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What Are Fish Scales Used For?

Fish have scales for protection. They work like body armor to shield against predators and disease. The four main types of fish scales include placoid, cosmoid, ganoid and cycloid/ctenoid., the latter pairing common on the skin of most bony fish. Though fish scales are something of a nuisance for culinary purposes (scaling is hardly the cleanest process), these iridescent flakes are frequently used in cosmetics, health foods and pharmaceuticals.

  1. Features

    • Cycloid scales are a bit like tree trunks. As they age, they form concentric circles. When held up to the sun, the light diffracted through these rings produces a slight iridescence--hence some names such as rainbow trout. For fish swimming in shallow waters, the metallic glow of their scales (produced by photonic crystals from the guanine in their skin) is a survival mechanism used to distract and confuse predators.

    Significance

    • Fish scales also contain a silvery substance called "pearlesence" or natural fish silver. This gives fish such as herring--and, yes, certain types of lipstick and nail polish--their pearly sheen. The makeup pigment consists of 75 percent to 97 percent guanine and 3 percent to 2 percent hypoxanthine. And since it takes a ton of fish to yield 250g of guanine, the market price for natural silver is proportionally high.

    Function

    • Because of the natural iridescence in fish scales, some artists have used them decoratively. Historically, fish scale art has involved ornamentation and jewelry making. Claudia Miclaus in an April 15, 2008, Buzzle.com posting notes a Red Deer College in Alberta, Canada, class offering of "Mixing Beads & Fishscale Art."

    Health Benefits

    • Fish scales are also a raw material in collagen-based products such as skin moisturizers, anti-aging creams, wrinkle removers, hand creams, cleansing gels, and all manner of Botox knock-offs and raccoon-eye miracle cures.

    Effects

    • One Chinese company on the Internet markets its skin-care product in these refreshingly candid terms: "Athena Fish Collagen capsule is manufactured from fish scale or skin using modern biochemical separation technology. It is [a] new collagen that is safe to human being [s]. There is 50% collagen in this product to promote skin health. It is suitable to support skin, hair...nail health and beauty."

    Considerations

    • Odds are, even a high-end product like the Bota-Peptide Contour Cream, put out by West Coast Skin (and priced at $77 for 7/10 of an ounce), makes use of the same raw fish scales in one form or another.

    Benefits

    • Unseemly as it may be, fish scales not only emanate a radiance all their own, but they potentially nourish the beauty of that glow in collagen consumers worldwide.

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