A Woman Claimed Her Dog's Urine Cleared Up Her Acne, But Here's What A Dermatologist Has To Say
OK, I know what you're thinking as you're reading that headline. How can urine possibly affect your acne? Is that even safe? I, too, was quite taken aback. But I've heard it all when it comes to beauty hacks, so if urine can clear up acne, as one woman claims it can, then there's only one way to find out if it's true — going to the experts. But before I get to all that, I need to share the backstory here.
On the June 7 episode of Viceland's Desus & Mero, the vibrant pair open up their Shoutouts! segment with what they call "Woman's Best Friend." Next, they cut to a clip of a woman in front of a tree, cup in hand, and her dog standing beside her on a leash, presumably ready to take a tinkle.
"Many of you have asked me how I always look so good, how my makeup always looks so perfect, or how I always have this natural glow," the unidentified woman said in the clip. "Here's my secret."
She then moves toward the tree with her pooch, the dog lifts its leg, and she seemingly proceeds to stoop down to collect the urine in a cup.
At this point, both Desus and Mero seem horrified and are left totally speechless. (If you'd like to see for yourself, Shoutouts! starts at 18:08.)
But the woman in the video isn't done just yet. After the cup is almost full, she lifts it up to take one final look, then downs the contents of the cup in a few gulps. At this point, The Kid Mero is screaming in his seat and shouting, "Nah, nah, nah, nah!" and "Ugh!" repeatedly.
Totally unbothered in the video, though, the woman goes on to claim that, not only did canine urine help her clear up her acne, but it also cured her depression and contains a slew of other vitamins.
To get to the bottom of this, Elite Daily reached out to Dr. Joshua Zeichner, Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in the Department of Dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York City.
As grossed out as I was after that video, Dr. Zeichner says it's not that bad — however, drinking pee isn't a proven cure for fighting acne.
"[As] long as you do not have a urinary tract infection, urine is technically sterile right after you go to the bathroom," he says. "Leaving it to sit for extended periods of time make it a breeding ground for bacteria though."
Seeing as the woman in the vid drank it, uh, fresh, it's good to know she's not harming herself, at least.
"It [Urine] contains a variety of minerals as well as urea, which explains its possible antimicrobial properties," Dr. Zeicher continues. "Urine has been reported to be effective when used topically to treat a variety of skin issues ranging from acne to wounds to jelly fish bites. [But] there is almost no true data showing that drinking urine will help treat the skin, although urine therapy has been used for years in alternative medicine. There are far more effective treatments available to treat acne."
To his point, certified holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy agrees. She told Allure that options like lemon water and apple cider vinegar are likely to be much more effective when it comes to maintaining overall health. She also adds that herbicides can be traced in dog urine from treated lawns, making this drink of choice potentially toxic.
"The only instance I can see when you may want to drink your dog's urine is if you were on a episode of Ultimate Survival Alaska and you couldn't find any safe drinking water," McCarthy concluded.
So, yeah, even though the woman in the video may swear by this method, this is definitely going to be a no for me, dawg.
