I am all for harvesting nourishing, anti-aging ingredients from just about anything (unless said harvesting inflicts harm on living things). But I think I might draw the line at slapping afterbirth on my face. A Japanese company called Nihon Sofuken has managed to package and market a line of products called Placenta 360000, which contain—yes—afterbirth. There’s face cream, gel pills and for the really brave, an energy drink. The good news is it’s not actually human. They use what they call “wholesome Japanese pigs.” As opposed to the unwholesome kind, I guess. They also claim to specially screen all the pigs and remove traces of blood, hormones, toxins and disease agents. Then they make it smell/taste like peach, which is nice.
Gag-inducing or not, the health properties of the placenta have been well documented (it’s the basis for potentially life-saving stem-cell research, for starters). But I don’t know how I feel about ingesting what a warm body just expelled, pig or not. Then again, 10 years ago Botox seemed inhumane and deplorable…
