Vitamin A and Your Skin: Everything You Need to Know

Your body requires certain essentials minerals and vitamins to maintain balanced health. Your skin being one of the largest and most important organs of your body needs the same. When thinking about what nutrients are vital for skin health, your mind probably naturally lands on Vitamin D and Vitamin E.

However, Vitamin A is just as important for your skin health as all other vitamins, especially due to its regenerating effects.

There are many ways to gain maximum skin-supporting benefits by using vitamin A. If you’re looking to learn more about this amazing ingredient, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s take a look at what vitamin A is, where it comes from, and how it benefits your skin.

What is Vitamin A? Where Does it Come From?

Vitamin A isn’t just a single nutrient. Instead, it comprises of a group of fat-soluble retinoids. Generally, this vitamin is vital for your vision, efficient immune functioning, reproduction, and cellular communication. When it comes to your skin, vitamin A helps with cell growth and regeneration to offer you healthy skin.

Carotenoids and retinoids are two types of vitamin A.

Carotenoids are pigments produced by plants or algae. The most important carotenoid is beta carotene, a pigment that the human body converts into vitamin A for absorption.

Retinoids are the most vital form of vitamin A that do miracles for your skin. The most prominent retinoids include retinol, retinyl esters, and retinal. This form of vitamin A is found in foods obtained from animal sources such as meat, fish, dairy products, etc.

Both carotenoids and retinoids are converted into retinol by the liver. They are then either stored or transport through the body via the lymphatic system. Vitamin A can also be applied topically as it has high absorption capabilities.

Benefits of Vitamin A for Skin

The skin responds phenomenally to retinoid. In simple words, your skin being the largest organ can readily absorb vitamin A when it’s applied topically, soaking up the various benefits that it has to offer.

Vitamin A has a myriad of benefits to offer to your skin.

Helps in Cell Generation and Hydration

One of the biggest benefits of vitamin A is that it helps stimulate the production of new skin cells. Your skin constantly sheds and renews itself. What vitamin A does is that it gives your skin cells an extra push, resulting in quicker cell regeneration. Retinol and other retinoids support cell and tissue growth and stimulate fibroblasts, the cells responsible for the developing tissue that helps your skin remain firm. Moreover, retinoids also help hydrate your cells, keeping your overall skin hydrated and moisturized.

Prevents Follicular Hyperkeratosis

Vitamin A is an important ingredient to maintain your body and skin health. Low levels of retinol in your body can result in a condition that includes excess production of keratin in the hair follicles known as hyperkeratosis. Some other forms of Follicular hyperkeratosis causes the occurrence of raised papules and lesions on the skin. Moreover, it also makes your skin more dry and flaky. Since vitamin A speeds your skin cells turnover, it helps maintain a thicker outer layer of skin, preventing the development of such lesions.

Helps Treat Acne

Acne is one of the biggest skin concerns for most people. Even though oily skin is more acne-prone, those with dry and combination skin also encounter the sprouting of acne. Excess production of oil and dead skin cells clog your pores, resulting in the appearance of red, slightly-appraised bumps called - acne. The formation of pimples then becomes the ideal breeding ground for acne-causing bacteria, which results in even more acne. Applying topical retinoids is one of the best solutions to help get rid of acne. It helps stimulate your cell turnover, slows down oil production, keeping your pores clear and your skin blemish-free.

Stimulates Collagen Production

Retinol, a prominent vitamin A derivative, helps stimulate the production of stimulation in your skin, improving skin cell turnover, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Regular and frequent exposure to environmental factors such as UV rays, stress, pollution, and other factors can cause premature aging, resulting in the reduction of collagen production, causing your skin to lose its elasticity. This results in the development of wrinkles, which become even more pronounced over time. Vitamin A helps your skin by stimulating collagen production to strengthen the skin, filling in the fine lines and lift the wrinkles. This makes your skin appear smoother, younger, and healthier.

Prevents UV Damage

Caretenoids, a type of vitamin A, is known to be extremely rich in antioxidants. According to a research, consuming a carotenoid-heavy diet can help prevent aging signs and skin cells damage. Antioxidants basically protect the skin cells against free radicals and help reduce the impact of the sun’s harmful UV rays that causes premature aging, acne, and other skin problems.

Reduces Skin Pigmentation

Constant exposure to the sun leads to skin damage, dark spots, and pigmentation. Luckily, vitamin A helps speed up your skin cells turnover, helping the skin shed its damaged and pigmented cells from the surface, allowing healthy cells to grow underneath. Retinoids such as retinol also help block the enzyme that produces melanin, helping in maintaining an even skin tone and complexion. So, by using vitamin A, you can expect to see a massive improvement in your skin health.

How Much Vitamin A Do You Need?

Once you have a good understand of how vitamin A benefits your skin, you might be wondering about how much vitamin A you actually require. Generally, women should have about 700 mcg of vitamin A a day, while men need around 900 mcg. You can receive the required amount of vitamin A through consuming foods that are high in beta carotene such as meat and dairy products.

When it comes to topical application, it is typically recommended that you apply a pea-sized amount of retinol moisturizer, depending on the amount of retinol a skin product actually contains. However, the best solution for you is to consult your dermatologist or read the instructions behind a skin product before using it.

What to Look Out for When Using Vitamin A

There are a few things you need to look out for when supplying your skin with vitamin A in the form of prescription retinoids.

Prescription retinoids are highly potent and strong, which can result in slight irritation, causing dryness and flaking. There are lower chances of irritation if you gradually increase the amount of retinol you apply on your skin.

Also, since retinoids stimulate the generation of skin cells, they can make your skin very sensitive to sunlight. So, if you’ve recently started using a retinoid skin product, you should cover your skin or use sunscreen to minimize skin damage and burning. You should discuss this with your doctor to see what time of sunscreen they recommend. Certain sunscreens include retinol as an ingredient. In case you’re already using a prescription retinoid, applying a sunscreen containing retinol can further irritate your skin.

Also, whether you’re planning to use topical or ingested retinoids, make sure to refer to your doctor, especially if you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant.

The Bottom Line

All in all, vitamin A, especially retinol is known to have many benefits for aging and acne-prone skin. Also, retinol is the most accessible choice of retinoids, which is great for sensitive skin.

If you are searching for a great retinol skin product, check out the Retinol Moisturizing Cream by ML Delicate Beauty! With all-natural ingredients, and the ideal quantity of retinol, this moisturizing cream can do wonders for your skin.

Do you provide your body with an ample supply of vitamin A? If so, how do you do it? Let us know in the comments.

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About Author:

Jennifer Valdino is a Facialist and Skincare Expert. She frequently shares her general approach to caring for your skin through many public speeches. Jennifer truly understands how confidence having a bad skin can be, and she’s passionate about sharing her knowledge for tackling it. She knows first-hand how skin is so intrinsically linked to confidence as well as the best science-backed method to handle it. 

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram

Opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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By: Jennifer Valdino (Skin care Expert)
Title: Vitamin A and Your Skin: Everything You Need to Know
Sourced From: mldelicatebeauty.com/blogs/my-blogs/vitamin-a-and-your-skin
Published Date: Sun, 16 May 2021 14:00:00 +0000