You already know that vitamin C has many health benefits including boosting the immune system, helping to fight against certain heart diseases and improving the absorption of iron.

This includes your skin more importantly… younger looking  skin with fewer wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin etc.

The real truth is that beauty is indeed skin deep ….very deep.

About 10 layers deep to be exact.

As you probably know by now, I advocate natural skincare…. beauty from within.

This was after several years of what I felt were expensive and embarrassing battles with my skin. Can you relate?

You may not be aware but skin issues begin deep within the skin sometimes years before it appears on the surface of the skin.

So  real beauty is just an extension of overall wellness. A balance of what you put into your body, complemented by   what you use on the outside.

A harmony between mind, body, and soul.

So here are 3 top reasons why vitamin C is a must for any effective skincare routine.
Check out 15 superfoods for anti-ageing

#1 Vitamin C  Is  A Powerful Antioxidant

Wanna to say goodbye  to a dull appearance or patchy complexion and hello to softer , smoother, tighter  and brighter skin?

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is perfect for getting that much desired effect.  This is  powerful antioxidant  reduces inflammation, irregular and hyper-pigmentation.

Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, stated, “Vitamin C is a key component to many skin-brightening regimens, as it interferes with pigment production and keeps inflammation at bay. It also promotes health collagen production.”

More on  collagen production in bit..

The  important thing to note is that Vitamin C as a proven antioxidant helps the body  fight free radicals which are  unstable compounds that attack cells and cause wrinkles, dull skin, and even skin cancer.

Another  important fact is that if  like me you work or have worked in a very polluted or hazardous environment…

Vitamin C as  an antioxidant   can reverse the damage caused by environmental pollutants like smoke, dust and more. Great news right?

In fact, Vitamin C  speeds up the skin’s natural repair systems and  actually inhibits  further damage.

#2 Vitamin C Heals Sunburn

Sun damage is usually given the spot for the  #1 skin issue.

Ensuring vitamin C both in your diet and daily skincare routines has many worthwhile  effects on the  skin even at the cellular and molecular levels.

Some studies have shown that vitamin C may even help prevent and treat ultraviolet (UV)-induced photo-damage which   increases  the  ageing  process.

As mentioned  earlier, it  helps protect the skin from pre-cancerous changes from UV light exposure by neutralizing free radicals.

Just to emphasize this point…

According to Karen E. Burke, MD,  “There are 3 antioxidants that have been proven to decrease the effect of the sun on the skin and actually prevent further damage: selenium, vitamin E and vitamin C.”

#3 Vitamin C is Essential For Collagen Production and Support

Vitamin C plays a vital  role in collagen synthesis.

Did you know that there are 14+ different types of collagen in the body?

Plain talk…if you don’t have enough vitamin C, you can’t build new collagen and this ends up causing a wide variety of problems throughout the body.  Vitamin C is used in  almost  every step of the collagen formation process.

Its ability to strengthen even  existing collagen  can not be    understated. Let the wrinkles fade and the skin firm right?

Collagen works hand-in-hand with elastin to support the skin. Basically, it provides  the foundation that   maintains the skin’s form, firmness, and strength, while elastin is what gives skin its flexibility.

Just  as a side note, damaged skin cannot hold moisture which leads to other unwanted skin issues.

By now you know  my top 3 reasons why Vitamin C is essential for overall health so you can both feel great but look great as well.

Numerous clinical studies have proven the skin benefits of Vitamin C and confirmed that it can help protect against the signs of skin damage aka ageing by:

• Neutralizing  radicals that cause wrinkles and more
• Fighting inflammation
• Inhibiting hyper-pigmentation
• Enhancing UV protection
• Protects skin from environmental pollutants
•  Retaining moisture
• Stimulating collagen synthesis
  
• Replenishing Vitamin E

So how Vitamin C do you need?

Although Vitamin C is actually found in the skin, we usually get it in the water soluble form . Therefore we  need to get  daily doses.

Some studies suggest  that adults should take 250mg to 500mg while the Linus Pauling  Institute recommends over 2000mg  per day particularly, if you have allergies, immune deficiencies and other degenerative diseases.