“Beauty is only skin deep.”

Is there any truth to all of these? Some may agree while others may not. But whether you agree or not, the skin, or the outermost layer of the body, is what we see first and is typically a big part of first impressions. You first admire a person’s beauty by looking at their skin, before getting to know them deeper.

Like all other systems found in our body, the integumentary system, or the skin, is also as important as everything else. The skin covers and protects you layer by layer and that is why it works just as much as the others in order to protect you from harm. Nonetheless, whatever you apply topically or whatever you ingest or include in your diet affects how your skin will look too.

There are many factors that can affect your skin but more often than not, these are caused by the environment and the number one foe is the sun. Smoking, stress and an unhealthy diet affects your skin cells and how they are able to regenerate. As we get older, the skin’s pace in generating new healthy skin cells is slower and even the sloughing off of dead skin cells tends to take longer than when you were younger.

So here are some vitamins that are proven to help bring back that glow to your skin.

Omega – 3

Who would ever think that Omega-3 is not only good for the heart but also for the skin? But to put it plainly it does makes sense since the heart is the pumping center of the body, so if the heart is healthy, the other organs would simply be healthy as well. If the heart is pumping healthy blood surely, it provides healthy blood all throughout the body. It has been believed that Omega-3 prevents the drying of the skin and even helps solve your problem of eczema and psoriasis. Omega-3 are healthy fats that can be found in the foods that you eat such as fish (salmon, anchovies) and nuts (spinach and walnuts, preferably unsalted), aside from the supplements you can buy at the pharmacy. This will help keep your skin supple and prevent you from having wrinkles.

Vitamin A

As we all know, vitamin A is good for the eyes since it contain retinoids and the most popular vegetable that is most known for its vitamin A content are the carrots. The benefits you get from taking Vitamin A are: wrinkles are reduced, it erases those dark spots and it also makes your skin smooth. But somehow, like any other vitamins, take only the amount you need. Over dosing your intake doesn’t do much good to your body. You can also use topical products that contain retinoids and combine it with Niacinamide to reduce any side effects and achieve optimum anti-aging benefits.

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Vitamin C is known for boosting the function your immune system.  It also fights off those free radicals that destroy the integrity of your body. As such, taking vitamin C helps prevent your skin from sagging, avoid the formation of wrinkles and also helps reduce those dark spots. If you don’t like taking things orally then there are products such as creams that contain Vitamin C. Women who used creams with Vitamin C for 6 consecutive months found out that their skin exuded a different, much healthier glow especially skin that were damaged by the sun. In addition, they noticed lightening of their skin color and complexion.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Niacin, or commonly known as Vitamin B3, helps lock in moisture inside the body. It increases certain compounds found in your body that becomes the outer most layer of protection of the skin. This is good for you if you have problems with either dry or sensitive skin and it also inhibits dark spot formation. For clients who experiences Rosacea, this helps reduce accompanying signs of the condition such as redness. Products that contain Vitamin B3 are mostly found in creams and mostly are preferably applied day and night.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a main component found in Sunscreen lotions since it lessens the chances of having your skin go dry and red. If you are a person who is constantly exposed to smoke, especially cigarette smoke, then this is your number one defense against it. It reduces the free radicals found in smoke that your skin has been exposed to. Among the other vitamins, this is the most popular and top selling vitamin that is ever known since it helps keep your body moisturized and protects you from the harmful UV rays in the sun. So, if you don’t want your skin to be dry or you want to bring back that healthy glow again, be sure to include vitamin E in your diet aside from including it to your daily beauty regimen. Dietary sources of vitamin E includes vegetable oils, nuts, whole grains and green leafy vegetables

Now that you know what are the right vitamins to take, be sure to include this in your diet. Most importantly, do not depend solely in taking these supplements. Pair them with the motivation and the dedication that you want to keep yourself healthy, inside and out. Eat right and healthy because what you feed yourself reflects on your skin. Exercise more frequently. Learn how to cope with stress and limit the amount of exposure to the sun especially when it is at its peak.

If you have not yet included this in your beauty regimen, it is still not too late to adjust or re-do. And if you don’t have a beauty regimen yet, here and now is the best time to start. Remember that getting old doesn’t mean we have to LOOK OLD.

Also, you have to take note that the products you are using are indicated for your skin type. You might be aggravating your skin problems instead of making it better. Some products may work well on others but not all products work well on you.

Sources
prevention.com
prevention.com
ods.od.nih.gov