Vicki Belo's latest beauty feat: A whitening & anti-aging capsule

Puputi pa kaya ako? (Can I still have whiter skin?) ,” Richard Gomez asks me and his other tablemates at Myron’s during the launching of Dr. Vicki Belo’s latest product, a whitening pill, last week.

I wanted to tell Richard that his dark, sun-kissed skin makes an athletic guy like him look sexy and masculine.”I can’t imagine you looking maputi (white), “ I tell him instead.

“Naku, me, as much as possible, I avoid staying out under the sun,”Ogie Alcasid says. “I play golf using  Vicki Belo’s sunblock which has SPF15, because I know that too much sun is bad for the skin, it will give me wrinkles.”

So, I ask.Okay, guys:What’s your beauty secret? 

Ogie: “ Me, I use a moisturizer everyday, and the only brand I am using now is Belo.”

Richard : “My beauty secret? A beautiful wife!”

A few months ago, I asked the same question to another tablemate,Tonyboy Cojuangco ,seated beside his beautiful beloved, Gretchen Barretto, during  Keren Pascual’s birthday dinner.What is your beauty secret?

Tonyboy: “Dollars!”

Go figure that one out.

* * *

Back to the Vicki Belo launch and lunch.Lucy Torres-Gomez agrees that she doesn’t need to use any whitening ingredient anymore. “But I need  collagen for anti-aging, for which I go to Belo regularly.” 

“Collagen” is the magic word in Vicki Belo’s latest breakthrough in beauty. There are many skin whitening pills in the market, but Vicki is making women happier by adding collagen to her newest product aptly called Glutathione+ Collagen.

”Our product combines the power of whitening and anti-aging in one capsule,”she says.”It is the first of the dietary supplements created by the new division of our Belo Medical Group called Belo Nutraceuticals.This division will focus on beautifying men and women from within. That means you simply have to take a capsule to look more beautiful.”

Vicki explains that her team of doctors and scientists conducted a test on women taking several unidentified brands of whitening capsules, including Belo’s Glutathione + Collagen for several months.The result? The women who took the Belo capsules had fairer skin than the rest.

 ”We don’t want to sell any product that doesn’t work,” Vicki emphasizes,” that’s why we conduct tests and experiments very thoroughly before we put any product in the market.”

Her daughter Cristalle Henares, who heads Belo Essentials, explains :”Glutathione is the mother of all anti-oxidants and has been proven to whiten skin. Our Glutathione + Collagen acts as an anti-oxidant that boosts glutathione levels in cells as it detoxifies carcinogens from the body. Collagen is the most dominant protein in the body. Collagen provides skin with strength, elasticity and resilience.”

The good news is that Belo Nutraceuticals: Glutathione + Collagen is now available in Watsons, Mercury Drug and leading drugstore chains nationwide. The prices are affordable: P480 for a box of 10 capsule, P1,440 for a bottle of 30 capsules, and P2,700 for 60 capsules.

Here, Vicki and Cristalle answer all the questions you may want to ask about their  latest beauty product:

What exactly is glutathione and why is it important?

Glutathione is a tripeptide of amino acid present in our human cells. It is considered as the master antioxidant because it is the most potent antioxidant in the body. The highest concentration (26.58 percent of glutathione in the body is found in the liver because it is where it is needed most. It is also involved in various reactions, such as detoxification, destruction of free radicals, and strengthening immune health. It is also clinically proven to whiten the skin.

How does glutathione whiten the skin?

Glutathione whitens the skin in three ways:

• It interferes with melanin production.

• It changes dark melanins (eumelanin) to light melanins (pheomelanin).

• It replaces skin tissue to excrete melanin

What is collagen?

It is the most dominant protein made up of different amino acids, occupying 30 percent in the body, 70 percent in the skin. It also exists as the most important ingredient of dermis. It inhibits formation of wrinkles by keeping the skin elastic and supple.

How does collagen affect one’s skin?

Collagen decreases as we age. There is a 20 percent decrease in collagen from age 20 to 40.

What if I don’t have enough glutathione?

Glutathione levels decline with age, obesity and chronic disease. In fact, its levels decrease by 10 percent every 10 years starting at the age of 20. Decreased glutathione may be a result of prolonged stress and hyperactivity of the immune system, which in turn compromises our body cells.

Why is Belo coming out with an ingestible?

Belo Essentials’ topical products whiten from the surface of the skin. In order to compliment the topical products, Belo Nutraceuticals addresses whitening and anti-aging from within.

What are the other ingredients of Belo Nutraceuticals: Glutathione + Collagen? What do they do?

It has marine collagen naturally derived from codfish and helps increase skin elasticity and suppleness.

It also has sodium ascorbate (vitamin C) which helps increase the glutathione level in the blood, thus increasing the antioxidative property and whitening effect on the skin.

Hydroxyproline, known to enhance collagen synthesis, has a moisturizing effect on the skin.

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) appears to be able to recycle antioxidants such as vitamin C and glutathione even after they have been used up.

CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10) antioxidant helps to protect the skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, thus preventing premature skin aging.

When will I feel results?

Based on the clinical study conducted, the capsule showed visible results as early as two weeks. The capsule was taken twice daily by female respondents aged 18 to 60 years old.

I’ve seen inexpensive glutathione containing capsules in health/food stores. Will they achieve similar results?

Results depend on the amount and quality of Glutathione in the capsules. Belo Nutraceuticals: Glutathione + Collagen has an edge over the existing glutathione capsules because of its patented formulation which combines glutathione with collagen.

When is the best time to take Belo Nutraceuticals Glutathione + Collagen?

We recommended taking it in the morning, with or without meal because glutathione levels are lowest and oxidative stress is highest during daytime.

Would it cause hyperacidity when we take this capsule without food intake?

No, because the vitamin C present in the capsule is in the form of ascorbate. Ascorbates are known to be less acidic than other types of vitamin C and provide better absorption than ascorbic acid alone.

Are there any side effects associated with Belo Nutraceuticals: Glutathione + Collagen?

No. There are no known negative side effects associated on this product.

Can lactating or pregnant women take this product?

No. We don’t recommend lactating or pregnant women to take this product.

What is the average daily dosage of glutathione? What happens if I take a very high dosage?

The average daily dosage of glutathione is 100mg to 1000mg per day. Based on studies, if you take in above these recommended dosage, it could affect the body’s own production of glutathione. Only two tablets a day is recommended.