The Cusp: An Honest Review of Moon Juice's SuperYou + Two AMAZING Dupes
Take a sneak peek at one of our recent reviews inside The Cusp of the uber-trendy wellness product, SuperYou by Moon Juice. The Cusp is our private community of wellness hypebeasts who want to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s happening behind the scenes in the wellness world. Join The Cusp and get early access to products and brands. discount codes to new products, research trend reports, and dupes of wellness industry cult-faves. You can join and get even more access here.
Table Of Contents:
The 101
Edges and Obstacles
Research Counsel: Jennifer Black, LAc, Dipl OM, MTOM
Dupes 🤑
Our Honest, Unfiltered Reviews: Is It Worth It?
The 101
Moon Juice has been playing with herbs and adaptogens (and our aesthetically-inclined hearts) for some time now.
Who doesn't get weak in the knees at the promise of super focus, super silky hair, super sex, super beauty, and super energy by just sprinkling a bit of stevia-sweetened dust in your morning drink of choice?
The efficacy of its ingredients continues to be a piping hot tea-time topic, rife with mixed fee-fees. [Yet we couldn't help but side-eye when seeing that in 2016, a third-party investigation by the BBB National Board put Moon Juice on blast for insufficiently substantiating the advertized claims of their products (namely their Dust line). Following the NAD inquiry, Goop.com quietly removed Moon Juice's herbal products from its site and has yet to restock them since 👀]
We're not pretending to be above good marketing or quality ingredients that create results, but we're here to question ... at what cost?
No, literally — if this is $49 a bottle and it only lasts 30 days, these dusty little capsules better work.
Edges & Obstacles
Edges
Great packaging, marketing, and branding. A rainbow gradient? In this economy?? OK, you got me. But also I hate you for getting me!
$49.00 a pop. Not cheap, per se. At $10ish bucks a week, if it works, you can justify the purchase by thinking about how few coffees you'll buy once you're super energized and focused once SuperYou kicks in. But that's only if it works.
Claims
Moon Juice says this product is "clinically shown to help" with the following claims:
reduce physical, mental, and emotional fatigue
boost energy and mood
protect from oxidative stress
control stress-related weight gain
But, the disclaimer on all of Moon Juice's products states: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Ingredients
Shatavari root extract, organic ashwagandha root and leaf extract, organic amla fruit extract, rhodiola root extract, rice flour, capsule (hypromellose), organic rice hulls, medium-chain triglycerides, organic rice bran extract, organic gum arabic, and organic sunflower oil
Moon Juice touts its ingredients and sourcing methods as clean, pure, free from toxins and cruelty, bioactive and bioavailable, no fillers, and harvested at their peak potency. You kind of just have to take their word for it, as there really are no governing bodies that could back up these claims. Ah, the wild world of the supplement industry.
Research Counsel: Jennifer Black, LAc, Dipl OM, MTOM
💬 So, Jennifer, what's the deal? Is it worth it?
Let me start by saying that I am just as attracted as anybody to Moon Juice’s branding. The California sunset color palette, the scent of innate superpowers brewing… I am their demographic, 100%.
But I've also learned to not let myself be seduced by marketing promises. I know enough to be a pretty good judge of if a product is likely to live up to the hype. ** In my practice, I work with adaptogenic herbs and herbal blends A LOT. HPA axis dysfunction (Editor's note: HPA axis dysfunction is commonly referenced as adrenal fatigue) is at the root of so many different types of conditions that when in doubt, one could do worse than to recommend some adaptogenic giants like ashwagandha or rhodiola.
Essentially, this class of herbs does bring out the best in a person – they neutralize many of the physical effects of stress that can stand in the way of us manifesting our best selves. They are generally very well tolerated, and there aren’t a lot of contra-indications to be concerned with.
When choosing herbal products of any kind, quality and potency are important. Perhaps the biggest foil of herbal medicine across the board is choosing a sub-par product because it’s cheap, and not understanding how to dose safely and for efficacy.
The herbs used in MoonJuice’s SuperYou blend are listed as follows:
450mg of a 10:1 extract of Shatavari root (= 4.5grams)250 mg of an organic Ashwagandha root and leaf extract (10% Withanolides and 32% Oligosaccharides)150mg of a 20:1 extract of organic Amla fruit (= 3 grams)and 150mg of a Rhodiola root extract (3% Rosavins and 1% Salidrosides).
They also list some binding agents like rice flour, rice hulls, rice bran extract, medium-chain triglycerides, organic gum arabic, and organic sunflower oil and the capsule (hypromellose).
These are pretty good numbers! Especially for a 2-capsule dosage recommendation. I was surprised. In terms of potency, this is a product on par with some of the professional-grade adaptogenic supplements I have access to as a practitioner.
The only thing about this formula that gives me pause is the inclusion of shatavari...
Shatavari, while also adaptogenic, has a strong effect on reproductive hormones. It’s name means “the woman who has a hundred husbands” and is commonly used for fertility work and for increasing libido. It could be a great addition for some people…but others might feel their hormones are already balanced just fine.
Shatavari is the herb with the largest dose in this formula. It’s why I would not choose this product for myself, nor would I feel comfortable blanket recommending this formula for everyone.
SuperYou has a lot of things about it that I like. The inclusion of shatavari is not a bad thing at all — it just puts it in the category of “do your homework” before committing to. If you feel like your hormones could use some work and you would also like help with some stress management, this could be a great choice for you. However, if this product were just the ashwagandha, rhodiola, and amla fruit, I’d say SuperYou for America 2021!
Disclaimer: As always, if this supplement were to cause any type of adverse reaction, stop taking it immediately and contact a licensed practitioner. All recommendations discussed here are not to be used in place of medical advice.
Jennifer Black is the Owner and Founder of Highland Holistic and is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Board Certified Herbalist. Jennifer studied at both the Pacific College of Health and Science in New York City and Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica, CA. She studied Herbal Dermatology and is a member of the International Registry of Chinese Medicine Dermatology & Inflammatory Disease. Jennifer's clinical interests include the use of herbal medicine for dermatology work, and acupuncture, herbal medicine and/or nutritional counseling for pain management, psycho-emotional issues, inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid disorders, and internal medicine. Jennifer provides amazing custom herbal consults and we strongly recommend working with her if you're looking to address any chronic health issues that would benefit from 1:1 care.
SuperYou Dupes
As a comparable alternative Jennifer suggests any of the Gaia Herb remedies
Our Super You Review
💬 So, Wallis, WDYT?
Girl walks in to Moon Juice. Girl spends whole paycheck on Moon Juice. I've been there probably more times than I'd like to admit.
I have also lived (too) close to a Moon Juice in LA for a few years now, and periodically pop by to soothe cold and flu symptoms but inevitably pick up a new potion, serum, box of miracle dust, or sampling of overpriced coconut yogurt.
It's a love-hate relash, to say the least, and although it pains me to admit, you can probably sign this sucker up for whatever new elixir or potion they drop next 🤦♀️.
On a rainy post-breakup day a few months back, I wandered into Moon Juice feeling (sans COVID) sick and promised myself I'd stop in just for a shot of elderberry, that's it. Of course, they were having a sale (a rare occurrence), and I thought, "Why not? I'm going through a hard time, I would love to be super-duper me." I succumbed to their aspirational marketing and a dewy faced staff member and bought a mini bottle of SuperYou.
At first, I felt, dare I say — cue eye roll — super. I was clear-headed, focused, and felt like my generalized anxiety had faded. I thought I had found my Limitless pill. Bradley Coops, watch your back.
I continued to re-fill my herbal sedative for about two months until I noticed my cycle was (unduly) surprising me two weeks early. V rude. I was also having some of the worst PMS symptoms ever and my breasts were almost a full-size up, and sore as eff.
While digging into the ingredients more thoroughly, my intuition punched me in the ovaries with a forceful knowing after reading a review that called out shatavari for having a major potential effect on hormonal balance. I was surprised it could have such an intense effect on my body, but I have been called a delicate daisy by many health professionals before 🤷♀️
I immediately stopped taking SuperYou and instantly felt better. Although I noticed a shift in my focus and anxiety levels while taking it, the dramatic changes in my cycle felt cruel.
This experience was undoubtedly a reminder that the placebo effect is one of the most therapeutic treatments out here but for this gal not worth the price of admission for this one.
— Wallis Millar-Blanchaer
💬 So, Michelle, would you buy again?
I want to hate Moon Juice. I sort of dislike everything it stands for. That it was one of the original gentrifiers of first Venice, then Silver Lake, here in LA. That it's become synonymous with Goop and affluence and insanely out-of-touch aspirational wellness. But I... don't?
Even though I think their dusts kinda taste like dirt, the lattes are ridiculously overpriced, the parking situation horrendous, I just can't quit Moon Juice. Honestly, their products are just a touch too expensive for me to justify buying regularly, which I feel helps me keep my safe distance.
On a friend's recco I started taking SuperYou in late 2019. I noticed a difference in my moods pretty quickly (placebo or not). I joked it was an anti-jerk pill. As a regular rhodiola drinker, I figured I wouldn't see a huge change in my life.
I think I bought one more bottle, then fell off the habit for the majority of the pandemic because those dusty tablets cost a pretty penny, and BTW the world is closed, who cares if you can focus a little better on your work when we're faced with a global tragedy? Capitalism is a hell of a drug, man.
But my favie Thrive Market let me know that SuperYou was back in stock (curse you, algorithm gods!) so I clicked "add to cart" again this past fall.
I do a lot of shit to keep my sluggish serotonin receptors from pulling me too deeply into a black hole of existential dread, and I would say that the addition of SuperYou (or just the habit of throwing back 2 pills a day) helps with that... in addition to dropping caffeine, exercising, going to therapy, microdosing, being in community, and trying to be purposeful in my life.
My well-being doesn't live and die on a beautiful gradient hill stacked high with SuperYou bottles, but for me, this product definitely doesn't hurt if I've got a little extra money to spend on self-care for the month.
— Michelle Pellizzon
Conclusion
Welp, there you have it, folks. Mixed bag for us on SuperYou. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the formulation on this bad boy was actually pretty stellar.
But the inclusion of shatavari, which can seriously mess with some people's hormonal levels? Not cool.
Our team will definitely take the dupes approved by Dr. Jennifer for a spin — at half the price of Moon Juice's SuperYou, they're a solid replacement and don't include the potentially problematic shatavari.
We want to hear from you — are you a SuperFan of SuperYou? Tell us in the comments below!