​What to Look for in a Skin Care Product
Aug 31th 2022

What to Look for in a Skin Care Product

Written by
Jolie Root, LPN, LNC
Jolie is the Senior Nutritionist and Educator for Carlson. She travels throughout North America attending medical conferences, lecturing, and educating about the role of nutrition in integrative medicine.

Many factors affect skin health, including our environment. Overexposure to the sun's UV rays is especially harmful to our skin. Smoking, air pollution, and automobile exhaust are also an issue. Even items in our diet like trans fats and sugar can damage our skin and accelerate aging. To keep our skin looking healthy and youthful, we should incorporate antioxidants such as vitamins A and E. 

Body Care with Clean Ingredients

Vitamin A helps protect our cells against damage from free radical exposure. It also encourages healthy skin cell production and helps us heal from skin injuries. Topical vitamin A can plump the skin by bringing moisture to the surface of the skin.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps protect our cells from damage. It's found in our sebum and creates a natural barrier to help keep moisture in our skin. Skin care products that contain vitamin E keep our skin soft and hydrated, and can also nourish and protect our skin. It may be effective at helping to reduce UV damage to our skin and when applied to a sunburn may help relieve the burning and itching sensation.

Vitamin D is important for skin health. It's a fat-soluble vitamin and one of the most critical vitamins for biological function. Vitamin D helps calm irritated skin and can also squelch damaging environmental oxidants that cause premature aging. Vitamin D can increase skin cell turnover, improving the appearance the skin.

When shopping for a skin care product, it's important to select one that's free of parabens and phthalates, which can be harmful to reproductive health and development. Parabens have also been found to be damaging to coral reefs, so it's best to find better ingredients. Be sure to also select products free of artificial ingredients and that aren't tested on animals. 

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