Your Liver and Kidneys Are Not Waiting for Help From a Green Shake: Four Specialists on the Drinks That Promise Skin

First came the creams, then the serums, now it is the glass's turn. Collagen powder, antioxidant drinks, vitamin gummies, „beauty shots” - a whole industry promising that skin is repaired from the inside. The question is whether it works or just looks good on a story.

The answer from four specialists - Dr Simon Ourian, dermatologist to the Kardashian family, nutritionist Salena Sainz, Dr Amira Chehade, medical director of NOVO Clinic, and Noelia Ferreno, founder of an aesthetics centre - is the same, and it is uncomfortable for marketing: internal care plays a role, but there is no miracle.

Ourian is blunt about what this is: „a combination of science and marketing”. There are well-formulated supplements that can improve hydration, elasticity or skin quality. No drink, he says, can erase deep wrinkles, restore lost volume or undo years of sun exposure. Chehade confirms the same in different vocabulary: the results are subtle, gradual and never comparable to medical treatments.

The list of ingredients with real scientific backing is shorter than the list on the label. Ourian singles out hydrolysed collagen peptides and oral hyaluronic acid, plus vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc and iron - but only where there is a deficiency. Sainz adds astaxanthin, polyphenols and omega-3 fatty acids, in appropriate doses and taken consistently. Chehade points to carotenoids and antioxidants because of oxidative damage.

And now the part worth remembering before the next purchase. The words „detox”, „cleanse” and „anti-ageing miracle” are marketing, not evidence. The liver and kidneys already perform that function and are not waiting for help from a green shake. Formulations that do not state their doses are suspect by definition, and biotin, says Sainz, is overrated if you are not deficient. It is not the packaging or the brand's reputation that decides - it is the composition.

Time is the second thing the industry does not advertise. The first improvements, according to Ourian, appear between the fourth and eighth week, with more visible changes after two or three months. Collagen, Sainz adds, becomes relevant after the age of thirty, when your own production starts to decline. If there is nothing after a few months, the problem lies either in the product or in the expectations.

There is also risk, rarely mentioned when something is sold as natural. Supplements can interact with medicines or conditions, and an excess of vitamins and minerals is not a benefit but a burden. Both specialists advise consulting a professional before starting, and checking the sugar content and possible allergens in the formula.

The conclusion is less glossy than the advert and more necessary than it. No supplement replaces sun protection, a skincare routine or habits. A diet rich in fruit, vegetables, quality protein, healthy fats and antioxidants, enough water, enough sleep, movement, no cigarettes and less alcohol - that is the list all four repeat. Ferreno puts it most briefly: „I always say the skin does not only understand creams.”