Vitamins: What Your Momma Didn't Tell You

They say, “you are what you eat.” When you eat unhealthy food, you’ll look unhealthy, ugly and old and if you eat nutritious, healthy food, you’ll look beautifully healthy. That would be partly true because a lot are also wondering that no matter how they modify their diet complete with those multis and supplements, it just isn’t enough. Why? According to Dr. Mary Lupo, clinical professor of dermatology at Tulane University School of Medicine, "the body delivers only a certain percentage of vitamins to your skin, no matter how much you ingest". So, what do we do?

Here comes the role of the topical(applied to the skin) vitamins to achieve that maximum anti-aging benefit from improving tone and texture to the fading of those most dreaded eye bags. So, brace yourselves for men and women alike would soon be hovering around you once you religiously follow this guide. The 5 best vitamins are: 1. Vitamin A, 2. Vitamin B3, 3. Vitamin C, 4. Vitamin E, 5. Vitamin K.

Vitamin A is proven best for reducing wrinkles, fading brown spots and smoothing roughness. Preparations are OTC (over-the-counter) lotions, retinoids and prescription products. Vitamin A is best applied at night for sunlight inactivates most forms of Vitamin A thus the reduced effect. If you want the instant effect, go for prescription retinoids. Works the fastest, within 4-8 weeks, but side effect would be irritation, redness, scaling and flaking. For starters, OTC products are advised because it has fewer side effects. For lesser irritation, use it every 2nd or 3rd night and may increase it to nightly thereafter. 

According to Dr. Leslie S. Bauman,  "As that barrier is strengthened, skin is better able to keep moisture in and irritants out—making B3 a great ingredient if your complexion is dry or sensitive". That is the amazing work of Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), our second of the list.

B3 increases the production of ceramides and fatty acids (2 key components of our skin’s outer protective barrier). It also minimizes dark spots by stopping the transfer of pigments to the skin cells. Preparations are found in lotions, creams and serums. It is best applied in the morning and evening.  "Mix them (retinoid and niacinamide) together in the palm of your hand before applying—they won't inactivate each other", says Bauman. Mixing both decreases side effects and even produces superior anti-aging benefit.

Knowing this, maybe scientists could make something which contains both to lessen the hassle of mixing them plus less expense. Right? Just Saying. Moving on, the 3rd of our list is Vitamin C.

It works to get rid of the wrinkles, sagging and other aging changes of the skin. Vitamin C is found in moisturizers. It may have the same job as what retinoids (Vitamin A) does, but using both may produce an even better and obvious effect. Quoting Dr. Lupo, "skin aging occurs in various ways, so you need multiple forms of defense and repair". It should be applied in the morning before your sunscreen to keep your skin protected by those free radicals that can’t be blocked by your sunscreens. Fourthly, is 

Vitamin E (sunscreens). It is named “the protector” for its potent ability to neutralize the damaging effect of free radicals. Free radicals are simply particles that damage healthy cells. It is applied before and after sun exposure and should go hand in hand with Vitamin C to ensure effectiveness. Another aging problem is the under-eye circles. It usually happens when fragile capillaries cause blood to leak to the skin.

To lighten those “panda-eyes”, the job of Vitamin K (phytonadione) comes in. Vitamin K is the clotting vitamin that controls the seepage. Its preparations are found in eye creams but may also usually contain retinol so usage would also be like retinol. That was the last but not the least of our list. Phew! That was a lot yet worth-the-effort routine. So, you better try it now.

Upon knowing this guide, we realize that use of these 5 vitamins produces a younger you. But still, knowingly, we also should bear in mind that beauty cannot only be maintained by watching over our diet nor on what we put on topically but also by what we feed our mind. By living with a positive attitude, aging or stress or illness can never lay a finger on us.

Live healthily. Live beautifully. Live positively.