Glutathione, a powerful antioxidant naturally produced in the body, is finally getting the spotlight it deserves. Consumers are getting curious, and many spa professionals and practitioners want to learn more about this incredible ingredient for its multipronged benefits.

The spa world has yet to truly tap into skin wellness with glutathione and its ability to protect and improve tone and texture from the inside out.

For more than 15 years, I have studied glutathione, how it works naturally in the body, and how the body can optimally absorb glutathione supplements. It can be a powerfully transformative part of any spa experience and help clients find their way to better health—and glowing skin.

Promoting Skin Wellness

Glutathione is found in every cell in the body, and its activity is vital to nearly every system, protecting against numerous diseases and conditions.¹ It cleanses toxins and fights free radicals, so that the toll of oxidative stress can’t win in the battle against illness, disease and even the fine lines on our faces.

Like many recent wellness finds, glutathione is where skin health and overall well-being have merged. Red light therapy promotes skin health and has wellness benefits like pain relief. Good nutrition's influential role in keeping us healthy also supports clear, supple and vibrant skin.

The results are the same with glutathione: Managing glutathione levels internally allows it to powerfully detoxify and protect the body and skin from the things that damage it.

Providing glutathione facials or glutathione infusion as an add-on can dramatically brighten the look of the skin and reduce uneven tone. The combination of glutathione with other vital antioxidants creates a type of skin care that heals and changes it from the inside out for the ultimate in skin wellness.

Impactful skin care must be delivered to moisturize, detoxify and heal at the subdermal level. A combination of vitamin C and glutathione is an excellent facial option to repair signs of aging and stress, promote collagen and prevent future damage.

The Master Antioxidant

The human body has a fantastic ability to create this antioxidant, which provides a powerful protective defense against cell damage throughout the body. But as we age, glutathione levels naturally decline and leave us susceptible to the repercussions of oxidative stress.

Furthermore, our bodies are under the stress of free radicals all day from factors we can’t always control, like the environment, stress and UV rays, as well as lifestyle habits like alcohol consumption and poor nutrition. Balancing the body with antioxidants is essential.

An abundance of oxidative stress can be a precursor to sickness, low energy, aging skin and more. Glutathione helps reduce oxidative stress in the body by neutralizing free radicals, thus decreasing inflammation and helping to control the progression of damage.

When glutathione is not plentiful, the effects are far-reaching, with studies evidencing the link between low levels of glutathione and neurodegenerative disease and more.² For the skin, the lack of this detoxifier means that free radicals win out, and we see the signs of aging, from brown spots to fine lines and wrinkles.

Glutathione Delivery

As the body ages, raising glutathione levels through lifestyle choices and supplementation can be key for overall vitality, potentially impacting skin health, energy and wellness. In fact, a recent pilot study demonstrated topical glutathione's positive impact on immune function.³

What does this mean for the spa world? Glutathione supplementation can step up your spa treatment results to the next level.

Glutathione is a large molecule, so ensuring that it reaches the subcutaneous level is important for it to make a difference—delivery matters.

Oral supplementation has limited bioavailability, meaning only a small portion of the amount ingested actually reaches the skin, and even though IV glutathione can bypass the digestive tract, the delivered amount has relatively short-lived effects in the system. Long-term benefits are still being determined for both of those delivery forms.

On the other hand, topical glutathione can be incredibly impactful, depending on the formulation and form or delivery. A sub-nano delivery system is able to bring glutathione to the inner layers of the skin, allowing for maximum efficacy and helping to build glutathione stores for more vibrancy, vitality and more.

In the Spa

Any wellness-seeking client can benefit from glutathione supplementation, as it balances the heavy toxin load that taxes the mitochondria, causing energy depletion.

The role of detoxification means it affects many physiological processes. Supplementation has far-reaching effects, including fortifying the immune response, supporting athletic performance and protecting the skin from free radical damage.

A revitalizing massage with a glutathione supplement add-on can begin the restorative process of raising depleted glutathione levels. Selling glutathione in your retail area for regular supplementation sets spa-goers on a path that can significantly impact their overall health.

Clients also come into spas with skin already damaged from the natural breakdown of collagen and elasticity. The same properties of glutathione that ensure immune function and tissue repair do the same to fight free radicals at the skin’s cellular level. Plentiful glutathione helps the skin stay healthy; glutathione depletion leads to fine lines, discoloration, dullness, dehydration, and uneven tone and texture.

Studies show that antioxidants can “combine to neutralize reactive oxygen species, preventing oxidative damage to cells and tissues.”⁴ No antioxidant is as potent as glutathione. Its job is to fight skin stressors and battle back against damage, turning back time!

For spas serious about treating clients and creating positive change, adding skin wellness options that include glutathione, both in the spa and at home, can make a huge difference in detoxifying, healing and improving skin from the inside out.

References

Nayan Patel, PharmD, is a pharmacist, health expert and author of The Glutathione Revolution: Fight Disease, Slow Aging & Increase Energy. He is regarded as the go-to global expert on absorbable forms of glutathione and holds the only patent on transdermal glutathione.