It’s no secret that our bodies need vitamins to function properly and prevent various diseases. But it’s not all about what’s on the inside. Vitamins take care of our looks too. From skin hydration to healing wounds, the four vitamins we’re going to talk about are essential if you want to look young and beautiful.
Your Skin Needs Vitamins
Just like any other part of your body, what your skin needs is vitamins and care. As our largest organ, it’s susceptible to various problems and illnesses. Unfortunately, one of the most common types of tumors in the U.S. is skin cancer. Harmful UV rays are one of the core reasons why this horrible condition can show up on your skin too.
But to make sure it passes you by, it’s important to feed your skin with four essential vitamins — D, C, E, and K. However, daily exposure to sunlight of about 15 minutes can help restore the level of vitamin D in your skin. So, it’s important to understand that the sun isn’t exactly our enemy. It’s just how we interact with it.
You can find all the top 4 vitamins for the skin in various products and supplements. From hydration to anti-aging, they offer tons of benefits. Every one of them will help you look better and overall healthier. But, before we continue to ramble on, let’s go into detail about how they contribute to our looks and health in general.
Vitamin D
Just like we’ve already mentioned, our bodies create vitamin D once they absorb sunlight during the day. Namely, once in contact with the sunlight, cholesterol transforms into vitamin D. Later on, our liver supplies our organism with it to help recreate new and healthy cells. Most notably by replacing dead skin cells, which helps with the tone of our outer layer.
Vitamin D is very useful in treating people with psoriasis. It’s well-known that the man-made topical application called calcitriol helps with skin inflammation and pain. Usually, it’s enough to expose yourself to the sunlight for about 10 to 15 minutes for your body to produce a healthy amount of vitamin D., But if you’re pregnant or older than 60, it might take a bit more time than that.
Another way to up your vitamin D intake is to eat specific types of food. For example, you should consider cereals and orange juice in the morning. Also, various fish such as cod, salmon, tuna, and so on, are full of it too.
Vitamin C
One of the best skin care tips you can get is to use more vitamin C in your daily routine. It’s one of the sources of collagen, which your body uses to heal wounds and cell damage. You can find vitamin C in both the outer and inner layers of the skin. That means that it is pretty good in skin cancer prevention.
Another great characteristic of vitamin C is how it helps you with wrinkles and skin aging in general. Once again, collagen is the reason behind its usefulness. Also, not only will it help prevent wrinkles, but it will also help with dry skin. Once you apply it to your skincare routine, you’ll easily see why people think of it so highly.
You can find vitamin C and up your body’s collagen production with citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, but also vegetables like spinach and broccoli. Furthermore, you can always take supplements with your doctor’s approval.
What are the best foods for vitamin C? Know these here.
Vitamin E
Just like the one before it, vitamin E works great with sun-damaged skin cells. It’s an antioxidant, meaning it will absorb harmful UV rays. Our bodies produce it via sebum, an oily substance that fills our skin pores. Therefore, if you’re having trouble with dry skin, it’s probably because the level of sebum in your body is below normal.
Doctors say that the best way to apply additional vitamin E to your body is by eating certain types of food. As such, you can find it in all sorts of nuts and seeds. And just like vitamin C, leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinach are also full of it. But you can also use supplements and multivitamins to counteract your lack of sebum.
Vitamin K
Lastly, vitamin K is another important organic molecule that helps sensitive skin types. It is important because your blood needs to clot and stop the bleeding. As such, it’s usually given to patients after operations to prevent bruising and help your wounds heal faster. But once beauty is concerned, it’s great for eliminating circles under your eyes and spider veins on your skin.
You can find vitamin K in numerous fruits and vegetables. Again, green leafy veggies such as spinach and kale are full of it. On the other hand, fruits like prunes and kiwi can also give you that added touch of vitamin K. But it’s important not to forget meat, eggs, and cereals as important sources of it too.
Skin Health Reminders
Unfortunately, for your skin to look as good as it can, it’s not enough to overdose on these four vitamins. It’s not only useless for the way you look, but it’s also dangerous to exceed certain levels of them in your organism. If you do so, you’ll endanger your health by weakening your immune system instead of improving it.
For your skin to look lovely and be healthy, you should apply sunscreen before going out on a sunny day. You should also reapply it if you’re going to be exposed to the sun for a longer period. Also, washing your face every so often is a simple tip people usually forget about. A natural and gentle cleanse will take care of oils and dirt in no time.
SEE: Natural Face Wash That You Can Actually Make Yourself
Nevertheless, to keep your skin conditioned, you need to hydrate your body regularly. Drinking enough water during the day will allow your skin to “work” properly. It will also add that natural look to it that dryness takes away. And finally, you should quit smoking and alcohol as they both speed up the skin-aging process by a lot. Alcohol also dehydrates your body and, therefore, your face too.