Back again with a rant and review of more supplements I’ve tried, and their effects — real, or perceived — on my skin! Again, I am no doctor, so if you would like to try any of these, do so at your own risk. Everyone is different, so your results may not be the same as mine.

Biotin – Type in “biotin” on Instagram and you’ll see a lot of girls with long hair and clear skin holding up a bottle of some Biotin product or another (there’s at least a 50% chance it’s Sugar Bear Hair…). They swear by biotin as the reason their acne is gone and their hair is so long. But if you do a little more research, you might find that most women taking this actually find that their breakouts DRAMATICALLY increase when they start taking this. Myself included. And they’re bad. There’s some anecdotal advice drinking extra water will mitigate any negative effects of biotin, but I tried that for myself, and didn’t find that to be the case.

Biotin has been one of those vitamins that I’ve tried, off and on, over the course of about a decade, for anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months at a time before I throw in the towel. I’ve always gotten the same results. Fast growing nails, same-speed growing hair, and TERRIBLE acne, even after the six month period. In my opinion? The long, strong nails are NOT worth the effects it has on your skin.

Vitamin C (in pill form) – Vitamin C in my skincare has been pretty darn great for me in terms of getting rid of damage — why not try to take a 500mg capsule every day? Wouldn’t that also help my skin? My personal findings after 4 months are, most likely, it does not; I didn’t notice any marked improvement while using this. I do think I was a little less sick then my coworkers, though. Also, I found out the hard way, if you take in too much Vitamin C, you will get a stomach ache (not to mention, your body will expel the excess anyway).

Collagen Powder – I hopped on the Collagen Craze hype train this year, despite the controversy about whether or not it really works. After researching the “legitimate” sources of collagen powder (must be from a grass-fed bovine for it to actually work — supposedly), I grabbed a small tub of Vital Protein’s Collagen Powder off of Amazon. I generally buy the flavorless powder, and put one scoop in my coffee in the morning. This stuff can get kind of pricey ($25 for 10oz), so I would recommend a first time user get a small container to try it out for themselves before they commit. I can safely say that it did not cause more acne, but I also don’t feel like my skin magically plumped up while taking this. BUT…. I swear my lips are bigger. I have convinced myself that after week two, they seemed to slightly increase in size. And when I ran out of the powder for two weeks and waited for a new shipment, they… decreased. Placebo effect, perhaps? Whatever it is, it’s working for me. ~A