April 22, 2025, 9:27 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Beauty from within—that sounds good at first. Under this category, you can find numerous nutritional supplements in the drugstore or online that promise full hair, beautiful skin, and more. But does it work: instead of expensive beauty treatments or an arduous healthy diet, simply take a few tablets or snack on gummy bears? STYLEBOOK does the fact check together with a nutritionist.
Anyone who is interested in beauty topics and is active on social media will have seen one or two reels in which influencers advertise a dietary supplement. This is supposed to help you achieve either firmer skin, super-gorgeous hair, or simply a more awake look.
Overview
- Nutritionist Axplains About Dietary Supplements
- Dietary Supplements for Enhanced Beauty? What You Need to Know Before Taking Them
- What Claims Are Allowed for Dietary Supplements?
- Hyaluron and Q10—Helps in Creams or Lipstick, but not in Capsule Form
- Biotin, Keratin, Zinc, and Silica: Do the Substances in Food Supplements Really Improve Skin, Hair, and Nails?
- Kourtney Kardashian’s Vagina Gummy Bears Are Marketing Tricks at Their Finest
- Is Natural Always Superior? Examining Supplements with Aloe Vera, Barley Grass, and Brewer’s Yeast
- Sources
Nutritionist Axplains About Dietary Supplements
Behind this are, among other brands, “More nutrition1,” “Bears with Benefits,” and “AG1.” All have in common is that they sell food supplements whose ingredients are not only supposed to help you lead a healthier lifestyle but should also have a direct effect on your appearance. “Should”, mind you. This is because the exact effect that the various substances in the food supplements actually have on appearance is usually vaguely formulated. For example, the manufacturer “Bears with Benefits” advertises “Beautiful hair—Bears for Bears” on its website. What exactly is meant by “beautiful hair” remains unclear.
STYLEBOOK asked nutritionist Dr. Angela Bechthold whether dietary supplements can help. She has published the guide “Vitamins, minerals, trace elements. What micronutrients can do and how much we need,” which was recently published by “Stiftung Warentest.”
Dietary Supplements for Enhanced Beauty? What You Need to Know Before Taking Them
In general, the expert clarifies that people who eat healthily do not need additional nutrients such as vitamins or trace elements in the form of food supplements. People who suspect they are suffering from a deficiency should always consult a doctor first. Because if there is no need at all, the additional intake of vitamins and co. can even be dangerous! As an overdose of certain substances can have harmful side effects.
“With the foods that are available here, we have the opportunity to cover our micronutrient requirements with our diet,” says Bechthold. Nevertheless, numerous supplements end up on the market. The problem? Despite all the attractive advertising promises and subjective reports of success, it is rarely possible to verify the actual effect. What’s more, although there are certain advertising guidelines for food supplements in the European Union (EU), companies use all kinds of tricks and loopholes to give consumers the impression they want.
What Claims Are Allowed for Dietary Supplements?
Bechthold explains: “In Europe, there is the European Food Safety Authority, the EFSA, which reviews the effects of nutrients and food ingredients. There is a positive list of approved, scientifically proven statements that manufacturers are allowed to make with regard to the substances they contain. This is why biotin capsules may actually contain a statement such as “contributes to the maintenance of normal hair,” because sufficient biotin is important for skin and hair. This statement is therefore correct and permitted in itself, but does not mean that someone will automatically have beautiful, long hair.2
Statements about a healing effect are not permitted for food supplements under any circumstances. This is because food supplements are foods and not medicines. Food supplements may be marketed without approval studies. The nutrient content of effervescent tablets, beauty drinks, capsules and tablets sold as food supplements also does not necessarily correspond to the stated dose compared to pharmaceutical preparations. “This is also repeatedly investigated by consumer advice centers. They find large deviations both upwards and downwards. With medicines, you can simply be sure that the dose stated on the label is actually inside and is suitable for the intended effect,” says Bechthold.
Hyaluron and Q10—Helps in Creams or Lipstick, but not in Capsule Form
What’s more, substances that have a specific function in the body, such as hyaluronic acid for fuller, firmer skin, do not automatically help if they are taken in capsule or tablet form. Even the reference to supposedly highly scientific studies does not automatically mean that a product is really effective. On anti-wrinkle preparations containing the active ingredient Q10, for example, there is a reference to a product user test involving 30 participants, 80 percent of whom noticed an improvement in the appearance of their skin.
“You have to pay attention to who the sender of such statements is—i.e. whether this was actually a meaningful scientific study. Then it would have to be backed up with sources—and even if that is the case, you would have to take a closer look. Who financed this study, how many people were examined, what the study design was, and so on. A consumer can’t do that at first glance,” says the nutritionist.
Biotin, Keratin, Zinc, and Silica: Do the Substances in Food Supplements Really Improve Skin, Hair, and Nails?
Anyone who takes supplements containing biotin, keratin, or zinc for a more beautiful complexion, fuller hair, and strong nails is primarily helping the manufacturers, who earn a lot of money from them. “They often suggest in their advertising that an extra dose of a certain nutrient can also achieve an extra effect. However, an extra dose has no extra effect unless it compensates for a deficiency. But beyond that: a lot doesn’t help a lot.”
What about traditional remedies such as silica? “The main ingredient is silicon, which is not an essential nutrient. We don’t even know whether silicon is essential for life. It is being discussed that it plays a role in connective tissue and bones, but this has not been proven. This raises the question of whether we need silicon at all,” says Bechthold. So far, there is no evidence that taking silicon or silica in any form benefits health or beauty.
Kourtney Kardashian’s Vagina Gummy Bears Are Marketing Tricks at Their Finest
The effect of the vagina gummy bears launched on the market a few months ago based on Kourtney Kardashian’s original product, which were supposed to improve vaginal flora and scent, has not been proven either. This is because ingredients such as probiotics, pineapple extract, and vitamin C have not yet been shown to have a direct positive effect on health or the external appearance—or more precisely, in this case, the scent of the vagina.
Manufacturers often use the trick of letting consumers associate certain substances with positive associations. Probiotics are considered to be good for digestion. However, health-related advertising claims for probiotics are not permitted. Manufacturers therefore add vitamins or other nutrients for which such claims are permitted.
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Hyaluronic Acid Against Wrinkles? Application, Effect, Risks
Beautiful Through Capsules, Beauty Gums, and More: What Dietary Supplements Really Deliver
Is Natural Always Superior? Examining Supplements with Aloe Vera, Barley Grass, and Brewer’s Yeast
Barley grass, aloe vera, or brewer’s yeast are good for beautiful skin and strong hair? It sounds harmless at first, but it can also be a health risk. “There are also repeated warnings from food testing authorities and consumer protection organizations that such food supplements are often contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli,” says the expert.
Residues of heavy metals and other carcinogenic substances are also not uncommon. “Apart from that, there is no need to first produce an extract and then ingest it. The body can obtain valuable nutrients such as phytochemicals and fiber from normal foods,” says the nutritionist.
A balanced lifestyle, little to no alcohol, no smoking, and little stress will ultimately help your appearance more than any beauty supplement from the drugstore.
The German original of this article was published in October 2024.