Just what the doctor ordered?
Vitamin patches are designed to deliver nutrients to the bloodstream through the skin — they have become all the rage among people who can’t swallow pills, forget to take them or have digestive issues.
One market research firm projected the global vitamin patch industry will grow from $6.6 billion to $10.4 billion over the next decade even as some medical experts have offered mixed reviews on their effectiveness.
“They’re not as good as taking oral vitamins, however, if you’re not going to be able to take oral vitamins … a patch is better than nothing,” Dr. Michael Russo, a bariatric and cosmetic surgeon based in California, said earlier this year. “You’re going to have less of that vitamin actually hit your bloodstream.”
Brands like PatchMD, PatchAid, Nutri-Patch, Barrière and The Good Patch are selling skin stickers that are said to provide everything from vitamin D to B12 to multivitamins and magnesium. Some are stylish showstoppers.
“We wanted to create a product that people actually wanted to wear and that injected a bit of joy into their everyday wellness routine,” Barrière co-founder Cleo Davis-Urman told Marie Claire this week. “A glint of gold on the arm, a touch of lace on the wrist, a bold astrological sign on the neck…our designs [are meant to] look beautiful on the skin.”
Transdermal patches — adhesives placed on the skin to deliver medicine — have been around for decades though they haven’t been as fashionable.
Nicotine patches help people quit smoking, while estradiol patches can relieve symptoms of menopause. Scopolamine patches may inhibit nausea and vomiting from motion sickness, anesthesia or surgery, and birth control patches are intended to prevent pregnancy.
Research studies on vitamin patches have produced conflicting results, with a 2021 scientific review of the patches noting that some micronutrients cannot permeate the skin in adequate quantities.
“To enhance efficacy, patches are often placed in strategic areas where venous areas are condensed, such as the inner wrist, so they can be absorbed faster,” Dr. Marisol Saavedra, an aesthetics doctor in London and co-founder of IV therapy company Tonic, explained to Marie Claire.
Some consumers simply aren’t convinced. While one TikTok user called her B12 patches “wonderful,” a functional medicine expert described his patch experience as a “nightmare.”
“Based on my micronutrient test, which I did before and after trying the patch, I did not show any change,” Sam Tejada, CEO and founder of Liquivida Wellness Center, told Verywell Health this month.
“The patch utilizes an adhesive that can be extremely toxic to the skin, and you can potentially absorb those toxins,” he continued, without revealing the patch type and brand he tried. “I had a very bad reaction and had to seek medical treatment from a local dermatologist, ending up with what is called contact dermatitis.”
The vitamin patch trend comes as many Americans don’t get enough key nutrients, like vitamins D and E, even as most report supplementing their diet.
A 2023 survey by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) determined that 74% of US adults take supplements, with 55% describing themselves as “regular users.”
Dietary supplements do not face the same rigorous governmental oversight as drugs — and some critics say that vitamin patches should not even be considered supplements.
“Vitamin patches are illegal drugs, not dietary supplements. A dietary supplement must be orally ingested; it can’t be absorbed through the skin,” Jeff Ventura, CRN vice president of communications, told Verywell Health. “The FDA certainly has authority to regulate drugs. There are numerous warning letters related to products that are not orally ingested being falsely labeled as supplements.”
If you decide to try a vitamin patch, you should consult with a doctor, especially if you have undergone surgery, are taking medications or have a medical condition.
