The Best Vitamins & Supplements for Healthy, Glowing Skin
The Best Vitamins & Supplements for Great Looking Skin
You skin needs the right balance of vitamins and nutrients to be able to function at its best. Your skin is the outermost barrier to your body, so it needs to be healthy. Certain supplements and vitamins can help heal and better your skin from the inside. Additionally, they can help improve the look and feel of your skin. There are vitamins and supplements everywhere nowadays. From healthy hair to hydrated skin, additional supplements are a great way to add a boost of nutrients that might not be there naturally. Eating a well-balanced diet will help improve the look and feel of your skin drastically, but sometimes our skin can use an extra boost. That’s where vitamins and supplements come in.
Why You Should Use Skincare Supplements
Skin can appear beautiful and healthy on the outside, but if it’s not being nourished correctly it can start to worsen over time. Taking supplements is a way to nurture your skin from within, from the dermis upwards. Nutrition and supplements provide necessary nutrition to the lowest layer of the skin that can’t be targeted with topical skincare. You can spend hundreds of dollars on topical skincare, but if you aren’t taking care of your skin from the inside, it won’t matter.
Types of Supplements
To help your skin looking, working, and feeling good, it’s important to provide it with the correct vitamins, fats, and proteins. Here are the top vitamins and supplements to consider taking to improve your skin.
- Healthy Fats
Believe it or not, your body needs fats. Too little fat in your diet can make your skin looked wrinkled and dry. Intaking the right amount of fat will help you skin look supple and have a healthy glow.
Focus on monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats, the kind of fats that come from natural foods. Nuts, seeds, avocados, and fish are great sources of good fats. These can help your skin stay moist, firm, and flexible. Try to avoid a large intake of unhealthy saturated fats such as butter, palm and coconut oils, cheese, and red meat.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a source of polyunsaturated fat, which can’t be made by your body itself. They help to build cell walls and block a chemical that lets skin cancer grow. Additionally, they may help lower inflammation. A few over-the-counter supplements that include healthy fats are:
- Fish oil
- CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid)
- GMA (Gamma-linolenic acid)
- Fat supplements, or any supplement with at least one of the three ingredients listed above
- Protein
Your body uses protein and turns it into essential amino acids. Protein is also reused to make other proteins, including collagen and keratin that form the structure of the skin. Amino acids help shed dead skin cells, making room for new, healthy skin cells.
Protein supplements are popular in the diet and health industry, so there are tons of options available on the market. There are protein powders, bars, and capsules to make sure you’re meeting your body’s protein demand. Wheat protein, whey protein, and soy protein are available as supplements are can be purchased online in a variety of flavours too.
- Vitamin A
Each layer of your skin needs and benefits from Vitamin A. It slows down the process that breaks down collagen and seems to prevent sun damage, which can help slow down signs of sun damage and aging. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant that helps provide protection against sunburns. It helps promote faster hair growth and can help cuts and scrapes heal quickly, too.
Without an adequate amount of vitamin A, your skin could get dry, itchy, or bumpy. A deficit of vitamin A can have negative long-term effects but also impact your skin early on, so make sure to include foods that are high in vitamin A or take a supplement daily.
Foods to incorporate into your diet that are high in Vitamin A include: dairy products, liver, fish, and fortified cereals. Additionally, carrots, broccoli, cantaloupe, and squash are very high in vitamin A. You can also purchase vitamin A capsules and tables at any pharmacy.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin C directly affects the collagen in your skin; it helps strengthen the protein that makes up collagen. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that may lower your chances of developing skin cancer. Low levels of vitamin C can cause easy bruising or bleeding.
You can purchase vitamin C tablets that help the skin from the inside, or you can include a vitamin C serum into your daily routine. Applied topically, vitamin C serums brighten the appearance of your skin and can reduce dark spots or discolouration.
Some foods with the highest sources of vitamin C include:
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Green and red peppers
- Spinach and leafy greens
- Cabbage
- Sweet and white potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Squash
Concentrated vitamin C tablets are also available online and at pharmacies and grocery stores.
- Vitamin E
This antioxidant and anti-inflammatory can help reduce signs of aging and help to hydrate your skin’s surface. Vitamin E absorbs the energy from UV light, which damages skin and leads to wrinkles, sagging skin, and skin cancer. When applied topically, it provides a deep hydration and instant plumping effect to the skin.
Foods with the highest level of vitamin E are:
- Wheat germ oil
- Sunflower seeds
- Almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and peanuts
- Sunflower oil and almond oil
- Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout
- Avocado
- Raw red peppers
- Mango
You can also purchase concentrated vitamin E tablets and capsules online or in a pharmacy or grocery store.
- Zinc
The outer layer of your skin has a high concentration of minerals compared to its underlayers. Zinc helps your skin heal after any sort of injury, as it helps to keep cell walls stable and promotes cell regeneration. Zinc also prevents damage from UV rays and is an antioxidant.
If your skin is lacking zinc, it can produce spots of dry skin that look like eczema.
When looking for a zinc supplement, there are a few different kinds to consider:
- Zinc gluconate
- Zinc acetate
- Zinc sulfate
- Zinc picolinate
- Zinc orotate
- Zinc citrate
Available in capsule, tablet, or lozenge form, there are plenty of options to get your daily dose of zinc. However, nasal sprays containing zinc have been attributed to a loss of smell and should be avoided. Foods that are high in zinc content include: oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, certain types of seafood including crab and lobster, and whole grains.
The Best All-In-One Supplements for Skin
The beauty industry is always on the hunt to find a magic solution to all beauty and skincare concerns. Due to this, there are a variety of supplements that were designed with all the essential vitamins and minerals needed to achieve and maintain healthy skin. Unfortunately, there isn’t one single pill that will get rid of all your skin’s problems. That being said, there are still lots of brands that offer supplements designed for improving your skin’s health. Here are a few notable vitamins for clear, glowing skin.
These supplements have a blend of vitamin B12m and vitamin C to maintain connective tissue health. It contains zinc to help relieve acne and burdock to treat mild symptoms of eczema and dermatitis. These tablets are designed with multiple vitamins and minerals to help improve the look and feel of your skin, including:
- Burdock
- Marigold
- Turmeric
- Gentian
- Ginger
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Zinc
- Glutamine
When looking for skin supplements, be mindful to check the ingredients. Reference the list above of skin-healthy vitamins to ensure you’re getting ingredients that will actually improve your skin.
If swallowing tablets or capsules isn’t something you’re comfortable with, GOOPGLOW Powder Mix is the perfect supplement for you. Packed with tons of vitamins and nutrients designed to boost your skin’s health and appearance, this supplement comes as a powder that can be easily mixed into water.
Its ingredients include: Vitamin C (helps support natural collagen), CoQ10 (defends cells from damage caused by harmful free radicals), Lutein and Zeaxanthin (contain antioxidants that maintain eye health), Vitamin E, Grape (Vitis Vinifera) Seed Extract, Isomalto-Oligosaccharides, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Rebaudioside A, and Silica.
This nutrient-packed powder provides all the skincare benefits of a supplement tablet in a tasty citrus-flavoured dissolvable powder.
If signs of aging are your main skin concern, there are supplements options for you out there. HUM’s Arctic Repair supplements use a combination of ingredients to reduce wrinkles, support skin elasticity and density, and promote skin hydration.
These supplements have a shorter list of ingredients, which some may prefer. Ingredients include: Vitamin A, Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-9, and Gamma-tocotrienol. HUM offers a wide variety of supplements to target any kind of skin, hair, nail, or other health concern. With multiple options, you’re bound to find the right supplement for you.
Do Supplements Really Work?
There is some debate as to whether or not supplements or vitamins actually work. Your body needs a balanced intake of different vitamins and minerals to perform its best. If you eat a well-balanced diet with foods that contain healthy fats and vitamins, you might not have as much of a need for additional supplements. However, if your body is lacking certain vitamins, supplements are designed to fill that gap easily and efficiently. While it isn’t recommended to rely solely on supplements to help promote skin and hair health, taking them can be a great bonus. The ingredients in supplements have been proven to help with a variety of beauty and health concerns.
Before taking any kind of supplements, consider speaking to a doctor to prevent any misuse. Too much of anything can be a bad thing!
Where Can I Start?
Vitamins and supplements are sold at most pharmacies and grocery stores. It is recommended that you reflect on what supplements you may need before buying any. Try and target what you want to improve before making any decisions. Consider whether or not you have any skin conditions that are easily treatable or managed with vitamins or supplements. Does your skin need a boost in hydration? Do you want to reduce fine lines and wrinkles? Once this is determined, you can determine which supplements will be best for your concerns.
Vitamins and supplements are a great way to boost your overall health and target skin concerns. By understanding which vitamin has which benefit to your skin, you’re well-equipped with the knowledge you will need to make your purchase. When topical solutions aren’t enough for your skin, try something that will heal your skin from within!
