Starting Beauty Supplements
You don't need a prescription to take beauty supplements. They're readily available to buy online and at major retailers including drugstores and even Sephora. That being said, all of the experts recommend consulting a health care professional before taking supplements. It's especially important for those with diseases (including ones not related to skin) or for those who are taking medication and for people who are pregnant or nursing. Blaisure warns that botanicals in supplements can interact with drugs by enhancing or suppressing their effects.
A health care professional will be able to assess all factors of your life, including nutrition, prescription drugs and supplements to decide which options are best for you. "To achieve the best results, beauty supplements should be an add-on to a healthy and active lifestyle and part of an ongoing journey to maintain emotional well-being," Hermoni says.
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Beauty Supplement Considerations
Even if your health care professional gave you the thumbs up, there are some things to consider before popping beauty supplements. Akridge says to think about your diet. If you have a well-balanced diet, supplements might not be necessary. If you're a stressed-out "burning-the-candle-at-both-ends" type of person who has no time to eat, he says you might want to consider supplements.
Above all, remember that beauty supplements are not magic pills. They're not going to make hair sprout five inches overnight nor are they going to make skin glow like highlighter. Hermoni says to think of beauty supplement as one piece of the health puzzle. The experts recommend reviewing your diet to see if there are foods or nutrients you're lacking. Eating more of those can lead to better skin, hair and nails.
And don't expect to see results right away. Hermoni says beauty supplements aren't like caffeine where we get a boost shortly after ingesting it. It can take days to weeks to see the full results of supplements.
Try: RMS Beauty Within Probiotic + Prebiotic, $64
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Beauty Supplement Issues
Ingredients and Fillers
All supplements are not created equal. It's important to do research and buy from reputable companies. Russak says that poor quality supplements can be ineffective at best and can actually be harmful at worst. She suggests choosing clinically tested, high-quality supplements that contain nutrients we can digest and absorb.
Make sure you scan the labels of supplements before buying them, especially for what Russak calls "other ingredients" or fillers. Culprits include sugars, sweeteners, binding agents, synthetic fillers and artificial colorings or flavorings. Also, watch out for hydrogenated oils, magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide. Be mindful of fillers that claim to do functions like improve the look or taste of a product or make it easier to swallow.
Wondering what's the deal with all the fillers? Akridge says that quite often, the amount of vitamins would be very tiny and seeing an itty-bitty supplement would likely make buyers feel ripped off. So, manufacturers add inert ingredients (fillers) to make pills a more attractive size.
Taking Supplements
Blaisure says that most supplements are safe, but it is still possible to overdo them. " It's always about balance and what the supplement is targeting," she says. "Sometimes you need extra support but only until the imbalance is corrected. Then it is time to adjust the amounts to a maintenance level."
It's best to avoid problems, but know many of the supplements are water soluble. This means if you get too much in your body, the excess will usually be excreted in urine, Akridge says.
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