Which Vitamins Help Lines & Wrinkles?
The good news regarding lines and wrinkles is that certain vitamins have shown to be effective in diminishing them, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center and the Northwestern Health Sciences University. After all, if you have taken great effort to stay in shape and be as healthy as you can be, you should not let wrinkles make you look older than you feel. Forty and even 50 is the new 30 for women. You should look the way you feel and give your skin back its rosy, unwrinkled, glow.
Turn Back the Clock
If you are like a lot of women, you are paying the price for the reckless abandon of your youth regarding exposing your skin to harmful UV rays. Most people now know that UVA rays are responsible for wrinkling and leathering the skin. This is due, in large part, to UV rays causing a deficiency in Vitamin A, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. So, the best thing to do is to give your skin back its Vitamin A in the form of retinol or retinaldehyde. Vitamin A-related products, called retinoids, are good too. Tretinoin, tazarotene and retinol might turn back the clock for your sun-damaged or aging skin.
Less is More
Tretinoin’s commercial name is Retin-A. This prescription medicine will produce a rosy glow to your face and will reduce wrinkles, liver spots and rough skin by stimulating collagen, according to the University of Maryland. You can also use tretinoin on your neck, chest, hands and forearms. Give it two to six months before you notice how great you are starting to look. Don’t overdo it. Less is definitely more when it comes to tretinoin. In fact, low concentrations will produce the same improvements as higher doses, but with less irritation, such as redness, burning, scaling and itching. Tazarotene, first used for acne and psoriasis, is now approved for treating wrinkles due to aging. Upon first usage, be aware that it can cause severe redness and peeling.
OTC Products
Retinol is a natural form of Vitamin A that you can buy over-the-counter (OTC). The advantage to buying an OTC product containing retinol versus getting a prescription for tretinoin is that retinol causes fewer side effects than tretinoin. Retinol can be just as effective as tretinoin, too, according to the University of Maryland. The problem is that because the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate it, you may be buying a product that may advertise itself as having retinol, but that really contains almost none.
Not Just for Oranges Anymore
Products containing Vitamin C are also effective in improving wrinkles and in providing help for loose, dry or rough skin, because they may promote collagen production. Vitamin C alone is unstable, but products are available that incorporate Vitamin C, such as Cellex-C, Avon’s Anew Formula C Treatment Capsules, Physician Elite and more, according to the University of Maryland.
Even More Options
Other vitamins that help your skin are Vitamin E and a B complex. Vitamin E can make your skin smoother and improve facial lines and the depth of wrinkles. Niacinamide, one of the B complex vitamins, may also fight the good fight against wrinkles for you, especially the dreaded crow’s feet around your eyes, according to the University of Maryland.
