So the first part of this blog post is going to get me lots of brownie points from all the vegans and vegetarians out there but hopefully all the omnivores and pescatarians will be as impressed as I have been with these wonderful little capsules. To explain what I am talking about I will start at a place I am pretty sure we can all agree on, that fish oils are something everyone should be ingesting. This is partially because they contain Omega oils (I will now be entirely honest and admit that I have no idea what that actually means but suffices to say that after everything I have read I am pretty certain Omega oils are important). Omega oils are not only renowned for their health benefits but also highly regarded as working wonders for your skin. Something I always try to explain to people is no matter what you put on the outside of our skin nothing can work well if what you are putting into your body is bad. Poor diet, low immune system, smoking, drinking, no sleep……all these things will make your skin terrible. So here is a little helpful hint of something you definitely should be putting into your body and often.
So until recently the best way I have heard of getting these oils into your diet is either to eat fish or to take fish oils. Thats fine for most people but it left the vegans and vegetarians out in the cold especially as they can often be the section of society that need these nutrients more than the fish eaters. So finally I came across these capsules developed from Shiso by a cosmetic Doctor called Marco Lens making what is their star ingredient, Perilla Oil. Dr Lens claims that this amazing ingredient is one of the richest sources of alpha-linoleic acid, the omega 3 fatty acid, containing twice the amount of Omega 3 per gram than fish oils. Not only do these magic little pills contain Omega 3 but also 6 & 9 and supposedly in the ratios that work best for the body 60:15:15.
So no matter what sort of diet you subscribe to there is absolutely no reason for you not to be taking these supplements daily except for perhaps the price as, at a whopping £28 for 60 tablets, they make quite a dent in your wallet. However the difference I have seen in my skin has been miraculous and I don’t seem to be the only blogger saying this. Even a few days after I run out of these Perilla Oil capsules I start to see my skins condition declining until I manage to get some more. For anyone who has any troubles with their skin I would advise putting your money into these capsules over any sort of expensive moisturiser or cream, they really are a great investment.
The next supplement I have been testing out are Borage oil capsules and from what I have read about this oil it seems to be another wonder nutrient that we should all be taking. This seems to be particularly relevant for people with skin problems ranging all the way up to quite serious in nature. I have read on many websites the huge range of disorders that Borage seed oil is used for including eczema, seborrheic dermatitis and neurodermatitis (admittedly i don’t really know what the last two are but any sufferers reading this will hopefully be able to explain more in the comments section below). Borage Oil is also used for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Stress, Premenstrual Syndrome, Diabetes, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Pain relief, swelling (inflammation), heart disease prevention, stroke prevention and loads and loads more still.
So as you can see these are some pretty fantastical claims but none of them are too dis-similar to what we know cod liver oil and olive oil have been reported to do so personally I don’t doubt these claims at all. Most of those health issues I don’t have so I can’t really comment however what I was looking for was to try and ascertain the effect that these pills have on my skin. After a few months of using them (both separately from the Shiso capsules and concurrently) all I can say is……wow. I even stated on my Instagram, where I did a very quick review of them, that I felt like I didn’t even need to use body moisturiser when I was taking them. I think they work just as well as the Perilla oil capsules at a lesser price, I cant remember exactly but I think for 60 capsules it was around £10. I love these Borage capsules and would advise everyone to start taking them daily as not only do they do wonders for your skin apparently they also do a whole load more too!!! As always make sure to speak to your doctor before starting to take any kind of supplement!!
Tell me if you have tried these capsules and what your experience with them was, hopefully as good as mine! Which ones do you think are the better of the two?