Maddening proof that Gwynnie’s bonkers regime works

Algae and ‘sex dust’ for breakfast. Bee stings on her jowls. Why at 44 this picture is . . .

FOR years, we’ve laughed at her weird, wonderful — and, at times, rather ridiculous — health and beauty regime.

From bee stings to improve her complexion to drinking ‘sex dust’ to perk up her love life, it seems there’s nothing Gwyneth Paltrow won’t try in her never-ending quest for eternal youth.

The actress, 44, spends a mind-boggling £14,000 a month on her looks and swears by all sorts of strange tonics and obscure foods on her much-mocked lifestyle website, Goop.com.

Now, though, it appears Gwynnie — who separated from her husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, in 2014, with their divorce finalised this year — may have had the last laugh.

Reclining rather seductively on a supermarket conveyor belt clad in nothing but a black bikini, dazzling diamonds and sky-high stilettos for a recent Harper’s Bazaar photoshoot (right), the mother of two looked like a woman half her age.

Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, her tanned, toned legs displayed not a millimetre of fat, and her blazer draped open to reveal a washboard stomach any twentysomething would envy.

So, is there some truth in her mad regime? SARAH RAINEY and ALICE SMELLIE examine Gwynnie’s beautiful body — and the bizarre secrets behind it . . .

‘SEX DUST’ TO GIVE HER GLOWING SKIN

GWYNNIE has the super-smooth skin of a woman decades years younger — however, unlike many of her contemporaries, she claims it isn’t down to Botox.

Instead, the actress laces her morning smoothie with ‘sex dust’ — a £25-a-pot concoction of obscure herbs and plants, including cacao (an extract of cacao beans), maca (part of a Peruvian plant) and the entirely unpronounceable ‘ schisandra’ ( dried berries from northern China).

It may sound like mumbo-jumbo, but food and fitness nutritionist Rick Hay says the dust does contain superfoods, which have been known to nourish skin.

Cacao contains vitamin C and magnesium, both of which help to keep skin healthy and prevent premature ageing; maca balances hormones and has been used to treat acne; and schisandra is often drunk as a tea that is said to make the skin supple, glowing and blemish-free. The herbs (and a little eyeliner) may also be responsible for that come-hither look in the new photoshoot — Gwyneth says the supplement will ‘ignite and excite . . . in and out of the bedroom’.

Let’s hope the actress’s new boyfriend, handsome Hollywood television producer Brad Falchuk, 45, is equally energetic . . .

DEEP SEA WATER FOR THICK HAIR

HER thick, lustrous locks — which Gwynnie describes as ‘dry, damaged and bleached’ (who is she kidding?) — are given volume and shine by what’s known as ‘Depsea’ or ‘non-mineralised’ water.

This special liquid, patented by Japanese brand Shu Uemura, is collected from the deepest parts of the ocean, where it has lain undisturbed for some 2,000 years.

This means it is purer than normal water, rich in nourishing minerals and free from pollutants and irritants. Both Shu Uemura shampoo and conditioner — Gwyneth’s favourites at around £20 a bottle — contain this ‘non-mineralised’ water, which coats each follicle and gives extra body.

She has regular colouring sessions, at £350 a time, at Tracey Cunningham’s Los Angeles salon to maintain that icy-blonde hue (and cover any stray greys), as well as applying £56 Rodin by Recine hair oil, a blend of rosemary, apricot and orange oil, which is said to stimulate hair growth.

But the real secret to her bouncy mane, says consultant trichologist Iain Sallis, is daily Viviscal hair supplements, which contain hair- strengthening marine oil, protein and zinc.

‘A few years ago — before she started taking Viviscal — she had very thin-looking hair,’ adds Iain. Invented by a Scandinavian professor, who discovered that fish proteins were responsible for the strong hair among Inuit people, these strange- sounding tablets cost £90 for a three-month supply.

COCONUT OIL FOR A PEARLY WHITE SMILE

PERHAPS one of Gwyneth’s most stomachchurning habits is spending 20 minutes a day swilling coconut oil around her mouth.

This technique is known as oil pulling, a traditional Indian practice that’s said to be good for oral health, whitening teeth and removing bacteria.

The theory is that the lauric acid found in coconut oil can help get rid of the bacteria responsible for producing plaque — and it certainly seems to have given Paltrow bright, white teeth. ‘There may be something in [oil pulling], however there isn’t yet sufficient clinical evidence to support it,’ says London dentist Dr Uchenna okoye.

Instead, Dr okoye says that it’s more likely Gwynnie’s winning smile is down to wearing a retainer — most likely at night — and avoiding foods that stain the teeth, such as red wine and coffee.

This shouldn’t be too much of a strain: one of her oddest detoxes involves consuming just one meal a day, washed down with hot water and lemon.

‘CUPPING’ FOR TRIM HIPS AND THIGHS

THERE’S not an ounce of fat spilling out of Gwynnie’s minuscule black bikini — but how does she manage it?

She famously turned up at a 2004 premiere in a dress revealing large circular blotches on her back. The strange red marks came from cupping, an alternative therapy that has been likened to acupuncture.

The practice, which was used by some of the athletes at the 2016 Rio olympics, dates back at least 2,000 years and is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine.

It uses heated glass cups, which are fixed on the skin to create a vacuum, drawing the skin underneath upwards.

It’s believed this increases blood flow and helps with stress.

Research has also found that cupping has a physical impact, lowering levels of the hormone cortisol, which has been linked to abdominal fat — perhaps explaining Gwyneth’s slim hips, thighs and stomach.

FRUIT SCRUB FOR A SMOOTH DECOLLETAGE

THE area between the chin and the bust is a giveaway for most fortysomething women. But while others are sagging and dotted with age spots, Gwyneth’s decolletage is astonishingly wrinkle-free.

Her secret? A bizarre obsession with home-made fruit scrubs, which she sells for £96 from her Goop website.

These contain a blend of orange, apple, lemon and bilberry oils, which have been shown to rejuvenate, brighten and smooth the skin.

Gwynnie slathers them over her face, neck and decolletage daily, using them as an exfoliator to dissolve the top layer of dead skin cells.