Gwyneth Paltrow says the darndest things. The “consciously uncoupled” actress — who’s promoted vaginal steaming on her Goop site, doubted how sun can be bad for you and said she’d “rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a can” — is back with more lifestyle advice.
Her most recent admission: She gets stung by bees (willingly) in the name of beauty.
“It’s a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy,” the 43-year-old actress told New York Times this week.
“People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It’s actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, it’s painful.”
When you actually do research apitherapy, you won’t actually find any evidence to prove it helps skin look healthier or younger.
“The entire notion of apitherapy involving bee venom on skin is far more silly than useful,” said Bryan Barron, Beauty Myth Busters expert and co-author of The Best Skin of Your Life Starts Here.
“An analysis of 145 studies involving bee venom came to the following conclusions that Ms. Paltrow may have missed when she did her own research: ‘Adverse events related to bee venom therapy are frequent.’
“In short, bee venom treatments aren’t something I’d advocate anyone seek out, especially if you’re unsure whether you’re allergic to bee stings or not.”
Nonetheless, some swear still swear that the treatment can relieve inflammation and has helped people struggling with multiple sclerosis, depression, chronic fatigue and premenstrual syndrome.
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It’s not the only extreme beauty treatment Paltrow is into. She said she’s eager to try cryotherapy (a three-minute $60 treatment that will trick your brain into thinking you’re freezing to death).
It’s supposed to send your body into “survival” mode that somehow makes you healthier and more attractive when nutrient-rich oxygenated blood reportedly flushes out toxins from your body.
Like apitherapy, there’s virtually zero scientific proof it works.
READ MORE: What is cryotherapy and why do people pay $60 to feel like they’re freezing to death?
Paltrow gushed as well in her Times interview that she’s a “die-hard” fan of Tracy Anderson. The fitness celebrity has recently come under fire for some of her own recent claims (like that we should all be exercising every single day, with no rest days).
In a Refinery29 article titled “Don’t listen too hard to Tracy Anderson,” a trainer tears apart Anderson’s advice.
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As for Paltrow and her beauty musings, after years of being the face of Estee Lauder perfumes, she’s now “on the fence about fragrance.”
“Recently my head of beauty said you have to stop wearing fragrance because it’s unregulated and all that. We’re having a fight about it,” she told the Times.
She added that she’s also taken an “easier” lifestyle philosophy.
READ MORE: Taking celebrity health advice can be risky and scientifically unproven, study found
“I think I see now that life is really a balance. And it’s great to eat nutrient-dense organic food, if you can. It’s also really great to drink a vodka and have French fries.”
Well at least there’s something many would agree with her on.
For those still willing to buy whatever Paltrow’s selling, she plugged her own “Instant Facial.” Unlike her apitherapy, the biggest sting that $160 (two-ounce) treatment will have is on your wallet.
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