If You Want Healthy Skin
Everyone wants healthy skin, right? To achieve that, you need the right mix of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. But with so many options out there, how do you know which vitamins are best for your skin?
Whether you’re dealing with adult acne, wrinkles, dry skin, slow-healing wounds, or other skin issues, nature has a solution. Many plants are packed with vitamins that enhance skin health, keeping it moisturized, elastic, and smooth.
Vitamins are essential for healthy skin and its proper function. With the right vitamins, you can prevent many skin problems from arising.
What Causes Unhealthy Skin?
Even if you have a thorough skincare routine — exfoliate, wash, moisturize, repeat — you might still end up with unhealthy skin if you’re not getting the right nutrients or if you’re stripping away the ones you do have.
If your skin is blotchy, uneven in texture, has dark spots or acne, is dry and flaky, looks wrinkled, feels tight or uncomfortable, you likely have unhealthy skin. Chapped lips are a clear sign of dry skin.
Several factors can damage your skin:
Smoking, stress, excessive alcohol, dehydration, picking at your skin, exposure to toxic chemicals, and consuming too much sugar.
The best way to achieve healthy skin is to prevent unhealthy skin! Eat healthily, exercise, and avoid things that harm your skin. Junk food, including sugar and processed foods, can lead to skin issues.
Stress also depletes vitamin levels, affecting your skin. When you’re stressed or low on vitamins, it can cause acne breakouts. Your body heals while you sleep, including your skin. So, make sure you get enough sleep to let your skin work its magic.
Best Vitamins for Skin
Stress and low vitamin levels increase oxidative stress, leading to skin damage. Many vitamins and minerals have antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage, which causes premature aging. Getting enough of these vitamins can make a significant difference.
Here are some of the best vitamins for your skin. Whether they improve collagen elasticity, reduce acne, or give you glowing skin, these are top choices.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat-soluble compounds — four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Most supplements only contain alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, counteracting damage caused by free radicals inside the body and on your skin.
If you spend too much time in the sun, this vitamin can help counteract its effects, like dried-out skin and blemishes. Vitamin E also has anti-inflammatory properties. Interestingly, people with acne tend to be low in it.
You can take vitamin E internally or apply it directly to your skin. Many people use capsules of the oil, poke them with a pin, and squeeze the oil onto their face as a moisturizer. Choose an organic, plant-based vitamin E supplement. If applying oil to your face doesn’t appeal to you, take it internally.
The recommended daily allowance of vitamin E is 15 mg for men and women, and most people do not get enough. Almonds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, and avocados are excellent sources of vitamin E.
Vitamin C
Sun exposure generates free radicals on the skin, contributing to premature aging. If you want to slow down aging signs, vitamin C helps with its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It works best when taken with vitamin E.
Vitamin C boosts collagen production in the skin, the protein that helps your skin stay tight and youthful.
Applying vitamin C serum directly to your face is great for collagen production. The topical version comes in a dropper bottle for easy application, but you can also take vitamin C internally as a dietary supplement.
The recommended daily allowance of vitamin C is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men. People cannot produce vitamin C on their own, so you have to get it from foods or supplements. Citrus fruits, bell peppers, and broccoli are high in vitamin C.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
If you’ve spent too much time in the sun, omega-3s can help. While not a vitamin per se, omega-3s are important nutrients that protect against photo-aging and sunburn effects on the skin, leading to less dry or damaged skin. Omega-3s also support eye health by boosting tear production and keeping eyes moisturized.
There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Only ALA has an established recommended daily allowance: 1.6 g for men and 1.1 g for women. ALA is found in flaxseed oil and olive oil, while EPA and DHA are found in algae oil.
Try eating olives, flaxseeds, and chia seeds. You can also get omega-3s from hemp oil, sea buckthorn oil, and algae oil. Avoid fish oil due to the high incidence of mercury and other oceanic contaminants.
Vitamin D
Also known as “the sunshine vitamin” because your skin produces it when exposed to the sun, vitamin D supports healthy, glowing skin. Similar to vitamins C and E, low levels of vitamin D can lead to pimples. Some people use vitamin D serum on their skin for this reason.
Vitamin D supports wound healing and protects against sun damage. Healthy levels of vitamin D delay aging, promoting normal hair growth and excellent skin health.
The recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 15 mcg for men and women. It can be challenging to get vitamin D from food, so sun exposure is the most common source.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a skin-healing powerhouse. The delicate area under your eyes is prone to dehydration, leading to dark circles, wrinkles, and fine lines. Applying vitamin K to the skin may help with these issues.
When people with facial bruising applied vitamin K topically, it improved their skin’s appearance within a couple of days. This versatile vitamin may even speed up the wound-healing process.
Women should get 90 mcg of vitamin K per day, and men should get 120 mcg. Leafy greens, broccoli, parsley, and cruciferous vegetables are rich in vitamin K.
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Vitamin B3, or niacin (which converts into niacinamide), can even out your skin tone and help you avoid excessive wrinkles and fine lines that come with age.
Applied to the skin, B3 makes your skin more elastic and evens out skin tone, including red blotchiness, skin sallowness (yellowing), and hyperpigmentation.
The recommended daily allowance of vitamin B3 is 14 mg for women and 16 mg for men. Plant-based sources of vitamin B3 include nutritional yeast, brown and wild rice, corn, and acorn squash.
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
If you lack enough vitamin B7 (biotin), you can end up with rashes and irritated skin, brittle nails, and hair loss.
To ensure you’re getting enough, consider a plant-based biotin supplement extracted from organic Sesbania herb. This ensures that all the cofactors and co-nutrients found in nature are present in your supplement.
The recommended daily allowance of biotin is 30 mcg for men and women. Biotin is mainly found in animal sources, so a supplement is recommended.
Tips & Tricks for Healthier Skin
There are plenty of ways to improve your skin’s appearance. Here are some tried and true practices.
Eat a Plant-Based Diet
Boost your intake of whole, natural foods, particularly fresh raw fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and seeds. You’ll get essential vitamins for your skin and also start feeling more energetic. Eliminate or cut down on sugar, meat, dairy, and processed foods, and say goodbye to tobacco and alcohol. The damage they cause to your skin isn’t worth it.
Get Your Sweat On
Sweat naturally detoxifies your skin. So hop in the sauna, get in a tough workout at the gym, or go to a hot yoga class. Once all the toxins are gone, you’ll be left with younger-looking skin that people will envy. Make sure to wash your skin right after your workout!
Go All Natural
Choose natural skincare products, as standard beauty creams and washes contain toxic chemicals that can contribute to aging. Use a dry brush before your shower, and don’t use too much soap and shampoo (opt for natural, organic products). Select an all-organic moisturizing cream like Luminous, a 100% natural and organic luxury face cream with aloe leaf juice, coconut oil, vitamin E, hemp seed oil, and exotic essential oils like blue chamomile, lavender, and Tunisian neroli.
