If you want healthy skin — and who doesn’t — you need the right combination of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. With so many options out there, how do you know which specific vitamins promote skin health?
Whether you have adult acne, wrinkles, dry skin, slow-healing wounds, or other skin concerns, nature makes it easy for you. Hundreds of plants contain vitamins that boost skin health, keeping your skin moisturized, elastic, and smooth.
Vitamins are essential for healthy skin and its function. With the right ones, we can stave off nearly every aspect of unhealthy skin getting in our way.
What Causes Unhealthy Skin?
Even if you’ve got a comprehensive skincare routine — exfoliate, wash, moisturize, repeat — if you’re not getting the right nutrients or you’re stripping away the ones you do have, you may end up with unhealthy skin.
If your skin is blotchy, has an uneven texture, dark spots, acne, is dry and flaky, looks wrinkled, is tight, or feels uncomfortable, you likely have unhealthy skin. Chapped lips are a telltale sign that your skin is dry.
Many things can wreak havoc on your skin: smoking, stress, excessive alcohol, dehydration, picking at your skin, exposure to toxic chemicals, and consuming too much sugar.
The best path to healthy skin is preventing unhealthy skin! Eat healthily, exercise, and stay away from things that keep your skin from looking its best. If you’re eating junk food — including sugar and processed foods — you’re probably going to have skin issues.
Stress also depletes vitamin levels — and that affects your skin. When you’re stressed or your vitamin levels are low, it can lead to acne breakouts. Your body heals as you sleep, including your skin. So give your skin enough zzz’s to do its magic.
Best Vitamins for Skin
The combination of stress and lower vitamin levels increases oxidative stress, leading to skin damage. Many vitamins and minerals have antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage (which leads to premature aging). Ensuring you get adequate levels of these vitamins can make a big difference.
We’ve compiled a list of the best vitamins for your skin. Whether they improve collagen elasticity, reduce the appearance of acne, or give you glowing skin, these are the best of the best.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is actually a group of eight fat-soluble compounds — four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Most dietary supplements only contain alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant, which means it counteracts damage caused by free radicals inside the body and on your skin.
If you stay out in the sun too long, this vitamin can help counteract its effects, like dried-out skin and blemishes. Vitamin E also has anti-inflammatory properties. Interestingly, people who have acne tend to be low in it.
You can take vitamin E internally or use it directly on your skin. Many people like to get capsules of the oil, poke it with a pin, and squeeze it onto their face as a moisturizer. Choose an organic, plant-based vitamin E supplement. If spreading oil on 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 the vitamin.
Vitamin C
Sun exposure generates free radicals on the skin, which contribute to premature aging. If you want to slow down the signs of aging, 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, which keeps it looking young.
Putting vitamin C serum directly onto 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 are unable to produce vitamin C on their own, so you have to get it from foods or supplements. You’ll get the highest amount of vitamin C from citrus fruit, bell peppers, and broccoli.
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. That means less dry or damaged skin. Omega-3s can also help eye health, 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). Of the three omega-3 fatty acids, only ALA has an established recommended daily allowance: 1.6 g for men and 1.1 g for women. While you can find ALA in flaxseed oil and olive oil, you can only find both EPA and DHA 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. We recommend avoiding fish oil due to the high incidence of mercury and other oceanic contaminants.
Vitamin D
Also called “the sunshine vitamin” because your skin produces it when exposed to the sun, vitamin D supports healthy, glowing skin. Interestingly, similar to vitamin C and E, when you’re low in vitamin D, you may be more likely to get pimples. Some people use vitamin D serum on their skin for this reason.
Vitamin D supports wound healing and also protects against the sun’s 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. It most commonly comes from being out in the sun.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a skin-healing powerhouse. The delicate area under your eyes is prone to dehydration, which can bring dark circles, wrinkles, and fine lines. Applying vitamin K on the skin may help with these issues.
Interestingly, when people with bruising on their faces applied vitamin K topically, it improved the appearance of their skin within a couple of days. This versatile vitamin may even speed up the wound-healing process.
Make sure you get 90 mcg of vitamin K per day if you are a woman and 120 mcg if you are a man. Leafy greens, broccoli, parsley, and cruciferous vegetables contain the highest concentration of 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 on 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.
If you want to make sure you’re getting enough, Global Healing’s Biotin is plant-based and 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 I recommend a supplement.
Tips & Tricks for Healthier Skin
There’s plenty you can do to improve the appearance of your skin. Check out these 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 some of those essential vitamins for your skin and also start feeling more energy. Eliminate or cut down on sugar, meat, dairy, and processed foods, and say goodbye to tobacco and alcohol. The havoc they wreak on your skin just isn’t worth it.
