As sunrays keep glaring and the sultry summer beckons, there is some good news in the beauty horizon. Ever wondered how cool it would be, to be able to get a daily dose of beauty treatments instead of applying multiple layers of cream and ointments; doses just like your everyday morning vitamin supplements? Sunscreen pills and edible collagen are the latest treatments both people and experts are swearing by. While the pills protect your skin, the edible ones give you a youthful look and minimise the signs of aging. As you age, the collagen in your skin begins to break down, leading to thinner skin and thus, contributing to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

Elaborating on the edible beauty solutions, city-based Dermatologist, and Cosmetologist, Dr Lakshmi Sharada says, “The sunscreen pills are beneficial for skin as they work as anti-oxidant primarily. The pill helps the skin from within but one must use a sunscreen lotion as well. The pills can’t be the only source of protection. The pill is a great supporting factor for reducing your daily beauty routine. On a personal level, I will not advise to have these pills every day even though there’s no side effect. It’s always advisable to not depend on supplements. Each such pill is available for Rs 30-50 in the market.”




Dr Renita Rajan, Chief Cosmetic Dermatologist at Render Skin and Hair Clinic, Chennai, explains, “Plant extracts as antioxidants has always been around, but specifically the extract of the fern, ‘Polypodi-um Leucot-omos’ is the one that has been scientifically proven to work against tanning, pigmentation, complexion improvement, skin rejuvenation and so on. The advent of products like Heliocare, which is a pioneer oral sunscreen, is relatively new in India. Combining an oral with a topical sunscreen is great for anti-ageing.”

Talking about edible collagen, Dr Sharada says, “Collagen is naturally found in many animals and meat products. Since collagen is a protein, it breaks down into amino acids during digestion and runs into your blood and then reaches the skin. Collagen injections are more effective when compared to the edible version, but again the former is more expensive. My advice would be to consume the edible collagen every alternate day as it’s more of a nutritional supplement rather than a medicine and definitely not advisable to patients aged below 35 years. For a month-long treatment, it may cost around Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000.”

Dr Sharada further says, “Patients generally come to me after they have done proper research on the oral treatments — one per week at least.” Any treatment will only work wonders only when the lifestyle factor is taken care of, feels Dr Renita. “Lifestyle factors like a late bedtime, smoking and bad eating habits also contribute to more rapid ageing, so maintenance involves eliminating these factors too.”