What are nutricosmetics? A complete guide

Nutricosmetics is a field in cosmetic science that mixes personal care and nutrition. It consists of the applications of personal care treatments and nutritional supplements with the aim of developing a healthier and more wholesome skin. If you want to learn all about nutricosmetics, don’t miss this complete guide about this fascinating field.

What are nutricosmetics?

Nutrition plays a key role in our overall health, which also includes the way our skin looks. Vitamins, proteins and minerals help maintain health in skin, our body’s largest organ.

The source of nutrients is not just to be found in food, as they can also be accessed through treatments that supplement diets with the aim of improving skin health. This takes us to nutricosmetics, a discipline that employs nutritional products or treatments which are rich in vitamins and minerals to contribute for a healthier skin, hair and nails from a holistic, full-body approach.

Nutricosmetics use products with a natural origin whose active principles act on the skin and hair. Authorized elements here mainly include Vitamin A, D, E, K, B group, PP and C, minerals, fatty acids, antioxidants, polyphenols and plant extracts. Other common substances include hyaluronic acid, collagen, coenzyme Q10, proteins, etc.

These products can be taken in the form of pills, tablets, capsules, blisters, etc. 

Nutricosmetics are necessary because a balanced diet is not enough for healthy skin. Other factors influencing it include age, lifestyle and stress. For instance, elements such as elastin or collagen stop being produced with age, which lead to wrinkles on skin. Nutricosmetic products with vitamin A, C and E may act as natural antioxidant agents and thus help in skin rejuvenation processes.

What are nutricosmetics used for?

Nutricosmetic products present a series of main uses or functions on the body and cosmetic health.

Skin redensification and avoiding flaccidity are among the key functions of these products and treatments. It’s also useful to nourish skin and avoid pronounced wrinkles; they can protect skin from the sun and boost tanning. Other products are aimed at avoiding hair loss and improving its strength, while some can also be used to strengthen nails. A whole range of nutricosmetics is devoted to avoiding cellulite. 

The following are the key functions of nutricosmetics:

• Avoid wrinkles: many common nutricosmetic products use marine collagen of hyaluronic acid, which helps fight premature wrinkles. Other antioxidant and silicon-based products aim at reducing deep wrinkles.

• Strengthen nails and hair. Nutricosmetics not only targets skin. Products are developed to strengthen nails through the inclusion of vitamin B8, A, D, E and K, as well as polyphenols. Besides, the inclusion of certain actives can also make hair brighter and softer, by improving scalp health.

• Increase skin elasticity.  Products containing collagen, elastin, niacin (vitamin B3) and vitamin C improve skin luminosity and this organ’s elasticity.

• Strengthen the immune system. Some nutricosmetic products include natural agents that provide nutrients for the organism, such as algae, thus strengthening the immune system and helping skin heal after wounds.

It’s important to know that nutricosmetic treatments should always be undertaken with the help of professionals in the field.

In general, these products are sold at pharmacies, both with and without medical prescription. It’s however advisable to have a professional examine your skin, hair and nails, as well as your diet, in order to get recommendations on the type of diet you should follow. He or she may recommend nutricosmetic products, and indications must always be applied following adequate dosages as advised by this professional.

A nutricosmetic treatment can never substitute a healthy, balanced diet. It’s thus important to guarantee healthy eating and food as a complement to the treatment, thus helping health and skin maintenance.

The use of nutricosmetics is completely safe. In fact, European norms establish high standards for these products in order to guarantee their quality. These products’ dosages mustn’t have a negative effect on health. Nutricosmetics are considered nutritional complements and must comply with all norms regulating this type of product.

What type of nutricosmetic training can I get? From regulated education to master’s degrees

There are many ways to learn about nutricosmetics and become a professional in this field. You might go for a specialized nutrition or cosmetics course, as well as  professional training in the area of nutrition, pharmacy or parapharmacy.

You may choose a BTEC certificate in nutrition and dietetics. This is an officially recognised training by British educational authorities, and a similar option can be found in every country.

In fact, the aim of this educational experience is to provide students with a wide vision about human nutrition, demystifying certain inaccurate notions about diets, offering needed and updated knowledge about dietetics and nutrition and applying the required tools. 

It involves a theoretical-practical approach that will guide you through a series of modules. Organization and workspace management for a dietetic unit, balance diet, dietotherapy, food control, microbiology and food hygiene, sanitary education, health promotion, applied physiopathology are among the theoretical contents. 

Besides, this training option also includes a module for practical training at workspaces. This way you’ll be able to access companies within this field, apply what you’ve learned, see how these companies work and have real-life work experience.

There are also a number of specialized courses in the field of dietetics and nutrition, which complement and act as an alternative to regulated education.

This type of course will allow you to become proficient in nutricosmetics and achieve goals such as knowing about the different types of nutrients as well as the energetic value of food or identifying the needed processes for evaluating patients’ nutritional states. You’ll be able to describe the habits needed to follow a balanced diet and know the traits of diets in physiological and pathological states. Once finished, you’ll be able to write about the diet foundations for treating different disorders such as dyslipidemia, obesity and diabetes.

If you’re also interested in learning about cosmetics, the best option to work in the field of nutricosmetics  is to complement your training in nutrition with an experience that focuses on cosmetics. There are also BTEC certifications covering beauty and cosmetics. This type of course includes subjects such as facial and body hygiene techniques, make up, mechanical hair removal, hand and feet aesthetics, cosmetology for aesthetics and beauty or perfumery and natural cosmetics. Besides, the course will likely cover body image and healthy habits contents, as well as marketing and sales for body image.

You can also choose a higher degree in integral aesthetics and wellness. The scope of this type of degree is broader and will provide you with a more comprehensive training in the field of cosmetics. Hydrothermal aesthetics, massage and aesthetic drainage, advanced hair removal, micropigmentation, derma-aesthetics or comprehensive aesthetic treatments are among this option’s key subjects.

Ideally, getting specific training in both disciplines would be the best option. With that in mind, you can opt for our Master’s degree in Cosmetics and Dermopharmacy, which will provide you with knowledge about the main skin alterations, the most used active ingredients in cosmetics, nutricosmetics, and common processes at pharmacy offices. It will also teach you how to provide advice about cosmetic products, how to formulate personalized products and how to improve sales in dermocosmetics through the use of online marketing campaigns.

What are the job opportunities in this field?

After getting training in nutricosmetics, it’s possible to work in beauty centers, parapharmacies, and herbal shops. You’ll be able to advise clients on nutricosmetic products and treatments suitable for their skin type, as well as the duration of these treatments and how to apply them, as well as providing a follow up.

Nutricosmetics presents a wide range of job opportunities, since the demand for professional experts in this discipline continues to grow.

According to a recent study by the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association (HFMA), Health of the Nation 2021; Lockdown Focus, the consumption of dietary supplements is at an all time high in the UK, with over 71% of adults taking food supplements. This growing trend can be considered to have a global reach: according to statistics, 48% of the population uses these products on a regular basis.

The most used tend to be related to fighting cellulite, losing weight, preventing or even stopping hair loss, as well as antioxidants and solar nutricosmetics. In other words, products targeting premature aging and helping maintain adequate cosmetic health.

All in all, nutricosmetics offer great benefits to improve skin health and body image, allowing for self-care through the use of safe products and supplementing a healthy diet. If you’re really interested in getting specialized training in this field and work in a high-demand sector, this is a good time. Shall we help you get started?