A pharmacist discusses the JLo Beauty Supplements. Do you need them?

Jennifer Lopez’s brand, JLo Beauty has just released beauty supplements. That Inner Love supplements make part of Jennifer’s philosophy for a beautiful skin that starts from the inside. I invited a pharmacist to analyse the ingredients for us, as well as look into the supplements goal over all. Liliana will explain if That Inner Love supplements really have the power to fight ageing, who they are suitable for and if they are different from other supplements on the market. 

Liliana has been a pharmacist for over twenty five years and is currently running her own chain of pharmacies. She has lab experience and is working with pharmaceutical companies that sell vitamins on a daily basis. 

What are the ingredients in the JLo Beauty Supplements?

First of all, Liliana has helped in mapping some of the benefits of the ingredients in That Inner Love. It is important to understand what supplements can actually do. Please note that the explanations below are not exhaustive and that they serve more as a guidance. The full list of ingredients can be found here.

Ingredient Explanations

Other Ingredients

What is your opinion on the active ingredients used in the JLo Beauty supplement?

Liliana: The supplement has a simple formulation. This is targeted on an isolated anatomical structure, such as the skin. This means that the targeted benefits of the products are well defined – improving and maintaining the health of your skin. It does not have a general and vague target with a multitude of vitamins combined. In my opinion, this is a good thing – not everyone would like to take a variety of many, many vitamins. 

For example, people that want to take a supplement just for their skin issues, they now can do this without combining many other ingredients that target other things too. This way, they can choose to take a minimal list of beneficial ingredients. 

In terms of the combination of vitamins and minerals this is a standard and good one for skin health. It seems like a good beauty supplement option, with a simple, non complicated list of ingredients. 

Often times people forget to look at the ‘other ingredients’ which usually contain the red flag ones in a product. What do you think of the excipients used in That Inner Love, are they harmful or useless in any way?

Liliana: The ingredients listed in the ‘other ingredients’ section are the ones that assure the technological process of creating these supplements. What is in the capsules does not come in its natural, unmodified form. The powder of the ingredients combined needs to be homogenous, non-sticky, and the capsule needs to dissolve in the stomach. In simpler terms, the combination of ingredients need to be in a specific form to be encapsulated and ingested. 

Furthermore, there is also the need to achieve a stability of the formulation. Some vitamins are liposoluble, others are hydrosoluble. Certain aspects need to be kept in mind when formulating these supplements and those aspects are controlled by adding the anticaking agents, the fillers, the thickeners and the additives. 

In my opinion there is no harmful ingredient used to achieve this in the JLo Beauty supplements. One also needs to keep in mind that these ingredients are probably used in a very small quantity as well. Mica was probably unnecessary and only has a pleasing luxurious effect but it is not harmful. 

What do you think of the olive fruit extract added in these supplements? Are they an interesting addition?

Liliana: I would definitely say so. It is a natural source of antioxidants. Also, olive fruit extract is a good thing when you think of the actual fruit that produces this. Olives are free of calories and cholesterol and we can hope that the specific olives used for this extract were also ecological, organic and from the best source possible. Olive fruit extract is definitely not a bad addition to the product. I also think it offers a continuity to the brand, since most products in the JLo Beauty range seem to contain olive extracts. 

How about the 100% daily value? Is this an interesting approach?

Liliana: 100% of the daily value means that the supplements contain the whole quantity of a certain vitamin or mineral that a healthy adult would need in a day. However, this would point to me that you should not take these supplements for long periods of time. You also get vitamin A and others from your diet. Taking these supplements would mean that you already get the full daily quantity you need just from them. However, realistically speaking, you would also eat and therefore get some vitamins and minerals – especially if your diet is well balanced and filled with nutrients. 

Some vitamins and minerals need to be introduced in the body regardless, because the body can not synthesise them on its own. 

One of the main claims of That Inner Love vitamins is that it is anti-aging. How could this supplement be able to address the signs of ageing? 

Liliana: I think the term ‘anti-ageing’ is demeaning in this case. I know it is used everywhere nowadays, but it is important to make sure people do not have unrealistic expectations. Nothing is anti ageing in its true meaning. We have not found the magic elixir that stops ageing yet! However, products like these supplements can delay the process of ageing. This is mostly achieved through its antioxidant properties. Promoting skin renewal, collagen production and fighting oxidative stress are the things in this product that will help with delaying the ageing process. 

Could it turn back the time and make wrinkles disappear?

Liliana: No, but it could delay the appearance of new wrinkles and slightly attenuate the old ones. 

Is this different from other supplements on the market?

Liliana: Since the JLo Beauty supplements seem to be targeting the health of the skin, it is interesting that they did not include Biotin. Biotin is very often present in skin supplements. It is believed that it is necessary in maintaining the health of your skin and hair. However, many people believe that Biotin causes breakouts, for example. It becomes increasingly popular that people look for supplements without Biotin when trying to avoid these possible breakouts. 

It is also interesting that they did not include Vitamin B12. This vitamin can be problematic for some people.

The JLo Beauty supplements also do not contain any sugar, artificial flavours or fats. This is great news, as these are not necessary and cause more harm than benefits. While it is not completely clear from the ingredient list if the corn syrup or the food starch is gluten free, it does seem that the capsules are vegan. 

I could say that all the above mentioned things make it different from many other supplements on the market.

That Inner Love supplements cost $36 for 30 capsules and $72 for 90 capsules. Do you think these supplements are worth their high price?

Liliana: If the ingredients are organic, clean and that they are not genetically modified, this would increase the production cost. The JLo Beauty supplements do not contain sugars, fat, gelatin, flavours, which makes them more ‘clean’ if I may say so. You could find much cheaper alternatives on the market, but the question is – would they also be sugar free? Would they be vegan? Where would the materials be sourced from? Just because other cheaper products contain the same vitamins, it does not mean that they are just as good. 

Alternatively, just because something is expensive, does not mean that it is of higher quality. There is also the possibility that in that price you also pay for the brand. 

A crucial thing to mention is that the JLo Beauty supplements seem to be made and sold in the USA where supplements are not regulated at all. The purity of ingredients is not checked or reviewed by anyone, there is no guarantee that the dosages are respected exactly in the formula and so on. This is not scaremongering, it is a truth for all supplements made in the USA. If JLo Beauty paid extra for their supplements to be certified by independent testers in order to prove that the supplements do not contain microbes, heavy metals etc. then it would justify the higher price. However, it seems that no information of that sort has been published so far on the official JLo Beauty website. 

However, when looking at the formula of the JLo Beauty supplements, it is obvious to me that it was not made by anyone. The list of ingredients points to a team of specialists that created it and thought it through. These specialists were paid for to do this. Experience and expertise cost. This will also be seen in the price of the product.