4 min read
Key Points
- A company called Barrière just launched wearable transdermal lactose relief patches, the first of its kind on the market.
- The adorable mini patches allow consumers to enjoy dairy products without timing constraints or swallowing pills.
- Delish’s lactose intolerant designer put them to the test and thinks they are a total gamechanger.
I may not be lactose intolerant, but I’m no stranger to the stomach issues that can follow an indulgent bowl of ice cream. And as someone with family members who do deal with the restrictions, I’ve seen firsthand how it can complicate everyday life and get in the way of those little moments of joy.
So when I learned about Barrière’s new Dear Dairy line of wearable transdermal lactose-relief patches, I knew they had the potential to be life-changing. The company, which is best known for its vitamin patches, is now venturing into the lactase space with a product designed to be applied to the skin and worn throughout the day—no pills required.
The Science
Alison Dominguez
The Dear Dairy patches contain 2.5 milligrams of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose in the body. According to the company, the patches are meant to provide digestive support throughout the day and help with symptoms like occasional bloating, gas, and digestive discomfort, all without needing to time a pill around meals.
The patches have also been third-party tested and manufactured in an MHRA-regulated (Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) U.K. facility. Barrière also emphasizes its absorption method, noting that people typically absorb roughly 15 percent from traditional lactase pills, while the patches allow for around 65 percent absorption.
That said, gastroenterologist Dr. Supirya Rao, M.D., says the concept is interesting but questions the possible limitations of a transdermal patch. As she explains, oral lactase supplements like Lactaid and LactoJoy work because of both their timing and location. “They are taken with food and act directly in the gut at the same time lactose is present,” she says. “I’d love to see some clinical evidence showing that lactase can be absorbed through the skin, remain active, enter circulation, and then get diverted back into the intestinal lumen where it’s needed.”
The Test
Alison Dominguez
We may not be a science lab, but Delish does have a team full of people ready and willing to test a product in the name of journalism So lactose-intolerant designer Alison Dominguez put the patches head-to-head with her go-to pills.
“I am not going to lie, I was very skeptical and cautiously optimistic when I heard of the Barrière Dear Dairy Lactose Relief Patches,” she shared. “It is such a pain to have to take multiple lactose enzyme pills any time I want to take a bite of dairy, especially working at a food magazine where half our recipes consist of cream cheese.” Still, she didn’t want to get too excited in case the patches turned out to be too good to be true.
“I decided to try the patches out at home alone one night in the safety of my own company (just in case). I normally take 2-3 lactase pills, so by doing a bit of math, I figured the correct dosage of patches for my needs would be two, as each one has 9,000 FCC of lactase enzyme,” Dominguez said.
“The instructions say to stick a patch on your skin before your first bite of dairy, but to be safe, I stuck two on the inner side of my left wrist about 30 minutes before I planned to eat some ice cream,” she continued. “Once I felt that they had had enough time to work into my system, I served myself a large bowl of ice cream (you know, for science).”
Alison Dominguez
“Cautiously, but excitedly, I ate the whole bowl while I waited for any reaction. As every lactose intolerant person knows, the effects are pretty immediate if you aren’t careful. To my surprise and delight, I had no reaction to the ice cream (aside from JUST enjoying it), no tummy ache, nothing. It had worked!” After that first test, Dominguez and the Delish team decided she needed to keep going. The next day, she applied two patches to the inside of her wrist again and went all in on dairy. She ate pasta with what she described as “copious amounts of cheese,” followed by ice cream, and still had no issues.
Then came the real challenge: Seeing whether the patches could hold up over the course of a full day. “I had a good friend’s bridal shower on a Saturday, so I put two patches on before I left the house,” she said. “This would be my first time trying them outside the safety of my home.”
“I proceeded to eat the meal as if I were not a lactose-intolerant person, while still making sure I had my pills on hand just in case,” she said. “Then we went to multiple locations throughout the day where I ate dairy here and there. Instead of taking a pill for one bite of crab dip, I was able to just eat what I wanted.”
The Verdict
“Lactose intolerance is really common, and I’m all for anything that aims to make management easier and more convenient,” Rao says.
Dominguez felt similarly, though she was understandably cautious at first. “I did not want to get too excited, but if they worked, it would literally be life changing,” she said.
And for her, they may have been. “I am totally a convert and will be a regular customer for these patches,” Dominguez concluded. “It was honestly so nice to operate like a ‘normal’ person for once.”
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