Vitamin boost: rejuvenate your skin

Whether it’s a delectable fruit-enhanced moisturiser or a relaxing herbal body treatment, our beauty palates are being sated with nutrient-rich goodies that help to heal and rejuvenate the skin. Nikki Goldstein reports.

Scan the label of almost any cosmetic cream today and you’ll find a list of vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, foods and herbs that bear closer resemblance to a supplement you’d swallow than a preparation you’d apply to your skin. Vitamins A, C, E and K, minerals such as zinc, copper and calcium, as well as a host of plant-based antioxidants such as rosemary, mint and geranium are now included in almost every product on the market, from lipsticks to the most advanced moisturisers. And it’s not just natural brands that have taken up the multivitamin mantle: both natural and high-tech ranges are aiming to harness the benefits of these nutrients and deliver them to the skin to promote optimal health and stave off the ageing process.

Superfoods for skin

“We all know a vitamin- and mineral-rich diet helps promote wellbeing and good health, but few of us understand just how important these nutrients are to the healthy functioning of the skin,” says Joseph C. DiNardo, one of the scientists credited with discovering the cosmetic properties of alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), now commonly used to increase cell turnover and promote smooth, soft skin. For optimal function and appearance, the skin needs a complex cocktail of nutrients. These include antioxidants to boost cells’ immune systems; essential fatty acids to reduce inflammation and maintain cellular integrity; calcium for density and nutrient absorption; magnesium for protein synthesis; amino acids (such as coenzyme Q10) to protect skin from oxidative stress; and nutritional isolates such as grape-seed extract, a potent antioxidant called oligomeric proanthocyanidin (OPC). These are believed to help protect collagen from free radicals, reduce inflammation and help maintain the integrity of blood vessels.

“One reason we’re ageing is that we’re oxidising – literally rusting – inside and out,” Joseph explains. “The antioxidants we get from food, and now cosmetics, support metabolic processes in the body and help prevent the onslaught of ageing and disease.” Joseph is one of a growing number of scientists and experts convinced that skin health and diet, as well as skin health and nutrient-powered skincare, are inextricably linked.

“We have the technology to contain and deliver nutrients such as antioxidants, enzymes, acids, proteins and hormones to the skin via creams and serums,” he says. “When you support the skin with a good diet and back it up with the right skincare products, you get a double whammy of protection.”

Taking it all in

The skin is the largest organ of the body, and research shows that though it protects us from environmental hazards, it’s also able to absorb substances – medicinal and harmful – into its deeper layers, and transfer molecules to the bloodstream and organs. What has been a moot point is whether vitamins and minerals, topically applied, can actually do much for the skin. “It’s true: nutrients such as vitamin C have been notoriously hard to deliver to the skin,” Joseph says. “C is highly unstable, and unless it has the right delivery system, it’s almost worthless as an anti-ageing ingredient.” He adds, however, that many companies have now discovered sophisticated ways to dispense vitamins and other healthful ingredients so they actually work on the skin. For example, when developing high-tech superceutical range, Priori, Joseph used what he describes as a very simple ‘water-oil-water’ formula that enabled the product range’s key ingredient, a powerful antioxidant called idebenone, to be suspended in oil for a sustained release to the skin.

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