The ice cream that’s actually good for your hair

Collagen has been a wellness buzzword ever since the paleo diet hit the scene; this lifestyle, sometimes known as “the caveman diet,” encourages the intake of collagen, because it’s hard to find this nutrient in the modern diet, yet our ancestors feasted upon it (per Paleo Leap). For that reason, you’ll find many DIY ice cream recipes that include a boost of collagen in paleo blogs. Paleo Hacks offers a salted caramel recipe that’s made from collagen powder, coconut milk, cashews, and, of course, caramel sauce. My Radical Roots, meanwhile, sources the collagen from gelatin in a simple vanilla ice cream recipe that doesn’t require an ice cream maker.

While all of this talk of honey and coconut and healthy hair may sound perfectly delightful, a word of warning to the squeamish: Most collagen supplements come from the skin and bones of cattle and pigs, fish scales, or from egg shells (per The Kitchn). Which might make that scoop of vanilla, in fact, a scoop of vanilla-flavored fish bones, and that salted caramel may be getting its kick from a pig hoof. Vital Proteins, one of the more popular powder supplements, gets its collagen from “grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine hide from Brazil.” Yum?