Skincare Supplements: Nonsense or Necessary?

There are so many pills and powders out there that promise to transform your skin. There seems to be a formula focused on any and every issue that you may be struggling with. Skincare supplements are everywhere and the marketing is bold, telling you that you NEED to incorporate these supplements into your life in order to become your best self. But damn, they are so expensive. Do you really need them? Do they even work?

One of the most popular skincare supplement products that is out in the market right now is from a brand called Moon Juice. Their products are mentioned by beauty editors and raved about by our favorite wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow. Moon Juice sells a lot of actual skincare products like serums and lotions but they are best known for their "dusts." One of their best sellers is called "Beauty Dust." For $38.00 you get a 1.5 oz tub of powder that claims to "target stress and is known to combat accelerated aging, helping protect from free radicals, and improve skin clarity." Apparently it tastes like berries and you can easily just toss the recommended 1 tsp in a smoothie, glass of water or your morning matcha. Then BOOM. Perfect skin from the inside out.

The founder of Moon Juice, Amanda Chantal Bacon, recently told the Huffington Post:

"We believe in feeding your body (and skin) for optimal health, and the science is there to support the benefits of plants, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients (both topically and internally). Skincare starts on a cellular level and what you put into your body matters and shows up on your skin."

Seems like a great pitch right? But is it true?

Well here is the first thing that you need to understand about all supplements on the market-they aren't regulated by the FDA. SO you truly have no idea if they actually work on an average, healthy person. Also, there is no regulation on the claims that are made on the packaging. And the ingredients aren't reviewed by the FDA so there is no way to know if they are safe to ingest, or if they will interact with your current medications or cause adverse side effects.

Something else you should know, and this may squash all of your supplement dreams, is that you fully do not need them for anything. Your body already has a very specific method for regulating it's vitamin levels and unfortunately, most of the nutrients in the supplements you take won't be absorbed into your body. Have you even taken vitamins or supplements and noticed that your pee is bright yellow, almost neon green? That's what I like to call "expensive vitamin pee." The bright pee is the result of your body discarding everything from your pricey supplements that it cant use or absorb. Which for the most part is everything. Bummer right?

According to doctors, if you have a balanced, healthy diet you are already getting all of the vitamins and nutrients that you need from your food.

So basically if you are eating right, supplements wont give you an extra boost of vitamins or nutrients or whatever. It is very likely that instead you will just pee out everything that you ingest. Sorry to burst your bubble babes.

However, I do realize that the temptation to try out these magic pills and potions is strong and may be too much to ignore. And that's fine. Explore the supplement world all you want. But please, promise me that before taking anything you will consult your doctor if you are currently taking any kind of medication. There could be negative effects on your medication's effectiveness when you take supplements. For example, St. John's Wort has a negative interaction with some depression medication and some birth control. It makes both medications totally stop working. Adding supplements to your current medication regime without consulting your doctor is super dangerous and very risky. So please gather as much information as you can before jumping on the supplement bandwagon.

And who knows. Maybe something magical will happen when you take them. Or maybe you will truly benefit from the placebo effect. At the very least you can have fun testing out these skincare supplements as long as you do the research and are safe about the choices you make.