Vitamins you need for great skin care

While our skin is of course impacted by the vitamins and minerals we eat and drink, there are certain vitamins that are highly effective when used in skincare, too: Vitamins B3, C and E

When I developed my skincare range, maximising the use of truly efficacious natural ingredients was really important to me, and you can see this in every listing of ingredients on every product, and the inclusion of the right vitamins in the right products was top of my list of must-dos.  

Here are three key vitamins to look for in skincare

Vitamin B3: niacinamide

The topical application of Vitamin B3, or niacinamide, offers so many benefits. It helps improve elasticity, strengthens the skin’s barrier function, soothes inflammation (the cause of so many woes) and even helps to even out skin tone, over time lessening pigmentation in sun and age spots.. It’s an absolute all-round good guy, and I love it. 

I wrote about niacinamide in an earlier blog post, in fact, which you can find here.

Vitamin B3 has also been shown to be rather good at fighting acne. It’s super-gentle, making it great for those who struggle with breakouts and acne, as it won’t make skin sore or inflamed, in fact, it does the opposite. It has also been shown to target the very first stage of acne (sebum oxidation) and help prevent spots from developing, or developing fully. 

I have wrapped niacinamide into one of my most important products, one that works for all skins and is a real workhorse, yet disguised as a pamper product: my beautiful night cream, Cream Revive. Designed to deeply hydrate, while feeding your skin everything it needs to stimulate elastin and collagen production to improve skin’s bounce. The inclusion of niacinamide makes it really soothing, improves the skin’s barrier function and supports the bachukiol in addressing sun spots and pigmentation. 

Vitamin C

I have written several times about the power of Vitamin C. In summary, it’s a powerful antioxidant that defends against sun damage, reduces the look of existing sun damage, reduces wrinkles and fine lines, and increases the natural production of collagen.

Vitamin C is so effective I have developed two key products that are designed to bring the power of Vitamin C to our skincare routine: Power AOX and Serum C. 

Power AOX has the highest safe level of the most effective form of skincare Vitamin C, at 20% L-ascorbic acid. It’s a powerhouse product and one I recommend you use every night in summer, when your skin is faced with strong UVA and UVB rays. It helps fight the effects of sun damage both as the sun strikes the skin, and in the reduction of pigment spots caused by sun exposure. You can use it in the mornings, too, if you don’t struggle with sensitive skin, you just need to give it half an hour before applying sun protection and heading outside.

Power AOX is a super-power product, though, and if you have very sensitive skin, or have never used active ingredients on your skin before, I recommend my Serum C, a gentler introduction to Vitamin C. This one you can use under your daily moisturiser all year round, where the Vitamin C will help defend against UVA and UVB rays and even out skin tone, lessening the look of sun spots. 

Vitamin E: tocopherol

Vitamin E is a super-hero skincare ingredient, a potent antioxidant that has been used in skincare for over 50 years due to its proven ability to protect the skin from oxidative damage caused by environmental stressors such as UVA and UVA and pollutants. It occurs naturally in our skin but can become depleted by exposure to the sun, which is why including it in skincare recovery products is so important. It has also been shown to help reduce the appearance of scars by promoting tissue regeneration and increasing collagen production. Vitamin E also has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe irritated skin and can help improve the appearance of dark spots and uneven skin tone by promoting cell turnover and reducing melanin production. 

I have used Vitamin E in so many of my products! It’s in my Power AOX, to boost the effects of the Vitamin C and help soothe sun damaged skin. It’s in all my most soothing products - Serum Serene, Cream Drench and Cream Repair, where its anti-inflammatory properties help soothe skin, while it also helps smooth away age spots, and it’s in my Prep Wash and Prep Power, where it soothes and improves as the active ingredients work to lift away dead cells and reveal fresher, brighter skin.

As you can see it’s as important to take your daily vitamins topically, in carefully developed skincare designed to boost your skin naturally, as it is to make sure your diet is as healthy and fresh as can be.

As always, if you have any questions about your skin or your skincare routine, do reach out.

Love, Penny