How do you take your vitamins? Like most, I imagine you have a bottle or two, full of capsules or pills which you take each morning. But what if there was a different way to take your vitamins? There are already Vitamin D sprays and some which you drink, but what if your vitamins came in the form of Vitamin Injections Skin patches?
Vitamin Injections is a Marylebone-based clinic which specialises in intra-muscular injections and intra-venous drips to help promote anti-aging, wellness and even fat-burning. However, as a needle-phobe, these treatments definitely aren’t for me. I was more interested in their vitamin patches; I have always liked ‘stickers’. They have three patches in their range – Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3.
After a rather interesting chat with Vitamin Injections on Twitter, I agreed to try out a month’s worth of their Vitamin B Complex patches. Vitamin B Complex is essential for metabolism as it supports the brain and nervous system. A deficiency can affect your body physically and psychologically and increase the likelihood of you feeling anxious and depressed. As a new mum and personal trainer, I’m well aware how much more I need to look after my body now that I’ve also got a little one to care for, as well as a cat and husband! I’m also prone to anxiety and although breathing techniques and meditation help me keep that under control, I’ll do anything to firmly keep it at bay. The B Vitamins are also especially important for me to take; I’m a breast-feeding mum (Vitamin B6 helps babies’ brains develop) and I follow an 80% plant-based diet so there is some risk that I’m not getting enough B12 naturally from my diet (B12 is largely found in eggs, cheese, milk, fish, shellfish, liver, kidney and red meat).
Look at the ingredients list on the Vitamin B Complex patches and there’s everything you’d expect – B12, B1, B2, B5, Folic Acid, B3 and B6. There’s 30 patches in each set and there’s 6 brown round stickers on each sheet. From the top, they look a little like normal round plasters, except the underneath is entirely sticky.
I slap mine somewhere I don’t moisturise – on my back, around where my kidneys are. Apparently though, the best place for the patches to be placed are on the inner arm, although on the shoulder or behind the neck or ears also works well. The first time I put mine on, I did wonder if it felt itchy but not seeing any reaction, reckoned it was all in my overactive mind. I’ve not had any issues with the patches and I’ve got really sensitive skin. Once on, I forget all about it, unless I’m in a yoga class and someone spots it during an inversion when my top falls down. When I say it’s a vitamin patch, incredulity appears on their face.
But why would one choose to use a sticky patch over the ‘normal’ way of taking pills? The main reason according to Vitamin Injections is efficacy:
The Benefits of Vitamin Injection Patches
- Slow-release of vitamins over 12 hours
- 90% of the vitamins enter your bloodstream through patches, unlike pills where their research suggests absorption is more like 8-15% due to coatings and digestive breakdown
At the end of the thirty days, I was a little sad to have finished my trial. It had become something of a ritual to apply one each morning after a shower. But the main question is, did it actually work? Unless you have blood tests before and after, there’s no absolute way to tell what your B vitamin levels are. There are some articles which can help you associate how you’re feeling with whether you’re deficient; for example, if you have decreased appetite it could be a sign of Vitamin B3 deficiency. I have an 8 month old who sleeps pretty well, but can be a handful, especially considering I’m also trying to return to work, keep the house in order (ok, so I’m definitely failing on that) and retain some sort of social life. I’m all over the place! Whilst I can’t be 100% sure that these vitamin patches are responsible, in the month that I’ve used them, I’ve not gotten ill (unusual when you’ve got a baby) and although I’ve been tired, I put that down to simple lack of sleep.
Final Thoughts
Patches are a more convenient solution for me as I’ve got an issue with swallowing pills; I’ve got a terrible gag reflex so when I take pills I’ve got to have a pint of water to hand and must also be near a sink just in case… I’ve also been remembering to take the patches whereas with pills, I can sometimes forget or decide I don’t have time to take them – after all, I’ve got to take a trip to the kitchen, pull them all out, get water ready etc. The one downside is the price – it’s £49.99 for a month’s supply. Even if I try to reason with myself and argue that they’re more efficient and I’m getting more from them, if I’m to take Vitamin D patches also, that’s £100 a month I’m spending on vitamins, plus what I spend on probiotics, Omega 3s, magnesium and more.
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