A case for supplement patches

It seems we are all nostalgic for sticker books...

The industry loves a patch. We saw the rise of patch popularity first when Starface burst onto the scene and made breakouts - that were originally seen as ‘ugly’ or ‘shameful’ - into something playful and fun. From there, other brands followed suit and now adorning our faces with patches and going out on public is simply the norm.

We can’t forget eyepatches either. (Enter Dieux forever eyepatches) It seems like every beauty brand has a reusable eyepatch these days and with good reason - it’s better for the planet and it’s a great ‘merch’ opportunity. And does anyone know about wrinkles schminkles? They are the silicone patches you wear overnight and they magically take your wrinkles away (temporarily of course but still pretty fascinating)

It only makes sense that the natural progression would be a patch-like vitamin delivery system. Enter - supplement patches. I already get some of my vitamins transdermally - like my magnesium oil and glutathione spray - so it didn’t feel so farfetched to try it in patch form. Candidly, it is hard to tell if they’re working but to be fair - it’s kind of hard to track if any supplement I take is actually working… I will say I think the ‘Sleep’ patch successfully knocked me out and do trust the science behind it so I’m going to keep testing.

A few purported benefits of using a patch versus a conventional capsule:

• Bypasses the digestive system - sometimes our digestive system doesn’t have all the tools it needs in order to fully breakdown & absorb the capsule form, leading to expensive pee

• Time-released absorption - steadily released ingredients that don’t shock your system all at once

• No side effects

• They are really cute…..

• Just stick it, and forget it

There’s a few different tiers.

First, we have the budget patches - nothing fancy and not necessarily “cute” but get the job done nonetheless. Ex: Patch Aid

Then we have mid-tier - this is more like the cutesy, trendy, tattoo-like patches - some brands are Barriere and Kind Patches - that are typically targeting people in their 20s-30s

and then we have the top tier - these are cost prohibitive, for hardcore biohackers - brands include: Ion Layer (they send Glutathione and NAD+ patches to your home for a whopping $500 a month)

Look, if these actually work I’ll be elated. Often I feel like a slave to my supplements.. I find myself getting anxious that I’ve missed an important one or worse - that I’ve taken it at the wrong time of day (brb having war flashbacks of taking capsules on an empty stomach)