Best beauty powders and supplements
When people say that ‘beauty comes from within’, I like to think they’re talking about beauty powders and supplements.
While, yes, all beauty is not skin deep, the skin and hair part mostly is, and that beauty is the kind we spend thousands of pounds on, hoping miracle lotions and potions keep us looking our best.
Some do a wonderful job, as we know, I’ve always found the ‘problems’ we try to correct with topical products are just as easy to combat from the inside - if not more so.
As those who have suffered a breakout after a weekend of indulgence know all too well, our hair, skin and nail health is largely dependent on what’s going on inside our bodies. Our vitamins are their vitamins, and our nutrients are their nutrients.
I first came to the realisation when I went through an ‘omelette phase’ as a teenager. A few weeks in, my hair changed so dramatically that friends begged for my ‘secret’. I racked my brain but couldn’t think of anything; I was using the same products, in the same shower, living the same life. It wasn’t until I got sick of omelettes- and my glossy (protein- and biotin-nourished) curls transformed back into frizz - that I figured it out. The secret was eggs.
But no-one wants to force themselves to eat foods based on beauty benefits, do they?
Beauty supplements are clearly the best option and, thankfully, they’ve had a massive overhaul in the last couple of years.
Rise of the beauty supplement market
Though the market used to consist of little more than ‘multivitamins plus beauty complexes!’ (read: multivitamins marketed at women), there are now hundreds of superpowered beauty powders, capsules and gummies available offering a wide range of beauty benefits.
And many people, like myself, are getting involved. According to Kantar, beauty supplements gained 14 per cent in value between 2018 and 2019 in the UK, outstripping growth in both the wider supplements market and beauty market.
Of course, it’s important to remember all supplements aren’t created equal. In fact, the ones you’re seeing mass-promoted on Instagram tend to be a little more fruitless than functional.
“Many companies add the tiniest amount of an ingredient simply because it allows them to get away with making label claims,” says skincare expert Andrew Petrou. “At a very basic level, aim to have 100% of NRV [Nutrient Reference Value.”
“Also, make sure the manufacturer's details are on the pack. A good thing to look out for is an endorsement of outside parties like Soil Association or Marine Stewardship. Although this is no full guarantee of quality, it often points to an extra layer of caution and consideration in sourcing and manufacturing.”
Petrou also feels it’s important for individuals to look out for common allergens, as well as fillers and bulking agents. While some fillers are necessary to bind the active ingredients in a supplement, synthetic colours, flavours and preservatives should be avoided.
If you’re looking for supplements to excuse or fix problems created by a poor diet, you should also address your lifestyle changes first. “We all go through phases where our diets are less than ideal, and a high-quality supplement may help ‘fill the gaps’,” he says, “but this is not sustainable.
“Additionally, powders tend to be more ingredients focused, so while marine collagen helps support collagen, it does not offer comprehensive nutritional support on a systemic level.”
With a holistic diet, great topical products and powerful supplementation on the go, though? You’ll have yourself a holy beauty trinity.
Here are the best hair, skin and nail supplements to add to your beauty routine today:
1. Collagen Intravital Plus Nutritional Supplement by QMS Medicosmetics, £69
Although collagen is produced in the body, our levels start to deplete around the age of 25, leading to sagging skin, fine lines, wrinkles and less-nourished hair and nails. Basically, if there was any beauty-boosting ingredient to splash out on, it would be collagen.
Thankfully, these capsules not only deliver a powerful collagen hit, but vitamins beneficial to people with problem skin and pregnant women; hydrolyzed collagen (the anti-ageing ingredient of dreams), vitamin C (which helps stimulate normal collagen production), vitamin B6 (which boosts the immune system), co-enzyme Q10 (an excellent free radical catcher), and more. Take one capsule in the morning, another in the evening, and let the skin regeneration commence.
2. Vegan Superfoods Beauty Protein Powder by Bioglan, £12.98
I’ve spent the best part of a decade putting protein powders through their paces, but rarely find one I get excited to drink. This one is different. Made with a host of beauty collagen peptide amino acids, including L-Glycine, Alaine and Proline (amino acids which mimic the profile of animal-based collagen), Bioglan’s vegan Beauty Protein makes for a brilliant health and beauty-booster.
The taste is somewhat bland (personally preferable, as I add it to post-workout smoothies), though it contains a decent blend of goji (used by the Chinese for youthful skin) and raspberries (rich in antioxidants) within, plus biotin (for healthy hair, skin and nails) and hyaluronic acid (to help retain collagen and increase skin moisture and elasticity).
Not a smoothie lover? Sprinkle it onto your breakfast or add a teaspoon into suitable recipes (100g of the powder contains 70g protein, so a little goes a long way).
3. Complete Collagen Sachets by Proto-col, £31.95
I have tried almost every product created by the science-obsessed team at Proto-col, but these citrus-flavoured sachets are in a league of their own. There’s simply nothing else as powerful or convenient on the market. Each sachet contains 8,000mg of premium-grade collagen (three times the average), plus 100 per cent of your daily vitamin B6, vitamin C and Biotin NRV.
The results? These little gel ‘snacks’ are scientifically-proven to improve the depth and volume of wrinkles, skin elasticity, skin tonicity/firmness, and nail growth and density. The primary collagen peptides, VERISOL B®, even significantly improved wound healing in clinical studies.
4. Perfectil Hair Crush Gummies By Vitabiotics, £22.95
Perfect for people who don’t like swallowing tablets, Perfectil Hair Crush Gummies provide you with a comprehensive list of the essential bio-active nutrients which benefit your hair and general wellbeing. These heart-shaped vita-gummies actually contain 21 vitamins and nutrients, including biotin, selenium and zinc (essential to maintain hair and nail health), plus amino acids, grape seed extract, marine collagen, horsetail extract and Co-Q10, and more for all-round nutrition.
As the tasty little gummies provide a comprehensive balance of nutrients, an additional multivitamin would be entirely unnecessary, too. Two to three gummies a day are recommended, with most ingredients concentrated to at least 100 per cent of their respective NRVs (some standouts, like vitamin B12, rack up 360 per cent!).
5. Age Defy+ Green Beauty with Astaxanthin by Green People, £34
These brilliant beauty capsules are green in every sense of the word, delivering powerful actives to the body in the most healthful way possible. The key here is Astaxanthin, a super-antioxidant that acts as a kind of natural sunscreen when ingested, protecting the skin from within.
As it builds inside the body, Astaxanthin makes its way into all skin layers (antioxidants in topical sunscreens can only reach the outermost layers) to fight the signs of skin ageing, too. Inside each forest-green pill, you’ll find chlorella (praised for stabilising blood sugar, balancing pH values in the body and aiding detoxification), seagreens (which induce high absorption of essential nutrients and boost the immune system), and wheatgrass, barleygrass and spirulina (which build, repair and maintain healthy tissue). Levels of astaxanthin need to build up in the body to boost UV protection and Green People recommend taking 2-4 capsules daily from early summer to offer a second level of protection in addition to topical sun lotions.
6. Radiance Powder by Klarskin, £86
Klarskin, a newcomer to the luxury wellness sector, recently launched a small range (two supplements and a topical serum) of beauty products which took less than a week to work wonders on my skin. Their primary beauty powder, Radiance Powder, first piqued my interest when I learned it had a 90 per cent success rate in improving the acne vulgaris and atopic dermatitis, as I’d been experiencing a bit of ‘maskne’ in lockdown.
I was dubious but figured the powder’s potent blend of plant powders, digestive enzymes, antioxidants and prebiotics wouldn’t make it worse. In actuality, it performed miracles; my maskne disappeared in just a few days and, as a bonus, I felt much healthier and high-spirited overall. With over 6.5 billion live bacterial cultures, Radiance Powder can help with all sorts of dysfunctions in the gut. I feel comfortable saying there are very few things Klarskin couldn’t help in the body.
