The majority of research investigating the role of vitamins for promoting skin collagen production is written from either one of two perspectives: wound healing or improving cosmetic appearance. The research informing wound healing is primarily concerned with diet and nutritional supplements while the cosmetic research examines the effects of topical application of various vitamins. The vitamins with the strongest scientific evidence for collagen building benefits, whether ingested or applied topically, are vitamins A and C.
About Collagen
One third of the protein in the body is collagen protein, and it is the most abundant of several types of fibers found in connective tissue. Collagen is the chief structural component of all connective tissue found throughout the body including that of the skin. The May 2008 issue of "Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition" explains that collagen fibers are stronger than steel wire and that vitamins C and A are essential to its synthesis. No blood vessel or organ in the body can do its job without collagen and these vitamins.
Dietary Vitamin A
New collagen production is the dominant process in wound healing. A study published in the January 1996 issue of "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery" examined nutritional supplements taken by patients before surgery to determine their effects on healing. Vitamin A supplementation proved not only to hasten new collagen synthesis, but it also reversed post-operative immune system depression. As a result, patients were better able to fight off infections, which significantly reduced the production of scar tissue.
Topical Vitamin A
Researchers reporting in the May 2007 issue of "Archives of Dermatology" assessed the efficacy of vitamin A as a cosmetic skin treatment in 23 participants displaying chronological skin aging. The average age of the participants was 87; a vitamin A lotion was applied to their upper inner arms up to 3 times a day for 24 weeks. Skin biopsies were taken at the beginning and end of the trial. The biopsy specimens revealed that the vitamin A increased collagen production which in turn, reduced the length and depth of wrinkles.
Topical Vitamin C
Vitamin C is critical in collagen synthesis, and it regulates connective tissue formation. In spite of its pivotal role, researchers reporting in the aforementioned article from "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery" did not find the same benefit in patients supplementing vitamin C before surgery as they found in patients supplementing vitamin A. Regardless, the evidence is persuasive in terms of vitamin C's benefits when applied topically. Researchers reporting in the June 2000 issue of "International Journal of Cosmetic Science" discovered that human connective tissue exposed to vitamin C for a prolonged period results in an eight-fold increase in collagen synthesis.
References
- "Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care"; Assessment and nutritional aspects of wound healing; A. Campos, A. Groth, A. Branco; May 2008
- "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery"; Surgically significant nutritional supplements; J. Petry; January 1996
- "Archives of Dermatology"; Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A; R. Kafi, H. Kwak, W. Schumacher et al.; May 2007
- "International Journal of Cosmetic Science"; Ascorbic acid in skin care formulation; G. Silva, M. Campos; June 2000
