Ozone has all the makings of a hot new trend: The claims are massive (a cure to everything from skin ageing and cellulite, and even cancer), it’s celebrity-approved (Gwyneth Paltrow (Goop Founder) proclaimed her love for it on a podcast), and it’s controversial.
Admittedly, the benefits seem promising—in terms of general wellbeing, it claims to boost immunity, combat gut inflammation, neutralise free radicals and “detoxify” the body, and has been long used in wound healing. While relatively new in the skincare space, loyalists swear by its ability to enhance oxygen supply to the cells and skin function, leaving it glowing.
Gwyneth Paltrow at The Art of Being Well podcast.
Sounds like an amazing cure-all, but here’s where the controversial part comes in: Ozone therapy is not FDA-approved, and not enough studies have been done to back all its claims.
More Than Skin Deep
With its history in disinfecting and healing wounds; it’s natural that it found itself used in cosmetology too. Because of its effect on inflammation and free radicals, ozone therapy goes beyond surface-level fixes for concerns like acne, rosacea, hair loss and wrinkles, recognising that these issues can often be reflections of our body's internal condition. What it addresses is the core of the matter, targeting and resolving the root causes linked to our body's internal state.
Dr Michelle Valdes, a naturopathic doctor who administers ozone therapy at Soneva Fushi, Maldives, explains,
“It's supercharged oxygen, pretty much. [Inside the body,] it interacts with cell membranes, causes low-level oxidative stress, and stimulates healing. There are so many things that it does that we actually don't really fully understand yet.”
Beyond Cosmetics
Dr. Valdes recounts the case of a cancer patient who was receiving ozone therapy as adjunctive care, “I had a lady who was undergoing chemotherapy and she could not walk at all, and after her second ozone treatment, she was walking around the block and had such a better quality of life. I used to be surprised by [the results] at first, but now I'm just kind of expecting it.”
Dr. Manoj Kutteri, medical director and CEO at Mulshi-based wellness resort Atmantan, lists a host of benefits;
“Ozone has an antimicrobial effect in our body. It can also help improve the body’s immunity by stimulating white blood cell production. It is a wonderful antioxidant, and can be used to treat chemotherapy-induced toxicity. It improves oxygenation of oxygen-deficient tissues, the production of energy, and has a wound healing effect.”
Dr. Valdes shares another case of a patient with a MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection that causes ulcer-like lesions and is difficult to treat due to its antibiotic resistance, which she was able to reduce substantially after just three treatments. Gut inflammation is one of the more common reasons people seek ozone treatment for. “It's helpful for people with autoimmune disorders of the GI tract, like IBS. Ozone modulates the immune system. It regenerates tissue and also kills pathogenic bacteria. So it's working in three different ways.”
The Method
There are four ways in which ozone can be administered to your body that are considered safe. “The main one that we use here [at Soneva Fushi] is major autohemotherapy, which is IV administration,” says Dr Valdes. “We'll take out some of the patient’s blood and infuse it with ozone. You'll see the blood turn a really bright red colour, and that's just the blood getting super oxygenated with all the oxygen. This is infused back into the body.”
She likens the effects to that of a good, 45-minute bout of exercise, in that both stimulate “mild to moderate oxidative stress”, in turn boosting the antioxidant systems in our body.
Other methods include limb bagging, often used for wounds, intramuscular injections to promote tissue healing, and subcutaneous ones, to stimulate collagen production and reduce signs of ageing. Lastly, there’s the Goop-approved, rectal insufflation, where ozone is introduced into your colon through a catheter.
Red Flags, Say Medical Docs
Paltrow admitted that the ozone therapy she gets is “pretty weird, but it’s been very helpful.” And as much as it sounds like something with a very niche clientele, a quick search will prove otherwise. Hundreds if not more medispas, wellness centres and alternative healing practitioners around the world offer ozone therapies. A 2011 report in the Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine claimed success in treating inflammatory conditions like arthritis, viral diseases like HIV and SARS, and even cancer.
The data to prove that the treatment actually works for any of these conditions, unfortunately, is mostly anecdotal. Dr Jaishree Sharad, a Mumbai-based dermatologist, says,
“There are some studies on wound infections or microbial contamination in water, or dental infections that have healed with ozone therapy. But beyond that, there is no other scientific evidence, and this is also very limited and low-quality.”
The FDA even released a statement in 2019 warning against the use of ozone as therapy, stating, “toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy.” Inhaled directly, ozone can worsen existing lung conditions like asthma, and according to the FDA, cause “sufficient irritation to the lungs to result in pulmonary edema.”
While alternative health practitioners like Dr Valdes have reported no adverse incidents in their practice, there have been a few cases in which “direct infusion of ozone intravenously has resulted in pulmonary embolism and death.”
“Even where anti-ageing is concerned, [the studies are] very, very nascent,” warns Dr Sharad. “The formation of free radicals or reactive oxygen species can actually be harmful to the skin. It's very important to consult with a qualified medical professional before going for such therapies.”
The Jury Is Out
There’s much in the space of alternative healing—like acupuncture, sound healing and naturopathy—that is not recognised within the scientific community, but anecdotal evidence shows many benefitting from them. At the same time, there are treatments that offer similar benefits that are safer, clinically approved, and proven to be effective. The verdict: be adventurous if you like, and go to doctors who are doing the research and putting in the hours to understand ozone therapy.