What has changed about ingestibles in the last couple of years?

Diana M. Drake, owner of Skin Naturopathics: Oral supplements, tinctures and remedies have been around and readily available for years. What has changed is the market saturation and consumer awareness about the importance of supplementation for wellness.

Due to the explosion of the wellness industry in the last decade, many new companies have been founded and are readily available. This is what has become incredibly new. While some companies are offering a very specific niche in this space, other brands carry a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, protein powders, superfood boosts, herbal medicine and more.

Awareness and consumption has increased, and therefore consumers are doing more of their own research about what’s beneficial for their health and stocking those things in their homes. I have also noticed that consumers are more educated on the why.

Supplementing is the new normal because we can’t always get what we need from food alone, and we have to make a conscious effort to detox various environmental chemicals in our food, water and air.

Ben Johnson, MD, founder and formulator of Osmosis Beauty: What I find exciting is the movement toward targeted supplements. Almost everything that goes wrong with the body can be isolated to one of three things: toxins, pathogens or emotions. If your wellness products are addressing one or more of these imbalances, then they can make guests’ skin or health concerns better. The human body is remarkable and capable of so much more than we understand. Far too often we blame the body for failing or misbehaving when it is simply adapting to its environment and surroundings.

Marc A. Ronert, MD, PhD, CEO and founding partner of Ronert Health, LLC: There have been many advances in the ingestible market over the last couple of years. Most notably, there is no longer a line between beauty and wellness; it is now one and the same. Ingestible beauty is not a trend. It’s here to stay, and product formulators are getting savvy and creating more and more comprehensive formulas.

The beauty consumer has evolved immensely, as well. Their approach to beauty and aging is more holistic, and supplements have become more mainstream as a part of a daily routine.

What are the benefits of ingestibles?

Dr. Ronert: Supplements have numerous wellness and beauty benefits. From a skin care perspective, you can’t expect to get great, long-term results solely from something topical if you don’t subscribe to an overall healthy lifestyle. I truly believe in a 360-degree approach to skin health; you can enhance your topical regimen with supplements designed to address skin concerns at the cellular level. The same can be said about supplements for the hair, body and mind.

Nutritionally, even those with great diets and eating habits should be supplementing with vitamins, minerals and supplements. The average diet often does not contain the same nutritional content it did 15 years ago. So, even someone who eats relatively healthy may still be deficient of certain vital minerals and vitamins.

Drake: Oral supplements will work on the root causes of skin issues, whereas topical treatments and products will work on the physical manifestation of the symptom. For example, a pimple can be the symptom of toxic lymph, imbalanced hormones and/or gut dysbiosis. Working on the physical pimples and breakouts with facials, peels and topical skin care will help manage them, but to prevent further breakouts the guest needs to start balancing internally.

How can ingestibles be utilized in the spa?

Liz Aigner, LMT, LE, CYT, director of Color Up Education: Sometimes, clients can be hesitant to try something new. Offering samples as a gift when they exit is an education opportunity and a sales opportunity. You can also have an inviting display at the spa and educate the front desk team. It’s important for clients to feel comfortable asking questions about how an internal product may affect them.

Dr. Johnson: Every consultation should involve an assessment including the client’s symptoms as they go through their day—diet, bowel activity, sleep patterns, mental focus, mood and more—along with a look at the skin for patterns that tell us which organs are struggling or what stressors they are overexposed to. Once you have this information, you can learn how to best address the skin and health using ingestibles.

Drake: Start to build them into your protocols alongside face treatments and topical skin care sales suggestions. Instead of offering clients candy or sugary snacks at spa reception and locker room areas, provide fresh pressed juices or fresh fruit, and this can begin the conversation that you are a holistic spa.

How can wellness practices, spas and resorts promote their ingestibles?

Aigner: Education is key! If we don’t educate ourselves, our spa directors and our practitioners, how will the information make it to our clients?

Another great idea is to start taking ingestibles yourself. The best way to promote something is for you to believe in the power of its healing. I recommend Color Up Pure CBD Vegan Gel Capsules to my guests because I take them too! I walk them through the process, teaching them when and how to ingest them, so the client is educated and receives the most therapeutic experience while feeling confident.

Dr. Johnson: There is very little difference between treating the body’s largest organ, the skin, and treating the other interconnected organs of the body. My approach is holistic, meaning everything in the body operates as part of a whole.

Supplements are an extension of topical skin treatments and are actually critical to almost every skin condition we see. For instance, acne can come from something purging through the skin, rather than an infection. Eczema can be caused by candida overgrowth in the gut. Rosacea may be linked to a gut or liver condition.

In these cases, topicals can only do so much. More permanent outcomes happen when we address the internal and external sources of these conditions.

Drake: I suggest staying in the niche of skin care and antiaging wellness. Large retail chains and online stores are already covering full spectrum supplementation, and you may not want to compete with this—nor do many spas have the retail space to add such a significant amount of inventory.

So, educate yourself and your staff about supplements in the skin wellness space, and understand the root causes of aging, acne, etc. Determine your clientele’s primary skin concerns and move in that direction with supplements.

For example, if your guests are on the older side and more concerned with signs of aging, you should look into supplemental antioxidants, collagen, skin-strengthening herbs and more. Build a protocol that the client needs to commit to for 90 days.

Just like you wouldn’t sell just one facial or just one skin care product, you must educate your guests about the need for a series of skin care treatments and on the benefits of using an entire line. The body takes time to heal, whether you are working topically or internally. Properly setting the client’s expectations will position you for success.