Should We Be "Eating" Our Skincare?

I’d grown up with a butter mom, a truth of which I’m immensely proud. I don’t mean to suggest that my mom didn’t care what my brother and I consumed (she did and very much still does!), but what we ate was not restricted. 

But, in high school, I developed a bit of a disordered eating pattern, as very many teenage girls do. I’d just quit an intensely rigorous sport and found myself online, for hours, comparing my body to so many others.

I haven’t bothered to count calories in years (that’s on therapy!), though I’m still able to call out fad diets, very often marketed as “intentional consumption,” for what they are: disordered eating patterns. 

So, naturally, I’m a bit skeptical of TikTok’s most recent obsession, “eating your skincare.” Or, the idea that you can clear your skin from the inside out.

Now, as very many experts have proven, “there is a clear link between nutrition and skin health.” Essential nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats can support normal skin functions.

(It just so happens that the “retinol salad” you’ve been recommended is incredibly low-calorie.) 

However, “eating your skincare” is not a substitute for topical application. Nutritional dermatology cannot do the work alone – certainly not the work of the procedures very many influencers have received to achieve the glowing skin they’re suggesting you can attain via diet.

All of which is to write, most everything you see online should be taken with a grain of salt – and, prioritizing fruits and veg is all well and good ‘til it begins to consume your life.

I promise you, a lifestyle (because it truly becomes your life) rooted in restriction and control is never, ever worth it.