Why the future of ingestible beauty hangs on science

06 May --- Beauty from within has been amassing a growing following in recent years. And with wellbeing a driving influencer in beauty and personal care (BPC) in 2021, brands are exploring novel innovations to appeal to consumer calls for wellness. Enter ingestible beauty. Belinda Carli, director of the Institute of Personal Care Science, gives us the lowdown on the science behind this popular beauty trend.

The BPC space has seen a surge in interest in ingestible products that strive to create beauty from the inside-out. Ingestible supplements are gaining prevalence with consumers looking for solutions for their skin, hair, nails, body and oral care. But can ingestible beauty supplements genuinely contribute positively to our wellness? 

In 2021, wellbeing is a huge influencer on the innovation of new products coming to the market to appeal to consumer demands that focus on taking care of their health. As supplements’ prevalence and role in wellness efforts continue to be discussed, the conversation on claims, regulations and the science behind ingestible supplements in beauty is also crucially opening up. 

Click to EnlargeBeauty ingestible appeal

With the seeming overlap between nutrition and beauty growing, ingestibles have been rising in prominence as a potential way to support our health and wellness—particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutricosmetics has been born from the merging of overall nutrition and targeted beauty support. Nutricosmetics companies are rebranding themselves to embrace stress-management as beauty care, with brands looking for ingredients to balance and soothe stress.

Ingestible beauty is fast gaining popularity, with Innova Market Insights including it in its top ten trends of 2020. Its Eat Pretty trend centers on functional foods and beverages and supplementation that can support beauty-from-within. 

We can see that beauty supplements are on the minds of BPC consumers, as a go-to solution to achieve healthy and glowing skin, nails and hair, according to the Innova Beauty and Personal Care Survey 2020. As part of the survey, Innova asked respondents whether they do consume or would consider consuming supplements. Globally, 48% said they would for skin care, 47% would for hair care, 44% would for body care, 40% would for oral care and 25% would for nail care. 

The science behind ingestibles

Focusing on the claims and science behind cosmetics, it is important to remember that cosmetics are for external application only. 

Belinda Carli explains: “Cosmetic products are defined under regulations as to use for external application only, so we cannot assume or use science or data we have from topical applications of certain ingredients and imply they have the same impact when ingested.” 

“We have to remember that once a product is ingested, it is no longer under cosmetic regulations,” adds Carli. Therefore, once products are intended for ingestion, they fall under food or drug/medical regulations, depending on the ingredients used and where you are in the world. 

“We definitely can't say the same ingredients in personal care that have a benefit in topical application have the same effect on digestion,” shares Carli. “And we definitely can't just make these claims on ingredients thinking the products will be compliant because they're compliant on topically applied products, because when ingested, they may not be compliant on food, drug or medicine regulations in different regions of the world.” 

“In fact, some of them don't have a great body of evidence to support their use in ingestible products, even if they do have a use or benefit on topical application,” cautions Belinda.

The link between nutrition and beauty

Good nutrition can have an impact on our skin, hair and nails. However, brands cannot “imply that a supplement is going to do more than dietary intake could do unless we have the evidence to support that.” A healthy balanced diet gives better health, digestion, skin, hair and nails. 

Let’s look at the example of zinc and acne. 

While there is evidence that having a good diet with lots of zinc can control acne, Carli goes on to say: “If you are already taking enough zinc in your diet, then taking a zinc supplement does not provide any extra benefit.” Which is why science is lacking about zinc supplements and their direct benefit as anti-acne agents or in relation to their efficacy because they are only going to really help where dietary intake is inadequate. “Supplements can’t be used to replace a balanced diet,” says Carli.

The real opportunity for ingestibles growth

Although ingestibles were “always predicted to take off,” Carli shares, the reason the trend has not yet made a significant impact is because they do not have the science behind them. For companies to build genuine trust with consumers in the beauty ingestibles space, science, regulations and claims have to be adhered to and at the core of innovation and new product development (NPD). Brands that share the science behind their products and their stringent safety guidelines will create credibility and confidence with consumers.

Sharing her recommendations for ingestible beauty, Carli adds that she “would love to see scientifically-sound and valid products that support hair, skin and nails, especially for groups where the dietary intake might be inadequate or to help support general health and wellbeing because that does have an influence.”

The emphasis, though, should be on putting “real science, journal data behind the development of products, so the consumer also sees results and keeps purchasing—that's when you end up with a brand-leading product.” Describing ingestible beauty as a “huge opportunity,” Carli concludes that the key is to not overpromise and underdeliver. 

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist