In Paris, You Can Get a Collagen Latte with a Side of Red Light Therapy
The nickname ‘City of Lights’ is taking on new meaning.
There was once a time when the American tourist had to search far and wide for an iced oat milk latte to-go in Paris, a city typically associated with whole milk, sit-down-and-enjoy cafe au laits. But these days, the City of Love is embracing caffeinated innovations so wellness coded it’s giving Erewhon-laden Los Angeles a run for its money.
At 48 Collagen Cafe, located in the 9th arrondissement, Parisian “it” girls sip on ripple glasses of tie-dye-hued, collagen-infused lattes while enjoying 12-minute LED red light therapy sessions. Fashion editor Camille Charriere and fashion designer Jeanne Damas are among 48 Collagen Cafe’s many customers, and New York City influencers are catching on, too. TikTok is filled with comments like “brb going to Paris specifically for this” and “I’m going to start this in Amsterdam. Who wants to partner up?”
The cafe concept, imagined by beauty consultant Amandine Fornot, opened in October. It’s located in a former 19th-century printing house, but you’d never guess that by looking at its futuristic, Bauhaus interior. The menu boasts a lineup of non-dairy functional beverages, colored by the usual Goop-style suspects: blue spirulina, beet root, matcha, and activated charcoal. Naturally, there’s bone broth and hydrogenated water available, too. And for such a unique experience, the cost is not entirely out of bounds. The collagen latte-LED combo will run you 25 euros.
Collagen, a key protein found in our bones, skin, and muscles, “ensures the suppleness, resistance and hydration of our bodily structures,” the cafe’s website reads. And the red light therapy—which customers can receive through an ominous, white mask—increases the amount of collagen in the skin, helps reduce fine lines, and stimulates circulation. The beauty benefits of collagen have been scientifically backed, but whether or not you can effectively reap the benefits of the supplements in a single sitting is unclear.
The one-of-a-kind cafe is, in a lot of ways, at odds with the lifestyle of the Parisian, who, 20 years ago, opposed the opening of Starbucks. The city always suggested a different kind of wellness ideal, where taking a long dejeuner and 30 days of paid vacation was the norm. Now, perhaps, people watching with a cigarette is being replaced with an LED session, and slow sipping is juxtaposed with an attempt to reverse the process of aging, almost instantly. 48 Collagen Cafe is evidence that Paris is ever-changing, and taken together with spots like Belleyme, the cafe-sauna that opened in 2021, it points towards a trend of cafe hybrids where wellness is, in fact, for sale.