Skin Vitamins

There are two types of skin vitamins I'm going to write about today, topical & internal. A topical vitamin supplements the skin from the outside in to: nourish, protect, and repair. Internal vitamins work from the inside out, giving your skin the proper support to: nourish, regenerate, and protect. Both applications are important for good skin health.

Topical vitamins are extremely fragile. They have to be manufactured correctly, including the packaging. For example Vitamin C is venerable to light and air. If it is exposed to either the product loses it's potency. You should always choose a brand that packages their topical vitamins in a frosted or amber glass, and in a container you don't have to actually open. That's why I personally love Bioelements Vitamineral Power Pen! (My fav brand. Can't you tell?). It contains powerful anti-oxidants to protect the skin from free radical damage, synthesises collagen, strengthens elastin, reverses signs of aging, repairs sun damage, unclogs pores, & prevents blackheads! Yes all that in a little pen. Second runner up is Dermalogica's topical vitamin capsules. This products helps reverse the signs of aging and repairs sun damage.

So what are free radicals? Well, I'm not going to give you the dictionary definition, but free radicals basically are scavengers that accelerate the aging process. Free radicals are created by pollution, cigarette smoke, and other contaminants. They are all around us even though we can't see them. That is why it is imperative to cleanse your skin morning & night, and to use a topical vitamin. Anti-oxidants neutralize free radicals preventing premature aging. Like rust aging is oxidation. Anti-oxidants slow oxidation, thus slows aging.

Our skin functions in two ways. It's absorbs nutirents during the day and excrets toxins at night. So we cleanse at night to remove free radicals off the skin which helps protect against free radical damage. We cleanse in the morning to remove the toxins the skin excretes at night. Similary, when you use an topical anti-oxidant in the morning it helps your skin win the war on free radicals. When you use it at night, it repairs any damage that skin may have received. So with any skin care regimen the plan is to defend during the day and repair at night.

Internal vitamins helps protect against free radical damage internally. They also can help with a variety of skin disorders. Vitamins good for the skin include; your regular multivitamin, fish oil, primrose oil (especially if you have severe acne), garlic oil, flax oil, borage oil & grape seed extract. Internal anti-oxidants keep your body functioning normally and slow the aging process. It's especially important in our polluted world. One of my grandmothers is a health nut. She has taken anti-oxidant for as long as I can remember. She has aged so gracefully. I truly believe it is do to her taking really good care of her skin, staying out of the sun, and taking her anti-oxidants.

External and internal vitamins work synergistically to maintain skin health and to slow aging.There are many resources available on vitamins & herbs if you are curious and want more information. Another great resource is your local mom an pop health food store (they seem so much more knowledgeable then the chain stores). As for topical vitamins check out your local day spa & speak with their lead Aesthetician.