Supplements for Skincare: Hit or Miss?

Have you noticed an uptick in celebrities singing the praises of beauty supplements?

• Elle MacPherson – Welleco – alkalising greens and plant protein powders for skin health.
• Victoria’s Secret Model Miranda Kerr – Kora Organics – “skin food” supplements.
• Bobbi Brown – Evolution 18 – supplements and protein powders for gorgeous skin, strong bones, and overall glow.
• Kim Kardashian (of course) – Sugarbear gummies for hair growth.

It’s not just celebrities. In fact, according to a Huffington Post article, “The ‘nutri-cosmetics’ market is estimated to be an $11AUD billion category by 2020.” With so many people taking so many supplements and spending so much money, the team at our practice in Bondi Junction wants you to know more about this hot topic.

What You Must Know About Beauty Supplements

Unlike heavily regulated prescription drugs, supplements are not subjected to the same level of government oversight. Prescription meds must prove claims of effectiveness and safety prior to coming to market. Supplements do not.

There are other problems with beauty supplements: they are usually not single-ingredient doses. Instead, you are likely to find multiple ingredients in the formulations. There may be a study or two claiming to demonstrate the product’s benefit claims, but few beauty supplements have been examined in large, well-designed studies to prove how the ingredients work effectively in tandem.

2 Reasons Supplements May Not Be All That

If the vitamins and minerals are obviously important to skin health, you may wonder why so many doctors, dermatologists, and skin care professionals have chosen not to recommend them. What isn’t so obvious about beauty supplements is this…

• The vast majority of the nutrients you need to maintain a glowing complexion are in the foods you’re already eating (provided your diet consists of something more than Macca’s burgers and fries).
• Your body absorbs nutrients far more effectively from food than it does from supplements.

Everyday Vitamins at Extraordinary Prices

Despite the fact they use terms like “patented blend” and “proprietary formulation” on their labelling, most beauty supplements are just high-priced versions of daily multivitamins. These “magic pills” rely on varying combinations of old standbys including:

• Vitamin A – in eggs, milk, leafy green veg – squelches free radicals that break down collagen.
• Vitamin C – in citrus fruit, broccoli, and spinach – plays an important role in collagen synthesis.
• Vitamin E – in nuts and seeds – helps protect the skin against ageing, inflammation, and sun damage.
• Magnesium – tofu, pumpkin seeds – helps improve cellular processes, lower cortisol levels, and stabilise hormonal imbalances.
• Calcium – chia seeds, figs – helps regulate how fast the body generates new skin cells and sheds old ones.
• Zinc – chickpeas, meat, shellfish – has antioxidant properties to help guard against free radical formation.

Supplements: Should You or Shouldn’t You

“Nobody’s diet is perfect…and not everyone’s gut absorbs vitamins and nutrients the way it should, so you can put all of the best things in your body and still have low vitamin levels, and, in turn, skin conditions,” reports Marie Claire. “A visit with your doctor and some tests can help determine whether you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency that would be helped by a supplement.”

That’s advice we can all get behind. If you’d like help achieving radiant, glowing, youthful skin, Dr Marcells can help. Contact us to learn more about our rooms in Bondi Junction and all the things we can do to make you look and feel marvellous.