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Do Supplement Patches Actually Work?
The New York Times • • health
Key Points:
- Influencers are promoting colorful wellness patches on social media, claiming they boost dopamine, improve mood, and enhance mental clarity, but these claims lack scientific backing.
- Companies compare these patches to FDA-approved nicotine or estrogen patches, suggesting substances can be absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, though this is not proven for vitamins or herbal extracts.
- Experts emphasize that while transdermal drug delivery is a legitimate science for certain compounds, it does not guarantee that all wellness patch ingredients can effectively penetrate the skin.
- Wellness patches are a growing market with products aimed at weight management, focus, and energy, but they are not evaluated by the FDA for safety or efficacy like medications.
- Transdermal patches work best for specific drugs with suitable properties, offering slow and sustained release while avoiding digestive side effects, but this does not apply universally to all substances in wellness patches.
