Vitamin A or retinol is an important vitamin for growth, healthy skin, hair and nails. It is also an essential vitamin for proper eye function and the immune system. It is a fat-soluble vitamin. The body does not produce vitamin A itself. Therefore, you need to absorb it from your diet and personal care products. In this article, you can read more about Vitamin A and how it works for the skin.
What is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is soluble in fats and comes in many shapes and sizes. In the animal form, you find vitamin A as retinol or retinyl esters. In fruits and vegetables, you will find carotenoids. Carotenoids are also called provitamin A because the body can convert them into vitamin A. There are different types of carotenoids: alpha and beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin.
Fat is needed for proper absorption of vitamin A in the body. The body absorbs 70-90% of retinol and only 9-22% of the carotenoids. The body stores vitamin A in the liver. Excess vitamin A is partially stored in fat.
What does Vitamin A contain?
Vitamin A is found in animal products, such as meat and meat products, dairy products, fish and egg yolk. Carotenoids (provitamin A) are found in vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower and pointed cabbage. It is also found in fruits, such as oranges, mandarins and bananas.
Only a small amount of vitamin A is absorbed into the body if you are a vegetarian or eat little meat. If this is the case, you can supplement the vitamin A deficiency in supplement form. For example, the Vitortho - Beta-carotene Natural.
Vitamin A is not only found in food and supplements, but is also widely used in skin care products and medication against acne and skin ageing. The substances you often encounter in skin care are: vitamin A palmitate, retinol and tretinoin. Vitamin A is the most researched active ingredient and has actually been proven to be skin rejuvenating.
When does vitamin A work best for the skin?
Research has shown that topical/local application of vitamin A gives the best effect on the skin when it comes to skin improvement. From a nutritional point of view, the skin comes last in the distribution of vitamins and minerals you get from your diet. For the most optimal results, I recommend making sure you get enough vitamins through your diet and use vitamin A on the skin.What does vitamin A do for the skin?
Vitamin A has several positive properties on the skin such as:
- It stimulates the cell division of the skin allowing the skin tissue to renew itself faster (anti aging), repair (after damage to the skin) and it makes the skin plumper/sounder (anti wrinkle)
- It stimulates the fibroblast (Click here to read what cells these are) in the skin to produce collagen and elastin fibres
- It refines coarse pores and reduces acne
- It improves metabolism in the skin giving a fresher complexion
To experience the positive effects of vitamin A, it is important to have enough of this active ingredient in your skincare. You can see this by where the substance is on the ingredients list. Is this in the beginning to the middle of the list then there is enough of it in it. If it is at the back, chances are that little to none of the substance has been added and it does little for your skin.
Pictured in photo: PCA Skin Intensive Age Refining Treatment: 0,5% pure retinol NightBecause there are so many different products on the market for different skin types, I recommend getting advice from a skin specialist. They can look at and assess your skin and advise for the best results. I suppose you also don't ask the butcher for advice when you want to buy a nice loaf of bread? It sounds crazy, but it is not very different from going to a drugstore or perfume shop and asking for advice. That's not where skin specialists work, but salespeople. They have no training to assess and treat skin. To be able to give specific advice, you should at least have completed the beautician training. Are you curious about my training and experiences? >> Click here to check it out!
Entry-level products with vitamin A at Huidstraling.nl:
Important to know when buying Vitamin A products
- Vitamin A is unstable and should be airtight and in dark packaging that does not let light through
- Choose a product without perfume. Perfume smells nice but is bad for the skin and affects the stability of vitamin A
- Buy a product with added soothing ingredients like Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) for example
- For the best shelf life, store your product in a dry, cool place. So don't put it in the bathroom!
Vitamin A use during pregnancy
There is no scientific evidence that using products containing vitamin A affects the baby during pregnancy. This is different for oral use. When using vitamin A orally (to treat acne, for example), you should stop immediately if you are expecting because it can cause a miscarriage, among other things. Therefore, I recommend that you stop using vitamin A in your products when you are expecting, just to be on the safe side.
Do you have any questions after reading this article? Then you can post them below in comments, we will be happy to answer them!