Vitamin C in Skin Care

Vitamin C and health usually come up in conversation when talking about historical prevention of scurvy in the gums of sailors, or possible cold remedies. However, vitamin C is an essential part of skin health and formation. Its status as an antioxidant has led to its inclusion in topical skin treatments.

Basics

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is commonly found in fruits and vegetables, particularly in citrus fruit, kiwi, cantaloupe, strawberries and broccoli. Supplements are available as well. This is a water-soluble vitamin; you excrete any vitamin C that your body doesn't immediately need. Vitamin C is sensitive to conditions such as heat, and exposing it to light and air can destroy it. The University of Maryland Medical Center says adult men and women need 90 mg and 75 mg of vitamin C respectively per day, although pregnant women need as much as 120 mg per day.

Significance

The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University notes that vitamin C works inside your body to assist with collagen formation--this is a protein that is a vital part of your skin, including scar tissue--and wound healing. Inadequate vitamin C intake adversely affects your skin, leading to dryness and roughness, and extremely low intake, below 10 mg per day, can result in scurvy. Scurvy might be better known as a cause of bleeding gums, but it can also result in your skin becoming more easily bruised. Any wounds you get won't heal as well either. LPI speculates that this is because the lack of vitamin C leads to a lack of collagen, which would weaken the integrity of the skin.

Claims

Vitamin C's antioxidant properties--it works to protect against the effects of oxidized molecules known as free radicals--and collagen-forming ability have made it a common ingredient in topical creams meant to reduce wrinkles and sun damage to the skin. Dr. David J. Leffell, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, writes in the book "Total Skin" that topical vitamin C isn't absorbed deep enough into the skin to warrant using it as a wrinkle cure. He does note that "the correct form" may prevent some sun damage--topical vitamin C can lighten dark skin patches in conditions such as melasma.

Medical Possibilities

Despite the lack of proof that topical vitamin C will smooth out your skin, it is possible that topical vitamin C may speed wound healing. Brazilian researchers at the Universidade Jose do Rosario Vellano, writing in the Brazilian Journal of Biology in 2009, found applying a 10-percent vitamin C topical preparation plus daily cleansing with soap and water improved wound healing ability in rats, compared to those whose wounds were cleansed with soap and water only.

Cautions

UMM warns that smoking can cause vitamin C to exit your body more rapidly, so if you smoke, you'd need about 35 mg more per day. Don't overdo vitamin C intake in the hopes that more will have a bigger or faster effect on your skin; taking in more than 2,000 mg in one day increases the risk of gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. Registered dietician Mary Grosvenor and Dr. Lori Smolin, an adjunct instructor at the University of Connecticut, write in "Nutrition: Everyday Choices" that too much vitamin C can lead to a host of other problems such as dissolved tooth enamel from contact with chewable tablets; increased kidney stones; worsened sickle cell anemia symptoms; and at higher amounts, interference with glucose-measuring urine tests and anti-blood-clotting medication.