“Cosmeceutical” sits between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and probably makes you think of serums and skincare, and of course many of these products’ ‘active agents’ are in our lane: Retinol, Biotin, Collagen, Liposomal C and herbs. However, the new kids on the Cosmeceutical block are in fact patches, creams and gels all applied to the skin but whose claims suggest they supply us with nutrients and herbs, at least intradermally, if not systemically. But this term, for those seeking good science among us, should make us shudder because it’s just a portmanteau marketing peeps came up with, it’s not a legally recognised category — and in turn it is outside of the regulation of the TGA & FSANZ.
It’s a marketing term. That’s it.
So while the claims might sound clinical — “active ingredients,” “targeted results,” “scientifically formulated” — the truth is, they don’t go through the same scrutiny as real therapeutic goods. No mandatory testing. No ingredient oversight. No required proof. And even claims they offer our patients ‘transdermal delivery’ are often unfounded and any effects are only ever skin-deep.
When we think our usual supplements and entry points into the body aren’t hitting the mark in some patients, we start to think outside the box – certainly ‘around the gut’
And of course this can make sense and a successful solution, e.g. IM B12 in the case of IF anomalies. However, if ‘getting around the gut’ means we’re prescribing products that fall into the Cosmeceutical category and are about as regulated as face glitter(!) I think there’s some weighty cautions and concerns. And can I say with all due respect…I used to think more patients were refractory than I do now.
So what changed?
The more research I read the more I had to accept that the way I had been taught to prescribe nutrients – didn’t in fact stack up with the very latest science. So I completely changed my prescribing practices…just let me know when you’re ready to learn too…
In the meantime…
Dermal Delivery – Is It Just Skin Deep?
With nutrient delivery options of patches, gels, creams and more on the rise, the promise of absorption via the skin is being sold as simple and seamless—but is it really? This episode unpacks the difficult path nutrients must take to initially enter the epidermis and then (more difficult yet) make it out the other side and to the rest of the body. Rachel identifies which essential vitamins & minerals as well as nutraceuticals, in their natural state, are ‘permitted passage’. In addition to this she describes exactly the nature and number of modifications necessary for others to circumvent the skin’s barrier function. Under the Cosmeceutical category, and subject to even less regulation than our breakfast cereal, claims of ‘transdermal delivery’ (having actions beneath & beyond the skin) are being applied to products whose effects may be strictly skin-deep.
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