Everything is a “thing” somewhere, and some of them are stranger than others. A company in Japan decided that they would fight the skin-killing effects of a night of heavy drinking, as well as the aging process in general, by infusing their beer with collagen. You heard right – Precious, a new Japanese light beer, contains two grams of collagen per can.
The Trend: Beauty from the Inside Out
Now that people are older and wiser with access to the internet, more and more people are catching on to the fact that true skin beauty starts on the inside of your body and radiates outward. As such, people around the world now use supplements and vitamins in an effort to reduce wrinkles and improve the elasticity of their skin. Collagen infused beer might sound strange to say the least, but is it honestly that weird?
The Marketing Ploy
This is the first beer in Japan (and maybe even the world as a whole) marketed exclusively to women. In fact, in the commercial for Precious, one line translates to “Guys can tell if a girl takes collagen or not”, leading the viewer to believe that drinking the beer will make them younger and more beautiful. Do people in other parts of the world buy it? Since this product is available exclusively from a Japanese retailer, no one really knows.
The Company’s Brilliant Plan
The makers of Precious may actually be onto something, although studies will be required to be sure. Science does show that overindulging in alcohol is terrible for your skin, namely because it dehydrates you and slowly kills the collagen under the surface. The idea behind Precious is to make up for that dehydration with two grams of collagen per can, effectively preventing collagen loss even during a night of binge drinking. However, the fact that heavy drinkers still experience hangovers proves that dehydration is still a real concern.
A Dermatologist’s Take
In an attempt to validate the manufacturer’s claims that the collagen in the beer actually improves skin, Allure magazine went as far as asking a dermatologist for some information. After an extensive search on information about the anti-aging benefits of ingesting collagen, the expert came up empty-handed. There is simply no published evidence to support the claim that ingesting collagen – in a beverage or otherwise – affects the appearance or health of the skin.
Here’s to Hoping
Everyone, including dermatologists, is on the edge of their seats waiting for a study to proclaim the effectiveness of consuming collagen in this manner. Hopefully, scientists and researchers will eventually pinpoint whether the body can effectively transport the collagen to the skin in order to reverse wrinkles, provide more elasticity, or even create the radiant glow that so many women crave. Until then, thousands of Japanese women who consume Precious during a night out are the world’s first test subjects.
Collagen infused beer may seem strange, but Japanese women are jumping on the wagon in hopes of looking younger and more appealing to the opposite sex. Whether Precious lives up to its claims remains to be seen, but if it does, it may very well start a brand new trend in skincare.