Why I don't Teach Supplements Inside SBS

A client asks you: "What supplements should I be taking for my skin?"

And you feel it, don't you? That pressure. That expectation.

Supplements are everywhere right now. On Instagram. In podcasts. Every influencer has a morning routine featuring twelve bottles. Your clients are asking about them. Other therapists seem to be recommending them with confidence. And there's this creeping feeling that if you're not talking about supplements, you're somehow behind.

In the hour I've been writing this email, one landed in my inbox touting "Schwarzenegger's favourite supplements and his go-to stack." Yes — Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California, is apparently an expert in what solid foundation supplements you need. 😵‍💫

So when people join SBS and realise I don't teach supplement protocols, I understand the confusion. Sometimes there's even a whisper of worry: Is she holding something back? Is this incomplete?

Here's what I want to share with you about that.

Early in my practice as a nutritional therapist, I leaned on supplements more than I'd like to admit.

Not because I'd done thorough assessment. Not because I truly understood what was happening for that particular client. But because it's what my clients expected.

A supplement recommendation felt like control. Recommending one felt like I was helping. Covering my bases, at the very least.

And sometimes I was. But often, I was guessing. Educated guessing — but guessing nonetheless.

What I've come to understand is this: supplements are never the starting point.

They can't be. Because without understanding why a client is inflamed, breaking out, or reactive, supplements become a shot in the dark. You might hit something. You might miss entirely. You might even make things worse.

What was actually missing — what I was missing for years — wasn't a better supplement list. It was a clear assessment framework. The ability to spot patterns. Confidence in the foundations first.

This came up in a recent SBS coaching call.

One of my students shared how deepening her consultation skills helped her realise that the supplements her client was already taking might not have been appropriate for her health history. In fact, they may have been contributing to her symptoms.

That kind of discernment doesn't come from a protocol. It comes from learning how to think physiologically.

Claudia, another SBS member, put it this way:

"Now I have Chloe's pillars in mind in every skin consultation — it's given me the confidence to talk about nutrition and lifestyle without overstepping."
— Claudia, SBS member

That's the shift. Not a list of what to recommend. A framework for knowing what's actually going on.

Here's something else I want to be transparent about.

There are courses out there — some run by therapists who've done online nutrition courses themselves — teaching supplement protocols and functional testing. I understand the appeal. It feels comprehensive. It feels advanced.

But recommending personalised supplements and interpreting functional tests requires proper training. Not a six-month course. Not a certification you can buy online. Proper, accredited training.

So I've made a deliberate choice with SBS. I'm not going to teach you things that sit outside your professional scope — not because I don't think you're capable, but because I care too much about you and the work you're doing to put you in that position.

What I will teach you is how to assess within your scope. How to spot patterns. How to have educated conversations. How to know when something needs deeper investigation. And how to collaborate with qualified practitioners when your clients need that level of support.

That's not less valuable. That's professional. That's safe. That's sustainable.

And frankly? It's what your clients actually need from you most.

The skills you build inside SBS are durable. They evolve with you. They don't expire when the next trending supplement, test, or health fad comes along. 💨

Next time you're tempted to reach for a supplement recommendation — and I say this with so much compassion because I've been there — pause and ask yourself:

🤔 What pattern am I actually seeing here?
🤔 What's the underlying driver?
🤔 What foundation needs supporting first?

Those questions will take you so much further than any supplement list ever could.

Louisa, who joined SBS as a skin therapist wanting the clinical knowledge without retraining as a nutritionist, said it well:

"Training to be a fully qualified nutritionist wasn't the path I wanted — Chloe's course was the perfect solution. I now feel confident sharing the gut-skin connection with my clients."
— Louisa, @cotswoldfacialist

That confidence — grounded, scoped, genuinely useful in clinic — is what SBS is built to give you.

And it's coming back for summer.

If you want to be first to know what's included in this launch (including something new I haven't announced yet), get on the waitlist now.

→ Join the summer waitlist here

Waitlist members always hear first.

Until next week,

Chloe x