Bacteria isn’t all bad. At least that’s what the folks at some cosmetic companies try to tell you. Welcome to the wonderful world of Probiotics. Good bacteria found in certain foods that is supposed to be great for your skin & hair. Prepare yourself for the latest wave of new probiotic products. Cosmetic yogurt anyone?
Eat yogurt for better skin?
Leading off this yogurt trend was Danone with its recently launched cosmetic yogurt called Essensis. Charlotte of Kiss and Makeup tipped readers off to this product a few months ago and here’s a bit more information. When you eat this product, it’s supposed to nourish the skin from within and create a radiant complexion. They even coined a clever term, “skingestibles” which are foods with ingredients that are supposed to help your skin.
The company sites a clinical study showing daily consumption prompted panelists to report healthier to more beautiful skin. Of course, this study isn’t published in a peer reviewed journal, so its conclusions remain dubious. It would be nice to know if they compared it to other yogurts, to other foods, or to skin lotions. We suspect not but can’t know for sure. If you’ve tried Essensis, let the Beauty Brains community know what you thought.
Yogurt on your body
Next up on the yogurt bandwagon is Bioelements with Probotix Anti-Aging Serum. The makers of this product want you to believe putting yogurt on your skin will have the same immune-boosting effect as eating it. Interesting concept but the outside of your body is different than the inside. It sounds a bit like saying you can build up leg muscles by soaking them in a steak puree. Would anyone buy Mystic Mignon?
A few other yogurt entries include
Korres Yoghurt Cooling Gel : a UV protecting cream (I’d stick with a real sunscreen)
Davines Well Being System : Yogurt powder to strengthen and moisturize hair. Not sure how this would work.
Goldwell Y-Shine complex with Yogurtene. Yogurtene is a mix of lactose, protein and vitamins. I’m not sure yogurtene is any different than a simple mixture is but it sounds cute.
Vogue International Organix Smoothing Shea Butter Shampoo – It has yogurt proteins. Don’t count on them working any different than other proteins. Proteins can help strengthen hair but the specific kind doesn’t really matter.
The Face Shop – Yogurt facial care. A standard skin mask formula put into yogurt containers. You don’t eat it, you put it on your face.
Are yogurt beauty products better?
So, with all these yogurt based products coming out should you really expect to see any added benefit? Not likely.
First, there is almost no proof that eating any specific food will improve your skin condition. And certainly if a food could impact skin’s condition it would pale in comparison to the effect of standard skin lotions. These things are put right on the skin. They don’t have to travel through the entire body to get to the skin.
Second, while protein has been shown to be beneficial to both hair and skin, the specific type of protein doesn’t really matter. When companies make these ingredients they react or “hydrolyze” the protein to make them all the same. There will be slight variations but it won’t markedly effect performance.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
I love yogurt, but the idea of wearing it borders on silliness. And the lack of published research on the benefits of worn food convinces me that it’s marketing hype. If you like yogurt, put it in your mouth. Stick with standard products everywhere else.