Our skin goes through a lot in our day-to-day lives, and environmental factors may be responsible for it. After a few years, our skin might start showing signs, if not now, and that is why skincare is absolutely necessary. It helps us to protect our skin from extreme weather conditions and harsh elements of the environment. However, it is seen that most people ignore skincare due to a busy lifestyle or various other reasons.
People should understand that skincare routine falls under healthcare and shouldn’t avoid it at any cost. Taking good care of your skin should be one of your top priorities, as it will go a long way. The basic product of skincare are sunscreen and moisturizer, but you should also have a lot of water and food rich in vitamin C. Yes, vitamin C is excellent for skincare, and that’s what we are going to discuss in this article. So, continue reading to know more.
Why is Vitamin C Essential For Your Skin?
You might not know, but Vitamin C is already present in the layers of skin, and they are released from the bloodstream itself. Exposure to UV rays, pollution, or aging lowers the vitamin availability in the body, especially from the epidermis. That is why oral intake of vitamin C is suggested.
Vitamin C has some amazing benefits, which include boosting immunity, preventing the risk of cancer, improving the skin, and many more. Vitamin C has ascorbic acid, a higher concentration of antioxidants that makes your skin look radiant and youthful. It’s an incredible substance that helps to destroy free radicals and improves the skin’s texture and tone. Not only that, vitamin C enhances tissue repair and boosts collagen production in the body.
Orange, grapefruit, strawberry, kiwi, etc., are enriched with vitamin C; you will also see the ingredient on various skincare products. As mentioned earlier, vitamin C is excellently rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances, which help in keeping the skin moisturized, improve the skin’s texture, and delay the signs of aging. Peppers, citrus fruits, potatoes, papaya, and broccoli are also sources of vitamin C. You can add them to your diet for skin care.
Now let’s look at some of the benefits of Vitamin C.
Reduces Fine Lines And Wrinkles:
Aging is something you can’t stop or delay; your body also starts showing signs as you age. You may develop fine lines and wrinkles as the first sign of aging. But you can prevent skin aging with the help of vitamin C. Vitamin C ascorbic acid does wonders for your skin as it prevents and reduces these unwanted signs. It enhances collagen production in the body, which can give you beautiful and youthful skin. Consuming food rich in vitamin C can improve your skin’s appearance, and application of it can reduce wrinkles, thus smoothing your skin.
Provides Protection Against UV Rays:
Sunlight emits harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays which can be very harmful to your skin. It can cause tanning, roughness, sunburn, redness, allergies, and even cancer. Protecting your skin from sun exposure is necessary, but using sunscreen is not enough. You must protect your skin from the inside by consuming food rich in Vitamin C. Topical application is extremely beneficial as it has the properties of antioxidants that can protect your skin from harmful UV rays. A combination of vitamins C and E are also effective in preventing your skin from any sun damage.
Aid In Wound Healing:
A lot of factors may be responsible for the wounds in your body if you have any. You can get it from stitches and surgeries, injuries, bruises, or other reasons. If you can speed up your wound recovery, you can consider taking vitamin C, as it aids in wound healing. Vitamin C has ascorbic acid that helps in rapid wound healing by activating collagen production in the body. It will work better if applied topically than consumed. A combination of vitamins C and E can aid in rapid recovery from pressure ulcers and burns.
Improves Elasticity:
Aging can develop fine lines and wrinkles and make your skin lose. This can be frustrating, but you can prevent your skin from getting lost. Since vitamin C can boost collagen production in the body, it can increase the skin’s elasticity and give you tight and firm skin. Apply skincare products rich in vitamin C as topical administration of the substance. This can stimulate the formulation or production of elastin and collagen in the body for firm and supple skin. Ingestion of vitamin C foods can also improve your skin’s elasticity.
Keeps Skin Hydrated:
Not hydrating your body can make your skin dry, which can further worsen your skin. Both your body and skin need to stay hydrated for good health. Having enough water can hydrate your body and keep your skin moisturized, but it’s not enough. High consumption of vitamin C can provide moisture to your skin and reduce dryness in the body. Acide ascorbique helps the skin retain moisture and prevents your skin from becoming oily or dry. So, you can either apply vitamin C products to your skin or have food rich in vitamin C.
Reduces Inflammation:
Inflammation is not very harmful and acts as a defense mechanism for the body. However, chronic inflammation can trigger your immune system, which can further attack healthy organs and tissues in the body. Thus you need to reduce inflammation if it’s chronic. Vitamin C is great as it has the properties of anti-inflammatory and antioxidants. These properties can help in reducing the signs of inflammation like redness, pain, swelling, irritation, rashes, etc. Topical vitamin C can help in relieving inflammation in different skin conditions such as pimples, acne, psoriasis, burns, and many more.
Reduces Dark Pigmentation:
You might be someone who has a lot of dark spots, scars, and pigmentation on your face and body for various reasons. Although these scars and pigmentation do no harm but can impact your beauty standards, so you must be looking for ways to lighten these pigmentations. Hyperpigmentation is caused when there’s excessive production of melanin. Melanin is a pigment present in the body that gives color to your skin. You can remove the dark patches by topical application of vitamin C. You can also use organic products that are highly rich in vitamin C.
How Can Vitamin C Deficiency Affect Your Skin?
Vitamin C is great for the body and the skin, and a deficiency of it can have an adverse effect on your skin’s health. So let’s check out some of the adverse consequences of vitamin c deficiency.
Bumpy And Rough Skin:
As you know, vitamin C plays an important role in collagen production, a protein found in connective tissues, joints, bones, and hair. When the content of vitamin C is low, it stops producing collagen to a great extent. This causes keratosis pilaris to develop in the body, which can give rise to bumpy skin in the thighs, buttocks, and the back of upper arms due to the buildup of keratin inside the pores.
Dry And Damaged Skin:
Vitamin C helps in protecting the epidermis or upper layer of the skin from oxidative damage by free radicals. Exposure to harmful UV rays and pollutants like ozone and cigarette smoke can contribute to dry and flaky skin. This can damage your skin and make it wrinkly. However, there could be other reasons, but vitamin C deficiency leads to parched and dry skin.
Slow-healing Of Wounds:
Vitamin C deficiency can slow the rate of collagen production in the body, which in turn makes the healing process slower. If the deficiency is severe, old wounds can re-open, thus increasing the risk of infection on the skin. The infection can further damage your skin and make it worse. Slow healing is one of the severe forms of vitamin C deficiency.
How To Use Vitamin C For Skincare?
You might easily get vitamin C from your regular diet, but there’s no guarantee that you are getting enough of it to reach your skin. To achieve better skin results, you have to apply it topically. Ascorbic acid vitamin C is rich in various nutrients, including antioxidants which are amazing for your skin. You can find various products in the market which are rich in vitamin C, such as moisturizers, lotions, serums, creams, etc.
Consumption of food rich in vitamin C can do wonders and improve your skin texture as well. The recommended daily dose of vitamin C for men is 90 mg, while for women, its 75 mg. You can find vitamin C in different fruits and vegetables such as oranges, lemons, broccoli, papaya, etc.
Wrapping Up
Skincare is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and choosing the right products for your skincare is more important. Products rich in vitamin C can do wonders for your skin. However, you can also add fruits and vegetables to your diet that are rich in Vitamin C.
