I used to work in advanced skincare at  Neiman Marcus in Chicago. I was there for three years.  Seemed like every  other month, some new  product would  come out, claiming to be revolutionary! Well it makes  sense; Skin care is  a $121 BILLION industry  globally,  and  an $11 BILLION   industry  in the US. And it shows no signs of slowing down.  People care about their skin and companies spend  millions  in research and development, searching for the “fountain of youth”. Or at least products the slow down the aging process.

Skin care awareness and consciousness are some of the driving forces behind the booming industry, says Kathleen Zacrep, MarketRe­search.​com.

Although older consumers are still key to marketing efforts, younger consumers are becoming more aware of the value in taking care of their skin, notes Zacrep. (read more about the markets and trends here.)

I was at a party recently and someone was talking about collagen supplements. “Injestibles”  vs  topicals. I guess they have been around for a few years, but I had not heard of them. It’s  all about healing and repairing from the inside.

While collagen supplements have long existed in specialty vitamin stores, in the past  couple years they’ve expanded to drug and grocery stores and are proliferating rapidly. The promise of all these pills, powders, and drinks is enough to get anyone’s attention and sounds too futuristic to be real: You can swallow a pill and turn back the clock, not just by plumping fine lines for a few hours or days, but by causing your own body to rebuild its collagen from within.

It is backed with clinical research. Research seems to indicate that there’s something real to those claims. In a large double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in early 2014, women took 2.5 g of a particular hydrolyzed collagen peptide  once a day; after 8 weeks, researchers measured a 20% reduction in wrinkle depth around the women’s eyes.

I am all about  turning back time!

After doing my own research, I found this company, Vital Proteins.

They say, “Vital Proteins helps people feel better and live fuller lives through sustainably-sourced nutrition products, promoting health, fitness and natural beauty. We do that by providing nourishing collagen and promoting our production of collagen – an essential nutrient stripped from our diets by modern food-processing.

We know that while our bodies’ collagen production slows as we age, our need for it only grows as our bodies become less efficient and we maintain a vibrant life. And Vital Proteins believes that if you want to, you can make the most out of every moment you’re given – that your body shouldn’t be a limitation, but a catalyst.”

So I decided to give it a try. Not only is it supposed to be good for your skin, but helps your hairs, nails, bones and digestive system.

The company arranged for me to try a   30 day kit. It included  2 pills; Beef liver capsules and Beauty Boost Capsules.  A box of Collagen peptide powder –  that I made a drink with.   And Collagen Creamer  to add to morning coffee. It was a 30 day supply but I did miss a few days.  So it lasted about  40  days.  I can honestly  say,  and I was not paid to say this, I thought my skin had improved and looked better, it had a bit of a  “glow”, my hair felt thicker, and my digestive tract felt like it had improved. (I am 53, by the way).

And you don’t have to take my word for it – this company  has been featured in many prominent articles.

I strongly encourage you to check these products out!  – we give it  5  pink crowns!