Several years ago my older sister who lives part time in France told me that she tried a silica gel product there and it had several benefits for her. She gave me the link and I believe I saw Me. Ribault's picture there so it may have been the same site, it was not available here in the U.S.A. though and, anyway, it cost considerably more than the one I've taken, Kal's Super Silica Plus with MSM which contains "bioperine" to make it more absorbable. I'm taking so many things now that I'm lucky to squeeze one tablet of silica a day but when I was taking it regularly I noticed it had a positive effect on my skin too, however, my nails who are weak and ridged made no progress at all.