The search for natural, safe and economic supplements

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While we see supplements everywhere nowadays, I just didn’t want to take them because they were a hype on TikTok or Instagram. Before taking something I wanted to be informed. With collagen I already had some experience because I took collagen leaves which are melted on the tongue and had really good results with my nails. They were made of marine collagen, the collagen that is the best absorbed by our body.

When Lily and Loaf reached out to me, they asked me to work together for their skincare. While checking them out, I noticed they had a whole range of supplements alongside skincare, haircare and essential oils. Furthermore I saw that everything they produced was completely along my standards, natural, safe and not too expensive! So I wondered wether they fancied a collaboration for supplements instead, and lucky me, they agreed!

So what did I try? I choose Skin, hair and nail gummies, Collagen Plus capsules, Fat Grabbers, Healthy starter pack+ to detox and Liquid Chlorophyll. This was in March 2022 and due to the fact that I wanted to make an honest informative blogpost it took me until know to talk in depth about 4 of the products I chose, because I didn’t take the Fat grabbers yet.

Good News! Using my code GLOWINGSKIN15 will give you a reduction of 15% on their page!

Skin Hair and Nail Gummies (60pcs)

This was a 30 day supply and costs 16,73euro. 2 gummies contain 100% of the daily requirement of many essential vitamins & minerals. They contain Biotin, Vitamin A, D, E, C, B6, B12 Zinc, Selenium and are suitable for vegetarians. The taste is good, fruity and not too sweet, but they do contain a form of sugar, glucose syrop.
While my family doctor informed that for Hair supplements you need to take them at least 3 months to see result, I unfortunately had supplies for only one month. So please take this into account.
What I noticed was a severe reduction in hair loss! Before taking these, and even now again unfortunately, I lost quite a lot of hair in one day. Hair loss of 100 hairs a day is normal, I think I certainly lost these 100 a day! After the month of the hairgummies I noticed less hair in my brush in the morning and almost no hair loss in the evening. I do think they were efficient and an alternative to just take a tasteless capsule (which I don’t mind, but maybe you?).

Good News! Using my code GLOWINGSKIN15 will give you a reduction of 15% on their page!

Collagen Plus (60cps)

This was a 60 day supply and costs 22,73euro. They contain a combination of marine collagen, hyaluronic acid, biotin, vitamins & Hebridean seaweed. Collagen also has an effect on your hair, skin and nails. Therefor I took these after the hair gummies. In this way I could differentiate which one gave me the best results.
What are the benefits of collagen? Beyond the mentioned positive effect on hair, skin and nails it also promotes youthfull looking skin, bone strength & joint health, mood & sleep, wound healing, reduction in inflammation and it would have positive effects on weight management.
So what did I notice?
The hair loss remained reduced! After the two months(+one month hairgummies) I had many small new hairs on my temples. My nails improved tremendously!
I have to mention that due to my illness I have to take a lot of painkillers. These have an effect on the strength of my nails. It causes my nails to split and break very easily. After taking these capsules my nails had become the closest to normal that they had ever been in the last 8 years. Furthermore while I normally have a bad healing of wounds, the wounds of my latest surgery have healed very beautifully!
I can certainly recommend these supplements! I’m not into shakes! I wouldn’t know how to fit them into my diet, but these capsules work wonders! Even if I didn’t notice any effect on my skin, bone strength & joint health, mood & sleep, wound healing, reduction in inflammation neither on my weight.

Good News! Using my code GLOWINGSKIN15 will give you a reduction of 15% on their page!

Healthy Starter Pack + (30 single serve sachets)

This was a 10 day supply and costs 37,10euro. This is a ten-day course of five powerful herbal products which collectively help to detox the body. Due to the fact I take a lot of meds since 8 years, I wanted to start with a good detoxification of my body. This box provides five natural, herbal combinations to support five elements of cleansing, which you can do 4 to 5 times a year. It should fit in perfectly alongside your normal daily routine, without disrupting your everyday work-time, or social schedule. Some detox programs have a big effect on your gut health stimulating your toilet visits in a positive way, which I didn’t want to experience.

One sachet contains one capsule of Psyllium Hulls, one of Digestive Health, one of Liver Health, one of Cranberry & Buchu and one of HSII. I will explain them below this article in depth **, because it’s a lot of information!

I must say my diet is actually very healthy. We always cook with fresh ingredients, we use a lot of garlic and ginger. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables rich in vitamin C. I don’t drink much alcohol, due to the meds I take. I know, my life is maybe boring… On the other hand this might be the cause of me not noticing any effects of this starter pack.

Good News! Using my code GLOWINGSKIN15 will give you a reduction of 15% on their page!

Liquid Chlorophyll (467ml)

This was a 90 day supply and costs 18,89euro. This is a valued companion of a cleansing program. This was a trend on Tiktok and is supposed to have a lot of beneficial effects. But if you look into scientific documents this effect is actually not proved. While chlorophyll does no harm, I did want to give it a go. I drank this daily as indicated during 3 months. I can’t say for sure what the effect was, but during these months my breath was good and I noticed less craving for sugar. But I don’t know wether the lather has to do with the chlorophyll or me cutting on sugar and gluten intake!

I’m rather sceptic on this one, as our intake in chlorophyll normally is on fleek while consuming enough green vegetables. So if you do want to improve your intake, there is just an easy way by consuming more green vegetables. These bring you more benefits than just a drop of chlorophyll in your water!

Conclusion

While I may sound a little sceptical on this matter, I’m not :-). I really do think there are a lot of benefits taking supplements! But I also think there are some supplements that have an unvisible effect, like the Starter Pack+ and some supplements that aren’t more than a trend. Would I recommend Lily and Loaf, yess, absolutely yess! They have a wide range of products and I’m sure there are loads of products that I haven’t tried but truly are beneficial like Omega 3-6-9 – Flax Seed Oil capsules, their Vitamin C, their Vitamin D3 and so many more! They have such gorgeous candles in their range and so many beautiful esential oils, not to speak about their fully organic skin and hair care!

Good News! Using my code GLOWINGSKIN15 will give you a reduction of 15% on their page!

I hope you enjoyed reading, if so do subscribe to my blog for more sceptical reviews on beauty matters and do leave a message below! In case of questions, I will be glad to answer them!

xoxo Ilse

**More information about the Starter Pack +

Psyllium Hulls 
Encapsulated psyllium hulls are a convenient way to add important fibre to the daily diet

Digestive Health 
This speaks for itself. It contains Magnesium (hydroxide) , yellow dock root (Rumex crispus), ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale), marshmallow root extract (Althaea officinalis) and slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra).

Cranberry & Buchu Combination
Cranberry supports the urinary system. It influences the sourness of the blatter leaving bacteria no chance to grow. There are a lot of medical studies to confirm its activity.

HS II 
I didn't find any information on their website about these capsules only the ingredients. They contain Hawthorn berry (Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus monogyna), capsicum fruit (Capsicum annuum), garlic bulb (Allium sativum). Garlic is known to be very healthy. It reduces blood pressure, works as an antibiotic, reduces cholesterol, boosts our immuunsystem and helps in the prevention of many diseases. Hawthorn berries are loaded with anti-oxidants, have anti-inflammatory effects, reduce blood cholesterol and aid digestion. In this way they have a detox effect on the blood and improve the drain of toxins via your feces. Capsicum fruit is known as cayenne and would benefit inflammation and weight.

Liver Health 
These capsules would nourish the liver, according to their website. They contain Burdock root (Arctium lappa), turmeric root (Curcuma longa), gentian root (Gentiana lutea), Irish moss algae (Chondrus crispus), slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra), fenugreek seed (Trigonella foenum-graecum), safflower flowers (Carthamus tinctorius), dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale), uva ursi leaf (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), chickweed aerial parts (Stellaria media) and catnip leaf (Nepeta cataria). With a well nourished liver, the liver is well capable of performing its function, excretion of non-beneficial substances out of our bodies among other things!