When searching for a beauty product there are a few key points that will sway me towards my decision. These are usually the price, look, feel, reviews, recommendations and results. But lately I’ve become fascinated with ingredients. In particular vitamins and what their presence in products can do to help achieve better results. It’s easy to just assume that “Oooooo this product has vitamins in it! It must be good,” but what can make your choice even better is to know the different types of vitamins and what each can do for you.
VITAMIN A
Look for: In anti-ageing products.
Why: Vitamin A is a strong antioxidant that helps with the growth and renewal of new skin cells. It can boost collagen production and promote skin cell turnover, which is essential to get rid of those nasty wrinkles.
VITAMIN B
Looks for: In brightening, acne and pigmentation products
Why: There are a few variations of vitamin B. Vitamin B12 helps to regulate the skin’s pigment production to prevent the darkening of skin, vitamin B3 can improve the appearance of skin conditions like dermatitis and rashes, and vitamin B5 can help reduce acne by aiding the skin’s ability to breakdown oils.
VITAMIN C
Look for: In anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory products
Why: Vitamin C helps to build collagen and give skin structure, tone and elasticity, which can effectively reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s also been found to quickly reduce redness when applied to sunburn and can help with inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.
VITAMIN D
Look for: In stretch mark and psoriasis treatments
Why: While we mostly associate vitamin D with the sun, vitamin D2 and D3 can actually be used as an effective treatment for psoriasis, stretch marks, burns and other skin damage. They contain strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and can also help to prevent premature ageing.
VITAMIN E
Look for: In anti-ageing, cell renewal, and scar treatments
Why: Vitamin E is a multi-purpose vitamin that can be found in a wide range of skincare products. It can be used for skin cell renewal to improve dull and weak skin, for increased collagen production to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and as a powerful antioxidant to protect the skin and assist in the healing process of scars and other skin damage.
VITAMIN H
Look for: In hair/ nail strengthening and growth products
Why: Vitamin H (also known as biotin) is most commonly commended for promoting healthy hair and nails. Some people claim that it helps their hair and nails grow faster, and while there isn’t any hard evidence to support this, it has proved to be effective in preventing hair loss.
VITAMIN K
Look for: In eye creams and anti-ageing products
Why: Vitamin K helps to increase blood flow, which can effectively diminish the appearance of dark circles under the eyes, as one of the main causes of this imperfection is a lack of blood supply to the area. Vitamin K also helps improve skin elasticity to decrease the chances of wrinkles developing.
Did you know about the different beauty benefits of vitamins? Are you conscious about the ingredients used in products?
Really informative read. I had B12 and Iron as I was deficent a while back, also take Vitamin D in the winter and using a lot of flaxseed which my dermotoglist recommended for psoarsis, only early days though so not sure if it is having a lot of effect.