The Skincare Vitamin Alphabet

Vitamins are part of the essential nutrients our body needs daily to stay healthy and function properly. Each of the vitamins plays a specific role that is vital for the health of our body. Maintaining a healthy diet is the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins we need. But is that enough for our skin?

Internal vitamins remain important, but the truth is that the body delivers only a small amount of the vitamins we take with food or supplements to the upper layers of our skin. That’s why we need skincare products enriched with vitamins. Using skincare products that are formulated with vitamins has been one of the best and most effective ways to target specific conditions, such as premature aging, hyperpigmentation, acne, and textural issues.

Let’s have a look at the most important vitamins for the skin and what they can do.

Vitamin A (The Superhero)  

Vitamin A, commonly known as “retinol” or “retinoids”, are the most potent anti-aging ingredient we know of. It communicates with skin cells by binding to their receptors and “telling” them to behave in a certain way, helping to improve skin cell renewal, and boosting elastin and collagen production. The result is a radiant complexion, plump look, and reduced appearance of fine lines and pigmentation spots. Vitamin A is also very helpful in regulating sebum and healing the skin for those prone to acne and breakouts.

But not all vitamin A products have been created equally. Retinol is cheap to manufacture, so it is cheap for the consumer to buy and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye as it can be produced colourless and you have a lovely white cream. The limitation though is that these products can cause skin irritation, redness and be in such low concentration that they really have no effect on skin health at all. We need something better.

Retinaldehyde (retinal) and retinyl palmitate (retinyl) are a class above retinol and are of the highest quality before you move into prescription vitamin A (think Tretinoin, Retrieve and Adapalene). Affectionately referred to as “Liquid Gold” these high-level vitamin A products deliver what they promise. You’ll see that good quality vitamin A products will be visibly yellow and slightly stain the skin, but relax, it doesn’t stain and will wash off.

Vitamin B (The All-Rounder)

Vitamin B refers to a group of eight vitamins, not just a single one. There are a couple of B vitamins, most commonly used in skincare. Vitamin B3, also known as niacinamide, is a star ingredient and a potent antioxidant that helps improve the appearance of skin tone and skin texture, maintains a healthy skin barrier, controls oil production, and aids in reducing the development of pigmentation spots, redness, large pores, and fine lines.

Vitamin B5, known as pantothenic acid, is great at keeping the skin soft and supple and provides a soothing effect by reducing transepidermal water loss and helping the skin retain moisture. Vitamin B5 acts anti-inflammatory to provide relief in case of irritation. Beautiful for sensitive skin.

Vitamin C (The Constructor)

Vitamin C is one of the most powerful antioxidants we know of that shields the skin from free radical damage caused by environmental aggressors. The star of the vitamin C story is Australia’s own Kakadu Plum, but other close contenders are ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. Combined with physical sun protection, vitamin C provides an even better defence against the damaging effects of UV exposure. Topical use of vitamin C boosts collagen and elastin synthesis to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  

Vitamin D (The Calmer)

This is another potent antioxidant that fights oxidative stress and in addition to that, it calms inflammation. Used topically (as prescription calcitriol) has been effective in treating psoriasis. The most effective sources of vitamin D are sunlight, food and supplements, so get a little bit of sunlight (don’t forget to protect from sunburn) and eat well.  

Vitamin E (The Hydrator)

This vitamin is well-known by most people who experience very dry skin, as it is a moisturising antioxidant that has been used for a long time in skincare. Vitamin E (tocopherol) is often added to skincare products that soothe sunburn and treat scars and various types of inflammation. When paired with vitamin C it neutralises the effects of free radicals and prevents premature ageing.

Vitamin F (The Ring-In)

Vitamin F isn’t actually a vitamin but rather refers to fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid which is an omega-6 fatty acid and linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. They are essential for maintaining a healthy skin barrier and for also provide soothing effects to the skin. Studies show that these fatty acids are especially beneficial for people suffering from acne.

Vitamin K (The Healer)

This vitamin has great anti-inflammatory properties and is known for helping to reduce the appearance of bruising and swelling. That’s why many creams and lotions, used after surgeries, are formulated with vitamin K. In recent years, it has been added to eye cream formulations to reduce the appearance of dark undereye circles.