Vitamin C & Collagen
Is eating an orange a day keeping the wrinkles away??
Imagine this…
You are sitting in my chair for your new patient consultation. Have some redness on the apples of your cheeks, enlarged pores in between your brows and on your nose, wrinkles etched in your skin along your forehead, and some brown spots scattered around your face. You are wanting to age gracefully and have never entered the space of cosmetic dermatology before. You ask. “Where do I even start?”
I talk about places to start with skincare because after all, that is the foundation for a youthful glow. I mention vitamin c and you say, “I eat a lot of vitamin c in my diet every day!!”
While it is great to consume vitamin c in your diet, it is also important to apply topical vitamin c and this is why…
You have two layers to your skin, the epidermis, and dermis.
The epidermis (top layer) does not get much blood flow while the dermis (bottom layer) are fueled by nutrients in the bloodstream.
Where they meet is called the Dermis-Epidermis Junction (DEJ), a very innovative name I know. Very important processes happen in each of these layers which play into your barrier function, hydration of your skin, collagen production, inflammation and so much more.
Vitamin C (orally and topically) has been shown to support these processes in each layer. For example, fibroblasts are found in the dermis and have an absolute dependence on vitamin c for collagen production. In aged and photodamaged skin, vitamin c has been found in lower levels than in healthy, non-pigmented skin.
We all know about vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) and outward signs of that deficiency in the skin include fragile skin and impaired wound healing.
So there is definitely a link between what we ingest and our skin health!
But how much???
Studies have found that proper vitamin c supplementation in your diet improves skin elasticity, wrinkling, hydration, and color (pigmentation/brown spots). But what can make it better and a more comprehensive treatment? A combination of vitamin C in the diet and topical vitamin C!
Remember, we want to hit all of those layers of skin!
Here are some of the benefits of topical vitamin C:
Increase collagen and elastin production (anti-aging)
Neutralize oxidative stress from pollutants and UV exposure (anti-aging)
Improve barrier function (hydration and skin health)
Decrease melanin synthesis (pigmentation)
Anti-bacterial (great for acne and acne rosacea)
Improves and promotes wound healing
Decreases inflammation (great for rosacea, psoriasis and dermatitis)
So short answer, no, oranges (oral vitamin c) alone will not keep the wrinkles away. But in combination with a topical vitamin c?
PURE GOLD!! You will have hit the jackpot and your future self will be thanking you later for the skin health you will have built over the years by just adding ONE ingredient to your skincare regimen!
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References
Pullar, J., Carr, A., & Vissers, M. (2017). The roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080866
Al-Niaimi, F., & Chiang, N. (2017). Topical Vitamin C and the Skin: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications. The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 10(7), 14–17.
Gref, R., Deloménie, C., Maksimenko, A., Gouadon, E., Percoco, G., Lati, E., Desmaële, D., Zouhiri, F., & Couvreur, P. (2020). Vitamin C–squalene bioconjugate promotes epidermal thickening and collagen production in human skin. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72704-1