If I see a celebrity beauty, health, or skincare tip, I try it with zero hesitation. Using a gua sha every night will give me Angelina Jolie’s chiseled bone structure? I’m there. Drinking a $19 super smoothie will get me in the same prime shape as Hailey Bieber? Pour it up, baby. I’ve even considered bleaching my eyebrows after seeing certain runway models pull it off, but that’s a whole other article to write. Basically, I’ll give anything a shot for the sole purpose of answering one question: Is it actually worth the hype?
It almost goes without saying that when I stumbled upon an article that mentioned Kim Kardashian taking sea moss everyday duty called. I deemed this as a perfect opportunity to properly review a trend, as Kim is a hardworking mother of four, and you reading this are probably a badass mother yourself. So I ask: Is a daily dosage of this allegedly magical supplement a game changer for self-care?
OK, what actually is sea moss?
When I first read about this phenomenon, I didn’t have a clue what a single benefit was. All I knew was that I’d give it a go regardless because Ms. K told me to. But alas, I wanted to know what improvements to look for, so my research commenced.
Upon a simple turn to Google, I was bombarded with material aggressively praising sea moss for all of the positive impacts it can have on health and well-being. This made me even more excited to try it out. And once I dug into the details of it, I found ways that it was beneficial in areas I particularly needed help with. I genuinely felt giddy staring at my computer screen, like I had just discovered a secret potion to cure all my problems.
According to Cleveland Clinic, sea moss is a type of red algae, also known as Irish moss. While it’s proven to have multiple benefits, it has not been heavily studied or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But, there’s a ton of research data on the health benefits of seaweed, sea moss’ cousin. So, it’s generally considered safe for consumption. I was still excited to try it.
Of course, it is always important to consult your healthcare provider before adding any supplement or food to your diet.
What does sea moss do?
The Cleveland Clinic cites sea moss’ more notable benefits as being very heart-healthy. Thus, reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease, promoting weight loss, supporting gut health, boosting immunity, and aiding in workout recovery. While this was the only certified medical research I found that highlights what sea moss can do to support your health, an article on beymoss.com goes into lengthy detail on its benefits. It explains how it can help improve skin due to its abundance of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamin C, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids.
As someone who has dealt with acne, skin texture, and hyperpigmentation for the majority of my life, I was, for lack of a better word, stoked. And I mean, have you seen Kim’s skin? It’s basically porcelain. As a method of wishful thinking, I decided to blissfully ignore the fact that she also has the best-of-the-best makeup artists and dermatologists serving her at all times. Sea moss could at least get my skin heading in that direction, right?
Editor’s Note: Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have concerning your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in this article.
How I measured my sea moss effects
So, after my intensive 20 minutes of research, I decided to measure my success as follows:
- I took sea moss every day for one month (30 days), as I feel like that was a solid amount of time to see and feel differences.
- While maintaining my standard diet and exercise routine, I weighed myself on Day 1, Day 15, and Day 30.
- On Day 1 and Day 30, I took a photo of my skin.
- I kept general notes on how I’m physically feeling—if I’m bloating, what my energy level is like, if I happen to get sick*, etc.
- I paid attention to how my body felt after recovering from exercise—if I felt less sore, more limber, etc.
*While I’ll dive into all of these aspects, I urge you to remember that immunity boosting is one of sea moss’ primary claims to fame. (Yes, this is foreshadowing.)
There were only two steps of key preparation for my experiment I felt were necessary: Note the state of my skin and how much I weighed. The skin part was simple, as I snapped this picture as a progress marker.
Before sea moss
Next, since this is serious scientific business, I took down my data to get the most accurate results possible. I have never been a huge fan of weighing myself. I try to prioritize how I feel rather than base my progress on a number. Although I’ve made the decision not to put my actual weight on the internet, I promise to let you know if it changed after this.
Purchasing sea moss
Now, it was time for the big moment: the purchase. And look, I don’t know what I thought this stuff was going to cost, but it sure was less than what the price tags on Amazon greeted me with. Every single option for raw sea moss gel was over $30 for a jar. I could only assume this jar would not get me through 30 days, as a healthy spoonful is the recommended daily intake. While I wish more than anything it didn’t come to this, my bank account would simply not allow for at least two jar purchases. So, I tweaked my agenda and took sea moss pills instead of the luxurious gel.
Maybe you could find a feasible option at a local health food store, but personally, I could not. They essentially do the same thing, yet, I was sad to be missing out on the glamour and drama of ingesting literal gel. Maybe one day, if I have a line as successful as SKIMS, I can purchase 50 jars and then some. Ugh, I digress.
I settled on supplements that are $20.48 for a bottle of 60 pills. It’s suggested you take two every day, which set me up for the perfect amount for my month-long quest. While I was hoping for cuter, more aesthetically pleasing packaging, the nearly 11,000 reviews and overall 4.5/5 rating took precedence. When Amazon Prime left the package at my door, Day 1 had arrived.
After 30 days of taking sea moss
As I sat down to write this review, my original plan was to map out my overall progress week by week. I aimed to highlight any notable changes I tracked. But as the days went on and the pills were ingested, guess what happened? Guess what the Kim Kardashian magical supplement did to me? Absolutely nothing.
I’m genuinely not trying to be negative. I’m not even telling you that you shouldn’t add sea moss to your regimen if you want to try it. All I’m saying is that I diligently took two pills each and every morning for the full 30 days, and at the end of it, I felt and looked like the exact same person. I was duped—bamboozled if you will. But alas, let me break it down:
Skin improvement
In short, the state of my skin stayed consistent. It didn’t get noticeably better, and the only time it got a little bit worse was when I was on my period from Day 6 to Day 11, which always happens during my cycle. The condition of my acne, skin texture, level of moisture, and coloring did not flinch. Going into this, I was probably most hopeful for a change in my skin. So the feeling of defeat was most definitely in the air. I guess it really is Kim’s makeup and derms that do the heavy lifting. Here’s a photo of me barefaced on Day 30, looking almost identical to Day 1. (For the sake of consistency, it’s another shot of me outside with no makeup on a daily walk—this time with a horse featured as I was in Central Park):
After 30 days of sea moss
Weight
As promised, with the exclusion of any specific numbers, my weight did, in fact, change—by one pound. Yes, I lost one pound in the span of 30 days. From beginning to end, I tried as best as I could to eat and work out as usual to avoid any outside factors affecting my outcome. And I’m confident that I stuck to that pretty well. But, if I really wanted to give this health tip any sort of credit—and I’m feeling quite generous right now—my singular pound could maybe, possibly, or allegedly be due to the sea moss.
Immunity and general physical feelings
Remember my immunity foreshadowing note from earlier? Well, I’ll just cut to the chase. On Day 19, I tested positive for COVID. Obviously, I’m not suggesting that any information I read on sea moss implied that it could prevent me from catching an extremely contagious virus that’s been running rampant for years now. But it’s pretty ironic, right? My symptoms were relatively mild, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that’s probably owed to my vaccine and booster shots and not the sea moss pills themselves.
Other than this bump in the road, I never felt ill or particularly better than usual. I wasn’t bloating, but I normally don’t. My energy levels were pretty standard, but I’m a relatively energetic person. And even though I tried to convince myself that even the tiniest thing about my well-being was different, I can’t lie. Everything was devastatingly normal. So sadly, another sea moss miracle hope dashed.
Exercise recovery
To be fair, maybe if I had subjected myself to harder workouts that would make me super sore, there would have been more potential to feel a difference. But I decided against it in an effort to avoid weight fluctuation. When considering that every other factor stayed the same, though, that thought is playing really hard defense and should be taken quite lightly.
So, do I recommend sea moss?
Well, the short answer is no. But, everybody, every immune system, and everyone’s hormones are different. So, sea moss could very well do something for you. Hey, it didn’t hurt me in any way, shape, or form, so I would say it’s harmless to give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe I didn’t take it for a long enough period of time. Or, perhaps, I would have seen different results if I had done the gel versus the pill (even though the internet assured me otherwise).
With all things considered, if you don’t want to spend the money, skip out on this trend. Trust me. I wanted it to work just as badly as the next gal. But from personal experience, the sea moss was a sea loss.
Final thoughts
Do I regret trying this out? No. It took absolutely zero time or energy out of my day. Plus, it didn’t put too much of a dent into my bank account. Would I do it again? Maybe down the line, if I was able to take my glamorous gel spoonfuls instead of boring little capsules. Even though I’m not a mom, do I think the results will hold the same? Absolutely. Am I holding a grudge against Kim because of my results? Yes—but I think I’ll get over it. Onto the next celeb beauty hack, I guess!
