Are Vitamins Safe in Skincare Products

A recent article in the New York Times entitled “More Evidence Against Vitamin Use” started with the unsettling allegation that, and I quote…

“Two new studies suggest that taking extra doses of vitamins can do more harm than good.”

My goal today is not to comment on the merits, or possible, or even probable flaws in the studies that the article cited…

But… Just as an aside, already, there have been learned comments published refuting the allegations cited in the Times article….

Instead, today, what I do want to do is to make sure that readers of the article do not confuse its message with vitamins applied topically to your skin as antioxidants because antioxidants are so important in maintaining the health of your skin.

So first, to clarify things, the study was referring only to oral vitamin use, not to vitamins applied to your skin in the form of antioxidants. Shall I say more?

Ok. Fine… You knew I would!

So second, I know of no circumstance where topical vitamins have had any adverse affect on the skin and there’s no reason to believe that extra doses of vitamins applied topically can do any harm… of course unless if you’re allergic to them. In fact, vitamins applied to your skin do a ton of good, and I would even argue are necessary.

You see, the skin’s need for topical antioxidants arises from its unique vulnerability of being the only organ in the body that gets a double dose of dangerous high energy free radicals that contribute to both cancer and premature aging.

That double dose is the result of the endogenous, naturally occurring free radicals that arise in almost every cell in every organ in the body, and from the unique formation in the skin of ultraviolet induced free radicals from sun light, despite the regular use of effective sunscreens.

As you all know from watching DermTV, topically applied vitamins in the form of antioxidants work by being absorbed into your skin and neutralizing the harmful effects of the free radicals.

So for those of you who have read the Times article, you can now rest assured that daily topical vitamin – “antioxiant” – use is safe and good for you.