Drink Your Way To Better Skin
We’re all for the idea of making our skin look better from the inside-out. A good diet, balance, sleep, stressing less all play a huge role in how good we look (and feel). Eat great during the week, let it all go on the weekend, are we right?
But recently, after obsessive Pinterest stalks of Lily-Rose Depp and her perfectly even plump skin, we got on to the topic of skin elasticity, AKA collagen. We all know that as you approach your late 20s, you start to loose the elasticity in your skin, which is essentially collagen breaking down.
But what can you do about it? Or how can you at least learn how to trip the system (thanks, Mother Nature) and have better skin for longer.
So when our Beauty Editor returned from a junket in Japan raving about collagen drinks, we thought she’d had one too many sakés. Honestly, we’re not opposed to the idea of sipping our way to better skin. It’s just that we’ve spent most of our lives doing the opposite.
But when it’s all the rage in Asia, we sit up and we take notice. So we got testing and here are our top picks. Would we recommend it? Definitely worth a shot (or two!)
Fountain Photo-Collagen Molecule – Tested by Phoebe, Producer
I was outdoors a lot in my teens. And while it was great at the time, when I look at the fine lines developing around my eyes, I regret not giving more thought to my skin and SPF.
So, I was curious to try this as there’s a bit of hype surrounding Fountain, especially in the UK. A concentrated, beauty-boosting supplement with hydrolyzed collagen, wild phytoplankton and Fountain’s signature hyaluronic acid complex. Supposedly the Phyto-Collagen Molecule helps supplement existing collagen while stimulating your cells to keep skin looking “smooth, strong, supple and youthful”.
I took this daily, two teaspoons (10ml) per day, mixed with water, and after 3 weeks, it wasn’t me that initially noticed a difference in my skin, it was my friends. Comments like, “your skin looks amazing – what foundation are you wearing”? I hadn’t made any other changes to my skincare routine, so I’m pretty happy. For me, this feels more like an extra step I can take to improve my overall skin health long term, rather than a quick fix.
Skinade Collagen Drink – Tested By Carlie, Editor.
Ok, so truth be told, the whole idea of drinking collagen had me feeling pretty skeptical. Skinaid? More like cool aid, was my initial (non-helpful) contribution to the general chit-chat in the office.
But I’d done some light reading and discovered that there were some surprising results and proven clinical trials which showed a solid boost in the skin’s elasticity after a one month trial. So never one to steer away from a challenge, I gave it a whirl.
And to be honest, the results were mixed. I didn’t notice an immediate difference in my skin, but I did feel my nails were noticeably stronger and my hair felt thicker.
After about two weeks, I noticed a difference in my complexion, and overall ‘plumpness’ of my skin (particularly under my eyes and cheeks), but sadly I didn’t notice a visible improvement in any of my fine lines.
All in all, it was an easy addition to make in my daily routine, and I’d be interested in trialling the full 60-day course to see if things continued to improve.
Pure Gold Collagen Tested by Sarah, Beauty Assistant.
I’m in my early 20’s so my skin still looks pretty good (sorry not sorry), and I’m not yet having to fight visible fine lines and wrinkles. But I’m all for starting early and if there is something I can do slow down the process somehow, count me in!
I added the Pure Gold Collagen into my morning routine for 30 days (as recommend). By the end of the month, I hadn’t noticed any huge changes in my skin, but I wasn’t really expecting to. Surprisingly, I did notice a huge improvement in my normally dry and brittle hair and nails, which is something I wasn’t expecting to see. So, this one get’s a big thumbs up from me!
