Over the past few years, oxygen facials have gained popularity, particularly with celebrities, as the path to more youthful skin. In a nutshell, these facials entail forcing oxygen that contains skin-healthy nutrients using compressed air.
When I first heard of these facials, working so much in the area of antioxidants, free radicals, and inflammation, which all accelerate the aging process, I couldn't help but wonder what adding all of that oxygen might have the potential to do. (There is a reason oxygen and oxidize sound so similar…oxidation is the damage done to tissues when deteriorating oxygen molecules are allowed to run loose in the body.)
My concern with this procedure has always been that since oxygen is natural, and we need it to survive, that people would buy these facials not understanding that too much oxygen may actually be harmful.
My second thought was that the force of the compressed air, applied continuously over time, may actually do more damage to fragile facial tissue, than the potential help all of the compounds it delivers, might provide.
The procedure has not been FDA-tested, so no one really knows for sure. So because there is immediate effect, and no one is going to report negative effects of such a profitable procedure unless legally required to, it's a very popular service in high-end beauty salons.
These are not inexpensive treatments, either. One California salon, on its website, advertises this service at $250 a visit. And since the recommended protocol is once a week for 6 weeks, then once a month thereafter, the first year of facials is going to cost $3600 annually.
Turns out, I wasn't the only skeptic. Apparently, the"proven effective" clinical testing often used to market these procedures refers to hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which these treatments are not (even though their marketing often says they are.)
In the words of beautymagonline.com, "why would we want to force the oxygen past the lipid bi-layers under pressure to an area where we really need to control any oxidation? As mentioned previously, oxygen as an energy providing fuel is delivered to the dermal cells via the microcirculation along with other vital nutrients. It is a critical balance. The fact that other topical oxygen bearing applications (such as hydrogen peroxide and oxygenated purified water) have lost favour with skin professionals due to free radical issues makes one wonder why less knowledgeable aestheticians and therapists have not made the connection between the similarity of the two modalities."
The FDA actually has a warning on its website stating that dispensing oxygen in medical concentrations, without a prescription, is not in FDA compliance.
That's the bad news. The good news? There is a new product on the market that delivers some of the same nutrients in a much kindler, gentler way…and it comes in chocolate cinnamon, chai, and vanilla flavors.: )
Nightly beauty by Beauty Foods, a nutricosmetic, that you can drink just before bedtime, contains BioCell Collagen, a patented combination of collagen and hyaluronic acid that has GRAS status (FDA Generally Regarded As Safe) actually has been clinically tested, and has been proven effective for enhancing skin quality. And not just for better, younger looking skin…for arthritis too! And daily use of this supplement, over a year, costs about $800 plus shipping.
So switching from oxygen facials to Nightly Beauty, alone, would save you about $2800.
Well, that is, if you don't calculate in the potential $325 you'll not be spending on Methotrexate (which has the nasty side effect of interfering with skin cell regeneration!)
Oh! And if the Alpha Calming waves and l-theanine help you to pitch your Ambien prescription as well, that is an extra ~ $230 you'll be saving.
I'm not even going to try to calculate the potential for improved insulin resistance and weight management, which happens in people who control their inflammation and stress, get adequate sleep, and consume a little bit of protein at bedtime.
All I know is, when I used the product for a month, I loved what it did for my skin, my eyes, my sleep…and I've really hated the washout period (not taking any of the product to see if the changes reverse). They did reverse, and now that I'm done being a guinea pig I'm ready to get back on the program.
Of course, we have to be sure the attorneys reading this post know we're not advising you to stop taking medications you've been prescribed. But when you look at a simple nutritional answer to a bunch of inflammation-related problems that the drug company would have you thinking is far more complicated — if it can't hurt and it may actually help, physically, mentally, and financially, why not try it and see if your physician can be convinced to write a few less scripts with your name on them?
If you'd like to try Beauty Foods for yourself, we're now offering it in our eMarket, where until Labor Day, 100% of proceeds go to our research institute, where we eventually can work to scientifically evaluate products just like this.