manhattan-based Alexander Golberg, MD, DO, a double board-certified doctor specializing in functional medicine. It’s a bloated space these days, and “liquids tend to be easier on the stomach and are ideal for people who experience nausea or digestive discomfort with pills,” he shares. “Because the body doesn’t have to work as hard to process them, tinctures feel gentler and more natural for many people. They also allow for smaller, more precise dosing.” He anticipates that as patients continue to prioritize natural and functional options in the booming supplement space, tinctures will become even more relevant. “People want supplements that are gentle, fast-acting, and simple to take.”
Plus, as Lipa proved last month when she fit separate liposomal doses of vitamin C and sea moss in between skin care and makeup steps, “liquid wellness is rising quickly because it fits the way people live today,” he says of “quick drops, small bottles, and visible results” when nutrients and vitamins are more bioavailable. “In many cases, tinctures offer a superior delivery system,” Dr. Golberg explains. “Liquid supplements absorb faster because they don’t require digestion. There are no fillers, binders, or capsule coatings to break down, just active ingredients entering the bloodstream quickly through the mouth.” He adds that “this is why patients often feel their effects sooner.” In wellness, it’s hard to beat the allure of a bit of instant gratification.
When Shizu Okusa launched Apothékary half a decade ago, she found inspiration in her grandmother’s “Japanese clay pot that would always be sitting on the stove brewing something for preventative health.” When the line of functional herbs first launched, everything was in a powder format. In traditional Eastern medicine, “you historically take whole herbs and grind them up into powder form, or you boil them into water, distill, and extract the herbal potency through heat,” Okusa explains. “The beauty of ancient medicine, at least in our world and herbs, is that this stuff has existed for thousands and thousands and thousands of years and it’s just not been educated or brought to the market as much as pharmaceuticals because it’s not been funded in the same way,” Okusa explains of her larger hope to “bridge family traditions with the modern day.”
In pursuit of her goal, she rebranded with tinctures “because most people just can’t handle the bitterness of whole herbs in ground form.” The mysteriously “light and sweet” taste of each tincture is thanks to glycerin, says Okusa. “You don’t get that sugar spike because it’s a preservative and not a glycemic index spiker.” A double-extraction method means that herbs and ingredients like Oregon grape root in Blue Burn (a shade of spirulina blue with clinical studies backing its metabolic-boosting abilities) and lemon balm in Rescue Bloat (a neon yellow shade indicative of another active herb: turmeric) are even more potent than in their raw form.
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