Enter the latest beauty buzz words, 'drinkable beauty shots'.
If you’re diligent about your nightly creaming routine but the wrinkles just keep getting deeper, it’s time for some out of the box thinking. The latest kid on the block, ‘beauty shots’ have taken the anti-wrinkle market by storm. These Resveratriol, Collagen or Hyaluronic Acid (HA) rich skin saviors don’t have to be applied. They have to be drunk instead! The newest drinkable innovations promise to deliver cell-boosting ingredients to your skin that historically have struggled to penetrate skin cells when applied. The body naturally produces the collagen it needs, but this process gradually gets disrupted as we age. Women produce less collagen than men, and its lost over the years, so much so that by age 50, most women lose almost half of their collagen stores. The result: wrinkles, lines and sagging skin. Enter beauty shots, a fairly new discovery in the US and UK but wildly popular in Asia where it’s sold everywhere, from malls to convenience stores. Today the brands doing the rounds include Beauty Drink, Pure Gold Collagen, Rejuvenated, Functionlab Collagen and countless others. In fact, premium Japanese skin brand Shiseido has also developed its own version of collagen shots.
Drinkable beauty moisturizers
UK-based brand Fountain created a stir when it launched Resvertol The Beauty Molecule, an apothecary style bottle of pomegranate juice in the first bio available form of the ingredient hero Resveratrol late last year. The new anti-ageing liquid treatment—containing the potent anti-aging antioxidant found in the skin of red/black grapes and dark chocolate—is often a component in skin creams because it boosts the production of collagen. But why a Resveratrol drink you may well ask? “Because there’s no concrete evidence that topical resveratrol can penetrate the skin,” says Brandon Truaxe, CEO and founder of Declem, the company behind the brand. The latest formula contains the first-ever water-soluble form of Resveratrol in a pre-dissolved form that’s much easier to absorb than the normal form which is highly water insoluble. Now, all you have to do is drink one teaspoon of the stuff and say goodbye to wrinkles!
Take a sip of beauty
Hot on the heels of the runaway success of The Beauty Molecule, came Fountain's The Hyaluronic Molecule Food Supplement that contains Hyaluronic Acid (HA) in a liquid ingestible form. It’s the case of a liquefying a skin-transforming molecule that takes it from pointless to potent. As you know HA is a proven anti-aging ingredient in many skin creams. This was followed by various collagen boosting liquid supplements Skinade, Pure Gold and BeautyIn that were freely distributed during the last London Fashion Week. Other popular ready-to-drink collagen beauty shots include LAC’s Taut Shots (promoted as a powerful liquid marine collagen beauty formula with a Rapid Delivery System to improve skin elasticity, firmness and hydration).
Want a Coke? Have Oenobiol Beautific instead!
These ‘beauty from within’ drinks are a byproduct of the science of Nutricosmetics that churn out food and drink as a solution to personal care problems as ‘feeling and looking good’ gains a premium. Even multinationals like Coca-Cola are not immune to the lure of Nutricosmetics. Recently the drink giant teamed up with French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi to develop a range of health and beauty drinks called Oenobiol Beautific, launched in France. The low-calorie beverage range offers four products that individually target vitality, hair and nails, skin, and weight loss.
Too good to be true?
Though these potent beauty drinks don’t come cheap (around Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000 a swig), analysts Datamonitor predict the global market for such drinks is expected to rise to around £41.3 billion by 2014. Now the question we almost dare not ask: Are these beauty shots really anti-ageing miracles or just clever marketing designed to rob you of your money rather than your winkles? Skin expert Dr. Dhimant Goleria says the premise of these beauty shots sounds too good to be true. “Anything you eat or drink is broken down by your body for energy. Your digestive enzymes are so powerful that it’s likely these drinkable forms of HA and Collagen will not get absorbed by your bloodstream to reach your skin,” he explains. At best, HA drinks and its supplements may have some benefits but for best results, such therapy should be combined with a traditional skin care regime including frequent toning and moisturizing. Dr. Goleria adds that studies have also linked excessive ingestion of HA to stomach discomfort. “In any case pregnant and breast feeding women should avoid such supplements,” he says.
So how's a girl to increase her collagen and HA levels?
Tretinoin, a Vitamin A derivative that’s often used in acne and pigmentation creams can give you your daily dose of collagen and retinol. You can get the requisite collagen boost from over-the counter retinol rich creams like Vichy LiftActiv Retinol Ha Total Wrinkle Renovating Procedure Care - SPF18, H2O+ Sea Results Deep Sleep Recovery Serum, Lakme Youth Infinity Skin Firming Serum and Vichy LiftActiv Retinol Ha Eyes.
Besides, as every sensible women knows, exercise and a good diet-think fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, fish and a fish oil supplement-can make an enormous difference to your skin. So go on, try a beauty shot today but never at the cost of a balanced lifestyle.
