Is swallowing a beauty pill a great way to improve your skin from the inside out? There actually are supplements that target specific skin concerns
Certain supplements effectively target specific skin concerns to give your skincare a helping hand and improve your skin’s overall glow. Let’s look a bit closer at this.
Read on where I’ll share the best supplements for glowing skin and where you can get them.
Let me start by saying I HEAR YOU!!
Why should we incorporate supplements into our dietary routine and not focus just on healthy food?
Yes, I had the exact same thought for years!!! In the quest for glowing skin and vibrant health, it’s no secret that a balanced diet plays a crucial role. But let’s face it, getting our recommended 5-a-day fruit and veggie quota can be challenging. Even when we do, it might not be enough to provide our skin and bodies with the essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they crave and need.
As we all know, in an ideal world, we would live on a farm that was not near a motorway and eat all of these vitamins and get minerals from the ground.
We wouldn’t take them in a bottle. But only a few people are fortunate enough to live in that slow food movement to an extent that gives them all the necessary nutrients.
Other factors to consider about the benefits of skincare supplements
One factor to consider is that our food sources differ from what they were decades ago. The quality of food and the nutrients are not what it was. Food has evolved over the past half-century, and not for the better. Many studies show that the loss of nutrients has been linked with decreased levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in fruits and vegetables that we eat today compared to their counterparts from decades ago.
Another vital fact to consider is that nutrient absorption and micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 decline with age. The level of this is different for everyone as our skin is unique for each one of us.
There’s also a case for debunking recommended daily amounts (also known as RDAs). The recommended daily amounts were set several decades ago. But this was only to prevent disease, so, for example, a lack of vitamin C would cause scurvy. They found that if you took 30-60mg of vitamin C a day, you would not have scurvy. These RDAs might ensure we avoid illness, but they don’t necessarily provide the ideal dosage for vitality.
Here’s the TWIST about improving your skin’s radiance from the inside out
When we ingest nutrients and vitamins, our bodies have a priority list. Vital organs take precedence, while our skin often ends up at the back of the line, receiving the leftovers. It’s like trying to share a single bag of crisps with a crowd of 20. There’s not much to go around for everyone, especially the last one!
This is where skincare supplements come into play. They help bridge the nutritional gap, ensuring your skin doesn’t miss out.
However, it’s crucial to understand that supplements should complement, not replace, a healthy skincare routine and a balanced diet. For a thriving complexion, a 360° approach is key.
What skin is actually made up of ?
If we can see what skin is made up of, we can tackle any issues we may have.
We need to look at the basics of skin. Skin comprises 70% water and 25% protein, of which collagen is a significant percentage and two per cent lipids. And the other three per cent are basically hormones.
Best supplements that target skin concerns to boost your skin’s complexion
There are certain supplements for the skin that effectively target a specific skin concern to give your skincare a helping hand to help strengthen your skin and get that glow and radiance from within
If you have dry skin…
Q: “My skin is so dry. What can I use?
A: Skin-restoring natural ceramides can be your ally if you battle dry skin conditions. Ceramides are tiny lipid particles that act as the mortar between skin cells which are rich in water. The role of the ceramides is to prevent those cells from getting dehydrated. So, they’re involved in moisturizing skin, whereas hyaluronic acid is involved in hydrating skin.
Now, this is not a product that’s going to work immediately. Ceramides take as long as 90 days to get to the skin from the inside, so you must obviously consider using a good ceramide moisturizer. But if you suffer from exceedingly dry skin, flaky skin, or eczema-prone skin, ceramides will help.
There’s also another option, called Omega-7, which is really great for dry skin as it aids in ceramide production, benefiting both dry skin and dry eyes.
Combining natural ceramide supplements and a ceramide moisturizer is the key strategy for dry skin, improving your skin’s glow from the inside out.
Some Options I Recommend
PAULA’S CHOICE | Hyaluronic Acid + Ceramide Dietary Supplement
NEW CHAPTER | Omega-7: Sea Buckthorn Blend
LIFE EXTENSION |Skin Restoring Ceramides
If you have dehydrated skin…
Q: “I don’t really have dry skin, but it feels dry lately”
A: You need Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate your dehydrated skin
Dehydrated skin is skin that is lacking in water. It can be triggered by everything from changing seasons to using the wrong skincare. It will leave skin tight and dull, with fine lines exaggerated.
After talking about ceramides, which moisturize your skin, let’s talk now about Hyaluronic Acid, which hydrates your skin. Moisturization and hydration are two different kinds of things but equally important.
I know you know about the benefits of the hero hydrator, HA, for topical skincare, but what about internal TLC for our skin?
Taking it in supplement form will not only improve your complexion but your bodily processes, too. Remember, everything works better when it’s hydrated – imagine trying to run a marathon without a sip of water.
Hyaluronic acid is abundant in our bodies, found everywhere, from our cartilage to our eyes. Still, its natural levels decline as we get older.
Our skin is composed of up to 70% water, so how do we hydrate our skin? Now, we know that we can, of course, hydrate to a certain degree by drinking water daily. But the nutrient that works to hydrate our skin is Hyaluronic Acid.
Our bodies contain 15 grams of hyaluronic acid, which holds a thousand times its weight in water, which is impressive. Hyaluronic acid is always found alongside collagen, in and around collagen. HA is not just going to help with your skin but with your joints too.
As I heard initially before becoming a holistic beauty architect, you might have also heard from various sources that collagen and hyaluronic acid, for example, can’t make it all the way to the skin when taken as a supplement as they are too big of molecules.
Let me give you some clarity here
Let’s start with Hyaluronic Acid. Yes, this jellyfish structure of Hyaluronic Acid is ill-absorbed by the body, so many people are right that it’s not absorbed efficiently. But the supplement I’m recommending below is not actually hyaluronic acid; it’s a biotechnological product made up of Sodium Hyaluronate. This is a much smaller particle size, measured in so-called “daltons”, for it to be assimilated effectively. I’m not saying 100% of the supplement will be absorbed effectively, but at least if you can get 50% out of it, your skin will benefit so much.
The fact is, there are no natural sources as such of hyaluronic acid. The only trustworthy natural source of hyaluronic acid is actually bone broth, which is not for all of us, especially if you’re a vegetarian or vegan. It’s a biotechnological product, so it works for everyone.
The benefit you’ll see on your skin is that you will definitely enhance the hydration quality in your skin, so your skin cells will be plumped.
My Recommendation:
VICTORIA HEALTH: Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength
If you have mature skin with fine lines and wrinkles…
Q: I’m feeling that I’ve lost elasticity in my skin and that it’s lost its plumpness. What should I take?
A: Collagen to start with, for sure.
The category of collagen has grown tenfold over the last few years.
Why do we need to take it? It’s the most abundant protein in the body. It holds our structures together, every muscle, ligament, tendon, and bone. They’re all composed of collagen to varying degrees. There are 28 types of collagen, but the most abundant one is type 1, which forms over 90% of all our collagen.
When is it clear that we stop making collagen? From the age of 25, roughly, it’s a 1 1/2 per cent reduction in collagen per year. By the time we reach our mid-40s, it’s close to 30%.
Collagen is a protein, and the collagen type depends on the bonds of the amino acids. Several amino acids comprise a particular peptide, and peptides comprise the collagen. So, it depends on the fact that we need protein-digesting enzymes to break down the protein efficiently to extract the amino acids, which are then used to make collagen again in our body. That sadly also declines with age, so we tend to lose our ability to digest foods properly and extract the nutrients from them.
There are three sources of collagen
The bovine source is the biggest collagen molecule. So, it is hard to be absorbed by the body. What manufacturers do is they break it down. It’s called hydrolyzation. This process breaks it into smaller particles to be absorbed when it reaches the gut.
The second source is called marine collagen, which comes from fish skin. The collagen is extracted from it, dried and then turned into powder. The fish collagen already is a smaller molecule to start with. So, breaking it down further will make it even easier to digest.
And the last one is vegan. Obviously, vegans want to take collagen, and the sources there are twofold. One is from a bacteria source where you take our genetic material that provides collagen that manufactures collagen, and you mix it with those bacteria. You actually modify the bacteria to produce vegan collagen and extract it.
My Recommended Option For Vegans:
Gotu Kola is known to enhance collagen production in the body. It’s a herb, so it is vegan-friendly.
My Favourite:
INGENIOUS Beauty Ultimate Collagen Second Generation 90 Capsules Pouch
This one is totally different. It doesn’t actually have collagen per se or hydrolyzed collagen. It has collagen peptides. So these are very, very small molecules, composed of four or five chains of amino acids at the correct size. That right size takes those collagen peptides into the bloodstream, where the body can then utilize them to make collagen again.
One challenge has always been getting collagen to reach the gut relatively intact; the second challenge is getting it from the gut into the bloodstream. This supplement is formulated so that it doesn’t degrade in the stomach but degrades in the intestine when the pH changes. And that’s really clever.
Another alternative for collagen is VITAMIN A
Vitamin A is associated with being the mothership of retinol, and retinol promotes collagen in our skin. Pure vitamin A is one of the nutrients alongside vitamin C required for the synthesis or production of collagen. But vitamin A is also excellent as a cell renewal. So you’re bringing out fresh, healthy cells.
What was the aim of taking collagen? You want new, healthy cells and vitamin A does it. And it’s very inexpensive.
If you have tired skin…
Q: “I feel a real lack of energy, and it just shows on my face.”
A: Take some vitamin C or liposomal vitamin C, to be precise.
Vitamin C involves numerous functions within the skin and the body. Many of us don’t choose to supplement with vitamin C because we assume we’re getting some from our diet. It’s one of the important ones alongside the vitamin A we just discussed.
You might wonder now, when you’re using vitamin C or vitamin A if that negates you having to apply it topically? No, I think it’s essential to have topical forms of vitamin A and C.
The best way to get Vitamins into the bloodstream is in a liposomal formulation, which means a liquid, more absorptive form. The liposome theory protects the nutrient we want to deliver so that it’s shielded from stomach acid and can reach the gut. The outside casing of that form of vitamin C is almost identical to your cells, so it can carry that nutrient from the intestine into the bloodstream. The result is bonding with the cell and releasing its nutrients.
My Favourite Vitamin C:
YOURZOOKI | Liposomal Vitamin C
If you have hyperpigmented skin…
Q: “I feel I notice more age spots and pigmentation on my face daily.”
A: A great help with that is Glutathione
Glutathione is a very, very powerful antioxidant. Our body requires antioxidants to protect us from free radical damage. As you know, free radical damage occurs from the environment and pollution. We’ve also got UV lights, computer blue lights and so on. And, of course, we produce free radicals every time we eat food, damaging our bodies and accelerating the ageing process. It’s called internal aggression.
Glutathione is the master antioxidant, master vitamin C if you will.
Our body uses Glutathione; every single living organism, including bacteria, has Glutathione to neutralize free radicals. In addition, it has numerous other benefits to the body. It’s a potent detoxifier. It bonds to heavy metals and removes them. It’s working to strengthen our immune system by priming our white blood cells.
From the skin point of view, Glutathione is your best friend when it comes to fighting the enzyme tyrosinase, which is responsible for causing age spots and hyperpigmentation.
Glutathione helps freshen and brighten your skin when used topically, and from within, it helps prevent the formation of age spots and hyperpigmentation.
Glutathione is obtained from vegetables, for example, sprouts and broccoli.
My Recommendation:
YOURZOOKI | Collagen Zooki Concord Grape Liquid Marine Collagen
If you have oily skin…
Q: I’ve got quite oily skin. I don’t have blemishes, but my skin’s really oily. I’d love to take omegas, but I feel they are too oily. What should I be taking?
A: First, omegas are not suitable for oily skin. Because they’re actually emulsifying.
You should consider purifying your bloodstream with burdock root or a burdock root supplement.
If you have acne skin…
Q: “I have acne. What’s going to help me inside?”
A: Burdock root together with Zinc.
Burdock root has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. This enables it to help with both the redness and anger that come with breakouts and the microorganisms that can aggravate the problem. It also helps to purify the blood of toxins.
And Zinc is often considered the traffic warden of the body. Zinc dictates enzymes and forms the enzymes that take nutrients to the places that need them most. Zinc calms down inflammation and encourages the healing of our tissues.
My Recommendation:
Clear skin complex would be the ideal supplement. It calms down inflammation, encourages the healing of skin, and also cleanses the bloodstream.
So, as you can see, there are great ways to target various skin concerns with the right supplements. This approach will strengthen your internal beauty pillar and create a balance for your bridge of radiant self-confidence.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: These skin-supporting supplements can be game-changers for your skin and well-being. However, consulting with a healthcare professional before making any dietary changes or taking supplements is essential, especially if you have underlying health conditions or are pregnant.
