Holland & Barrett’s 5 weirdest anti-ageing treatments

Beauty lovers have scoured high and low in order to find the secret to eternal youth. While the miracle potion hasn’t materialised just yet, anti-ageing properties have been found in some unusual places. Here are five of the weirdest anti-ageing treatments:

1. Snail slime – the repairing and healing powers of snail slime were discovered by snail farmers in Chile. Testing showed the slime contains high levels of allantoin, collagen, elastin and anti-bacterial substances. A snail gel range of products is available to buy at hollandandbarrett.com.

2. Fat – often the nemesis of the body beautiful thanks to its reputation as the cause of weight gain, fat actually is of great benefit to the body for both health and beauty reasons. Eating more fat makes skin more elastic and less wrinkly so should play an important role in a balanced diet.

3. Bee venom – caused a buzz in the beauty world when it was discovered that it fools the skin into thinking it has been stung, causing the body to direct blood towards the area and

stimulating the body’s natural production of collagen and elastin. The venom also relaxes the muscles, for a tighter, wrinkle free complexion.

4. Bird poo – we don’t want to think how this was discovered, but droppings have been found to contain enzymes that break down cells and cleanse the skin. One New York spa offers treatments using dried, powdered and sterilised Nightingale droppings at a cost of $180 per treatment.

5. Emu oil – taken from the fat of emu birds, this oil has been used by aboriginal communities for centuries. It soaks up moisture into the skin to avoid dehydration and saggy skin.