How Vitamins Can Help Keep Your Skin Looking Healthy & Youthful

We all know that the most effective anti-aging product is sunscreen. Avoid the sun and use a sunscreen every day, that’s what we’re told by every dermatologist we encounter. But according to an article in Medical News Today, “Making sure you get enough vitamins can keep your skin looking healthy and youthful. This could translate to a reduction in dark spots, redness, wrinkles, rough patches and excessive dryness.” Vitamin D is one of the best vitamins for your skin, along with vitamins C, E, and K, but the most effective vitamin D absorption is achieved when sunlight is exposed to your skin. So, what to do? 

Vitamin D

Sunscreen helps protect against the damaging effects of UVA and UVB rays; it does not completely block the absorption of vitamin D. So all sun exposure isn’t bad: a mere 15-20 minutes in the sun should reap the benefits of vitamin D without the risk. This is important. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated that more than 40 percent of adults in the United States were deficient in vitamin D, which, according to recent studies, has been linked to breast and bowel cancer. Cholesterol converts to vitamin D and your liver and kidneys absorb it and transport it throughout the body to help create healthy cells. This includes the skin, where vitamin D plays an important role in skin tone. It may even help treat psoriasis.However, body fat has also been shown to deplete vitamin D. Those individuals with a higher percentage of body fat should consider supplementation. Studies show that topical vitamin D is also very effective at reducing skin inflammation and irritation with few to no side effects. So, you don’t have to risk skin cancer to avoid other cancers.In addition to a topical vitamin D, a diet rich in vitamin E (spinach, kale, etc.) or a vitamin E supplement can also be beneficial.

We love Zelens Vitamin D Drops.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. It mainly serves to protect against sun damage. Vitamin E absorbs the harmful UV light from the sun when applied to the skin. This helps prevent dark spots and wrinkles. While vitamin E is available in many skincare products, the problem is that any beneficial effects could be minimized upon sun exposure. As a result, using a topical product that contains both vitamin E and vitamin C will be more effective in photoprotection than those that contain only one of the two.

We love Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Serum.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the key ingredients found in many anti-aging skin care products due to its antioxidant and collagen producing properties. Higher levels of vitamin C have also been shown to repair the dermal and epidermal layers. Plus, vitamin C has been proven to make your sunscreen more effective.Consider taking an oral supplement as well. It is difficult to get the daily recommended dosage of these vitamins from food alone. A vitamin supplement can insure you are working from the inside out. I personally use a Vitamin CE serum coupled with a vitamin D serum and oral supplement daily.