• Celebrity
    • Cardi B and Offset Cover
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Digital Cover – Method Man
    • Digital Cover – Zazie Beetz
    • Fashion News
    • Fashion House 2021
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • MAYBELLINE: FIT ME MATTE + PORELESS
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Prudential – Dream & Plan with Confidence
    • Black History Month
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Holiday Gift Guide
    • Lifestyle News
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Festival
  • Events
    • Road to Festival
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • Entrepreneur Summit 2021
    • Wellness House
    • VAX & VIBES Louisiana
    • Girls United Summit 2021
    • She Got Now
    • Fashion House 2021
    • GU Back To School
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • Power Tools
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Cardi B and Offset Cover
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Digital Cover – Method Man
    • Digital Cover – Zazie Beetz
    • Fashion News
    • Fashion House 2021
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • MAYBELLINE: FIT ME MATTE + PORELESS
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Prudential – Dream & Plan with Confidence
    • Black History Month
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Holiday Gift Guide
    • Lifestyle News
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Festival
  • Events
    • Road to Festival
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • Entrepreneur Summit 2021
    • Wellness House
    • VAX & VIBES Louisiana
    • Girls United Summit 2021
    • She Got Now
    • Fashion House 2021
    • GU Back To School
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • Power Tools
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Health & Wellness

Black Girl Approved: Vitamin IVs Gave Us The Wellness Boost Our Bodies Deserved

By Charli Penn · Updated December 6, 2020
No longer a luxury reserved just for celebrities, wellness IV drip and shot booster 
clinics are popping up everywhere, for everyone.

For those committed to staying fit and healthy and feeling their very best, the wellness lifestyle space continues to expand to include a wealth of options, treatments and classes to diversify your routine—and they keep getting more and more enticing. In 2012, when Rihanna tweeted a photograph of herself reportedly getting a vitamin IV treatment, the practice was something you only heard of A-listers enjoying.

Fast-forward to 2019 and wellness clinics are setting up shop all over the country, offering full menus of ­energy-boosting and detoxing vitamin IV cocktails and shots for people to have at home, in the office or inside the comfort of a relaxing private suite. If you’ve seen them around and are intrigued, we know you have some questions: Is it safe? Does it work? What are the health benefits? Two intrepid ESSENCE editors booked appointments to get poked with a dose of natural goodness to find out. Read on for their assessments.

The Wellness Hook Up

As a busy magazine editor, I work a lot, and I’m guilty of forgoing a full night’s sleep in favor of getting my in-box to zero. I often feel tired and rely heavily on coffee to keep me going. I read that fans of vitamin IV therapy do it to cure hangovers and reset after traveling and to detox overall. When you take vitamins orally, you absorb a much smaller percentage of the nutrients through your gastrointestinal tract, but when bioavailable vitamins and minerals are distributed intravenously, they go straight into your bloodstream and you absorb nearly 100 percent of them.

I paid a visit to Clean Market, a wellness store and spa in New York City that offers food, products and services for purposeful nutrition. Inside there’s a NutriDrip and Booster Shot Lounge. A wellness IV drip should always be administered by a nurse or doctor, who will go over your medical history first to ensure that the treatment is safe for you.

After my consultation, I decided to try the spa’s most popular drip, the NutriCLEANSE ($249)—which is loaded with glutathione (known as the master antioxidant), selenium and vitamin C—to help with detoxifying and replenishing the body. I felt only a pinch from the needle, similar to when you give blood. The drip takes about 45 minutes, and you can lie back and listen to music or watch television. There wasn’t any pain, but I did feel a cooling sensation as the fluid began entering my bloodstream, which the nurse assured me was normal. About halfway through, I could actually taste the vitamins on my tongue. After my bag emptied, I was given an extra dose of glutathione intravenously and went on my way.

The results were instantaneous. I immediately felt lighter, as if I had a boost of natural energy and brainpower to get through the day. In addition to feeling revived, I was more relaxed at work and slept like a baby for the next four nights. My natural high lasted about six days, and I didn’t even think about stepping into a Starbucks. The nurse warned me that there would be a slight amount of soreness in my arm, which I felt two days later but barely even noticed. I’d do it again, especially after a hectic stretch in the office or a bachelorette weekend. The treatment is definitely Black Girl approved. — Charli Penn

Booster Shot, Anyone?

After experiencing some jet lag from a cross-country work trip, I paid a visit to a REVIV IV Wellness Spa in New York City to check out the wellness booster shots menu. I went with the vitamin B12 to address my fatigue. Although the process can feel clinical, it was very different from a doctor’s visit. Upon arrival, I was greeted by staff and given a waiver to sign explaining the risks. The nurse began with an ethyl chloride spray to numb the injection site, and when the needle went in, I didn’t feel a thing! The therapy was virtually pain-free, and I was in and out in under three minutes.

Unlike IVs, which act more rapidly, vitamin shots are injected into the muscle and the nutrients slowly release over the course of a few days. When the full effects kicked in about 24 hours later, I experienced a noticeable uptick in energy and more restful sleep. The booster shot method is a marathon, not a sprint. So get the injections regularly. Thankfully, at only $29 per shot, this treatment won’t break the bank. — Jasmine Grant

Black-Owned Business Alert

If you’re in the Chicago area, you can road test this wellness trend and support a Black-owned business too. In 2018 best friends and physicians Gameli Dekayie and Chantale Stephens-Archer opened Quench Wellness in the city’s South Loop. The center offers a variety of services, including IV vitamin infusions, vaginal laser therapy, and hormone replacement. (We see you, ladies!) .

Loading the player...

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of ESSENCE Magazine, on newsstands now.

Share :

TOPICS:  Health & Wellness black girl approved charli penn health trends iv lifestyle nutri drip

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2022 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now