Beauty Nutrition Haul | It Works Nourishing Complex, Collagen and Chewable Biotin

For as long as I can remember, I've always been a proponent of supporting a hair journey with proper diet and nutrition.  We've discussed everything from loaded smoothies to silica rich bamboo tea to antioxidant rich black rice.

My latest acquisition was a 30 day supply of It Works' hair, skin and nails complex.  It's from those same people who brought us the Body Wrap.  I was first made aware of this product at a friend's "Wrap Party."  A week later, she generously offered me a bottle to try.  I'm really excited because there are quite a few before and after pics on instagram where people seem to gain inches really quickly.  I'll dedicate a separate post on this product once I've tested it for a few weeks.

Somehow, I found myself wandering into in a GNC store the other day just to see if they had anything new and interesting.  The first thing that caught my eye was the last remaining package of Beauty Bursts.  Incidentally, they were running a "buy one get one 50% off sale."  Immediately, I ask the sales guy to check in the back for another package.  He comes back empty handed.  Instead of getting frustrated, I express gratitude to at least have the one.  Beauty Bursts are so tasty and I noticed a difference in my skin when I take them.  It's one of my favorite products because it satisfies my sweet tooth and supports my hair & skin.  I'm replacing my Kind Bars with these bursts whenever my sweet tooth starts acting up.  

Since they were all out of Beauty Bursts, I had to find a suitable substitute to get the lower price.  The sales guy asks me to walk up to the front with him where he introduces me to chewable biotin!  Immediately, I think back to when I first learned of hair, skin, and nail gummies through Instagram. After sampling one of the biotin chews I immediately make the purchase.  Tastes amazing!  And with 5,000 mcg of biotin per chew, it's like swallowing a biotin pill (but more pleasurable).  I almost feel guilty getting my hair, skin and nails fix by chewing on a piece of candy.

 By the time we hit 25, our bodies begin to lose about 1.25% of collagen production per year.  Collagen supplements act as a stimulant that helps our collagen building system to produce (regenerate) collagen at a faster rate.  When our body senses that addition of collagen in our blood stream (via supplementation), it interprets the influx of collagen as our body breaking down large amounts of collagen.  When this happens, it sends a signal to our body to produce more because it thinks our collagen stores are breaking down rapidly. So essentially it's a "stimulant" of sorts.  Our skin is comprised of 75% collagen so it's imperative that we maintain healthy levels to have the appearance of youthful skin.

The root of our hair is surrounded by a structure comprised of collagen. As our collagen production drops, our hair begins to thin.  The root also becomes weaker which can promote excess shedding (hair fall).  The claims of NeoCell is that taking collagen can actually thicken the hair shaft by 36-45%. One of the NeoCell representatives even threw out a challenge to have us cut one of our hair strands at the root.  Take collagen for serval months, then cut a new strand of hair and look at the difference in thickness.  He claims that we can visibly see a difference.   I reflect back to my hair analysis when the consultant was going on and on about how thick my hair is.  I wonder if my consistent collagen intake has anything to do with it.
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