Skin pigment plays a vital role in your skin's health, helping to protect you from damage by the sun's harmful rays. The pigment does this by absorbing the energy of the sunlight and protecting other layers or functions of the skin from becoming damaged by overexposure. This explains why our skin tans during exposure to the sunlight--the body is adapting to stimulus in order to protect itself. Healthy skin is important for proper skin pigmentation and pigment production.
Vitamin C
Your body uses vitamin C to produce pigment and disperse it evenly throughout the skin. It also plays a vital role in healing your skin after excessive exposure to the sun, helping to prevent dark spots and other pigmentation irregularities while healing the location of the burn. You can find vitamin C in numerous foods, including fruits, vegetables and fortified juices and other drinks, but you can also take a vitamin C supplement daily. Some skin creams and lotions also contain vitamin C and let your skin absorb the nutrient topically. DailyGlow.com advises taking doses of vitamin C ranging between 500 and 1,500 mg daily.
B Vitamins
DailyGlow.com considers B vitamins to rank among the most important vitamins for your skin's overall health. They function as regulators, helping keep the pigmentation and tone of your skin color regular and consistent throughout the skin. A lack of B vitamins, combined with overexposure to the sun, can sometimes create dark spots on the skin. But even short-term supplementation of B vitamins--particularly in a deficient individual--can yield visible results within a week. These nutrients are also found naturally in foods such as oatmeal, eggs and rice, and you can sometimes purchase them in a topical cream.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a very powerful antioxidant the body uses for a number of purposes. It has several applications regarding the coloration of your skin, helping to treat redness, dryness and other irritations on the surface of the skin. Vitamin E also works with pigmentation to regulate the tone of your skin and protect your skin from sun damage, according to SilverCensus.com. This can reduce the risk of several skin pigment irregularities that can occur through overexposure to sunlight. Vitamin E is easily consumed through your diet--your body only needs small amounts of it each day--but you can also apply it topically to the skin or take vitamin E supplements each day.
