Is Vitamin C the real fountain of youth?

August 30, 2016

Is Vitamin C the wonder ingredient?

People have been raving about Vitamin C for decades. It’s the wonder ingredient that turns back the clock and transforms your dull, tired skin overnight into the smooth, glowing skin you had when you were 12. Right?

Well, Yes. And No.

Skin Aging

There are two separate factors that cause your skin to change over time.Intrinsic, or chronological, aging is the skin’s normal aging process that causes fine wrinkles and makes skin sag. How intrinsic aging affects you is in part due to heredity.5) 8) Extrinsic aging is mainly influenced by what you eat and drink and by stressors in your environment.9)

Pollution, cigarette smoke, sun exposure and even the wrong cosmetic ingredients can speed up what experts call the “extrinsic aging process”. This can cause over- or under-pigmented skin, deep wrinkles and vascular damage over time.5) 8)

The skin's anti-oxidant protection system: pollution, sun exposure, age spots and acne

Your skin has a built-in anti-oxidant protection system in place, made up of ubiquinol, squalene, vitamin E, Vitamin C and other components. It’s very, very good, but sun exposure, cigarette smoke and environmental pollution cause oxidation, wearing down this natural protection. This triggers inflammation and melanin production, resulting in tanning and eventually unpleasant sun- or age-spots or even skin damage. If the exposure is severe, the effects can be even worse.8)10) The oxidation byproducts from sqalene are highly comedogenic and can promote acne flare-ups in oily and acne-prone skin types.10)

Vitamin C's role as anti-oxidant

Vitamin C is a potent anti-oxidant. When applied directly it can help to strengthen the skin’s own protective shield to fight against environmental oxidation and reduce collagen degradation and inflamed breakouts.1)2)4) 5) 8) Combining this formidable powerhouse with botanical anti-oxidants such as olive leaf and green tea extract creates synergistic effects that help prevent the signs and symptoms of aging.5) 6)7)

Prevention means that you are taking care of your skin, nourishing it so it can stay as young as possible as you age. Like eating the right food to stay healthy and in good shape, it will cause wellness over time, but rarely causes a magical transformation.

Vitamin C sparks collagen production

Vitamin C can do more than “mere” prevention. It can spark collagen production, increasing your skin’s thickness. 4) Over time it promotes the smooth, fresh appearance of young, healthy skin.3)5) It may not be a miracle, change-your-skin-overnight ingredient, but it is a brilliant long-term fighter to help you achieve your best skin at any age.

An essential part of your anti-aging arsenal

High-quality Vitamin C, used in a cosmetic product morning and night after cleansing  and removing the daily impurities and oxidized lipids, is an essential part of your anti-aging arsenal. Like brushing your teeth to prevent cavities, your results may not be instant, but your skin will stand the test of time.

Maximizing the effects of Vitamin C

To increase radiance and maximize the positive effects of Vitamin C, be sure to choose a high-quality Vitamin C product with stable Vitamin C such as Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate plus additional synergistic anti-oxidant botanicals such as green/white and rooisbos tea and olive leaf extract.

 

 

Ubiquinol: The natural and instable form of CoQ10 in skin

Sebum: The lipid mantel of human skin

Squalene: An instable lipid and part of the sebum. (Squalane is a stable ester derived from olive oil.)

 

1)        Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate Regulates the Expression of Inflammatory Biomarkers in Cultured Sebocytes. (Ann Dermatol. 2015 Aug;27(4):376-82. doi: 10.5021/ad.2015.27.4.376.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26273151

 2)       Effects of Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate on the Expression of Inflammatory Biomarkers after Treatment of Cultured Sebocytes with Propionibacterium acnes or Ultraviolet B Radiation (Epub 2015 Jul 29.) Ann ) Dermatol. 2016 Feb; 28(1): 129–132.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4737824/

3)        Inhibitory effect of magnesium L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate (VC-PMG) on melanogenesis in vitro and in vivo. (J Am Acad Dermatol. 1996 Jan;34(1):29-33.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8543691

4)       Regulation of collagen synthesis in human dermal fibroblasts by the sodium and magnesium salts of ascorbyl-2-phosphate. (Skin Pharmacol. 1993;6(1):65-71.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8489778

5)       Skin photoaging and the role of antioxidants in its prevention (ISRN Dermatol. 2013; 2013: 930164.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3789494/

6)       Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate treatment of human skin inhibits ultraviolet radiation-induced oxidative stress (Carcinogenesis. 2001 Feb;22(2):287-94.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11181450

7)        Flavenoids and skin health - Oregon State University - Linus Pauling Institute

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/micronutrients-health/skin-health/nutrient-index/flavonoids

8)       Oxidative stress in aging human skin (Biomolecules. 2015 Jun; 5(2): 545–589.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4496685/

9)       The role of phytonutrients in skin health (Nutrients. 2010 Aug; 2(8): 903–928.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257702/

10)   Surface lipids as multifunctional mediators of skin responses to environmental stimuli (Mediators Inflamm. 2010; 2010: 321494.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2963132/

 

 

 

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