4 Vitamins for Healthy Skin
Get informed about which vitamins are the most important for your skin and what you should be looking for in your favorite beauty products. We’ll also fill you in on which foods to include in your daily diet to get the nutrients your skin is craving.
Vitamins are absolutely essential to keep your organs working well, including your skin. Don’t forget that your skin needs certain vitamins to stay radiant and beautiful in an increasingly polluted world.
Try to include the following vitamins in your diet. They should be in both your cosmetic products as well as in your diet.
4 important vitamins for healthy skin
1. Vitamin A
There are certain vitamins that your body can’t produce naturally. Vitamin A is one of them, which is why you should always make sure to eat foods rich in vitamin A or use products that contain it.
Vitamin A plays a crucial role in your skin’s health. It provides skin with the protection that it needs from solar radiation by inhibiting the growth of cancerous skin cells. Additionally, it helps with conditions such as acne, psoriasis and dryness by infusing your skin with hydration and elasticity.
Prep your skin a few days prior to a sunny summer by getting in some vitamin A with smoothies or salads. Look for fruits and vegetables such as:
- Mango
- Sweet potato
- Carrot
- Tomatoes
- Pumpkin
- Leafy greens (such as spinach)
Foods that contain abundant amounts of vitamin A usually are red or orange thanks to their beta-carotene.
2. Vitamin B3
Also know as niacin, this powerful vitamin is often added to cosmetics because it helps reduce redness and inflammation. Vitamin B3 helps your skin stay radiant. It also helps helps get that radiance back and prevent premature aging.
Foods with niacin:
- Chicken breast
- Corn tortillas
- Tuna
- Peanuts
- Salmon
In addition to the list, we also recommend eating foods with a high vitamin B12 content because v itamin B12 is responsible for the body’s red blood cell formation, thus regulating skin tone and pigmentation. It is found in:
- Brewer’s yeast
- Liver
- Sardines
- Shellfish
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the secret to firm skin. It’s very important because it helps your skin synthesize collagen. Collagen is the protein responsible for giving tissue elasticity in addition to quickly rebuilding it when it’s damaged due to aging or any other factor.
Furthermore, collagen reduces and prevents dark spots from appearing because it aids in the body’s keratin production. Keratin is a protein needed to form new cells.
Get vitamin C in foods like:
- Citrus fruits (lemons, grapefruits, oranges)
- Papaya
- Guavas
- Yellow pepper
- Melon
We recommend that you read: 8 Symptoms of a Vitamin C Deficiency
4. Vitamin E
Another vitamin that can help you fight the visible effects of aging, sun damage and other toxic agents is vitamin E. The vitamin acts as an antioxidant with the power to protect your body from free radicals by conserving the body’s collagen reserves.
- Add a pinch of black pepper to your dishes regularly
- Prepare dishes with vegetable oils such as olive oil
- Eat walnuts, olives and sunflower seeds
Another interesting fact about vitamin E is that it helps regulate your skin’s moisture. In addition, it helps your body absorb vitamin A.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- Carbajal Ángeles. (2013). Vitamina A. In Manual de Nutrición y Dietética.
- Djadjo, S. y Bajaj, T. (2022), Niacin. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541036/
- Febles Fernández, C., Soto Febles, C., Saldaña Bernabeu, A., & García Triana, B. E. (2002). Funciones de la vitamina E: actualización. Revista Cubana de Estomatología, 39(1), 28-32.
- Kang, D., Shi, B., Erfe, M. C., Craft, N., & Li, H. (2015). Vitamin B12 modulates the transcriptome of the skin microbiota in acne pathogenesis. Science translational medicine, 7(293). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6049814/
- Manela-Azulay, M., Lima Filgueira, A., Mandarim-de-Lacerda, C. A., Cuzzi, T., & De Andrade Perez, M. (2003). Vitamina C. Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0365-05962003000300002
- Mukherjee, S., Date, A., Patravale, V., Korting, H. C., Roeder, A., & Weindl, G. (2006). Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety. Clinical interventions in aging, 1(4), 327.
- Office of Dietary Suplements. (2007). Datos sobre la Vitamina E 1. National Institutes of Health. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600096
- Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. C. (2017). The roles of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866.
- Xu, P., & Sauve, A. A. (2010). Vitamin B3, the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides and aging. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 131(4), 287-298.
