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From collagen powders to increasingly elaborate daily stacks, supplements have become part of the beauty conversation – but which ones are actually worth taking?
I started writing about beauty for magazines almost 15 years ago, when the industry looked very different. Make-up dominated: brows were ‘on fleek’, foundation was designed to conceal (and then some) and nail art was everywhere.
Fast-forward 15 years and the questions I’m asked have changed considerably. Brow pencils and nail dotters have been joined by LED masks, collagen powders and supplements, as the lines between beauty and wellness have become increasingly blurred. It’s a shift I’ve watched happen in real time – and one that has meant spending a lot of my career interviewing doctors, nutritionists and skin experts about what supplements can and – importantly – can’t do.
Add to that years of testing products and visiting health and wellness retreats, and I’ve become incredibly selective about what makes it into my own routine. I’ve tried everything from organ powders and collagen sachets to the sort of elaborate supplement stacks that require more organisation than my working week.
Of course, it’s important to note that supplements are just that: supplementary. They’re not a replacement for a varied diet, and what’s useful for one person won’t necessarily be useful for another – particularly where deficiencies or specific nutritional needs are concerned. But there are a handful that have earned a regular place in my routine and continue to be the ones I actually take…
You may also likeThe daily supplements I takeAncient + Brave True Omegas+
After writing numerous features about the best anti-inflammatory supplements over the years, taking an omega-3 supplement became a no-brainer for me. Ancient + Brave’s plant-based formula uses microalgae rather than fish oil to provide EPA and DHA, alongside sea buckthorn-derived omega-7. Crucially for me, it comes in easy-to-take capsules rather than anything remotely fishy tasting.
Available from Ancient + Brave, £32
buy nowAncient + Brave True Magnesium+
I’ve tried all of the iterations of magnesium – powders, drinks and capsules included – but this is the tub you’ll currently find on my bedside table. The formula combines three forms of magnesium – bisglycinate, malate and taurate – providing 240mg per suggested serving. I tend to take mine in the evening, partly because attaching it to my bedtime routine means I remember to take it. I find that it helps me sleep better and lessens restless legs that I often battle with at bedtime.
Available at Ancient + Brave, £24
buy nowEpetōme Synbiotic Dual Cap
Gut health is one area of nutrition and wellbeing that has significantly boomed over the last 15 years, and a probiotic has been part of my own routine on and off for years. I currently switch between Epitome and Symprove rather than taking both at once. Probiotics are also a good example of why I’m wary of blanket supplement recommendations: different products contain different strains and quantities of bacteria, and research is increasingly strain-specific, so it isn’t simply a case of assuming that any probiotic will do the same thing.
buy nowArtah Essential D3/K2
Living in the UK – and, in my case, the particularly grey north-west – vitamin D is one supplement I pay attention to. The NHS recommends that everyone in the UK should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day during autumn and winter, when sunlight isn’t strong enough for our skin to make sufficient amounts.
buy nowThe supplements I add to my morning smoothie
Credit: @chloeburcham
I’m not always consistent with remembering to take a handful of supplements every morning, so I’ll often add the ones I can straight into my morning smoothie instead. I blend the below with frozen berries, banana, a dollop of tahini and milk. It requires virtually no extra effort and, more importantly, it still tastes like a chocolate milkshake rather than something you have to dutifully drink in the name of nutrition.
Ancient + Brave True Creatine+
Creatine has moved far beyond the weights room in recent years, with growing interest in its role outside sports performance, including cognition. I add a heaped teaspoon into my smoothie, and personally find it’s one of the additions I notice most when it comes to feeling mentally sharper. Plus, this blend also contains magnesium and vitamin D – meaning you can skip any extra supplements when adding this to your morning smoothie.
Available at Ancient + Brave, £28
buy nowArtah Essential Fibre+
Yes, ‘fibremaxxing’ has become a wellness buzzword, but our sudden cultural obsession with fibre has at least drawn attention to something most UK adults aren’t getting enough of. Rather than attempting to turn breakfast into a competitive fibre challenge, I add a scoop of this to my smoothie alongside the whole foods already in there.
The powder contains 7g of fibre per recommended serving from a blend of 11 plants, alongside ginger, chamomile and fennel. As with any significant increase in fibre, it’s a good idea to build things up gradually rather than going from very little to spoonfuls of the stuff overnight.
buy nowNaturya Gut Feel Flaxseed Blend Cacao & Maca
This isn’t technically a supplement, but it’s earned a permanent spot in my smoothie ingredients. The blend is predominantly milled flaxseed, with cacao, date powder, cacao nibs and maca, and it’s high in fibre. I add around a tablespoon, partly for the flaxseed and partly because the extra cacao makes everything taste better. No complicated wellness ritual required.
buy nowWelleCo Nourishing Protein
I’ve used WelleCo’s chocolate Nourishing Protein for years, largely because I genuinely like the taste – an underrated consideration when you’re buying something you intend to consume regularly. It uses pea and brown rice proteins and also contains ingredients including cacao, psyllium husk and magnesium, plus a blend of bacterial cultures.
buy nowYou may also like
Images: @chloeburcham; courtesy of brands
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