Vitamin C’s antioxidant boost for skin health

Vitamin C plays a valuable role in skin care and health, writes Bell Block beauty therapist Tegan Frost.

Ascorbic acid, or Vitamin C as we more commonly know it, is a vital water-soluble antioxidant that was first isolated and characterised back in 1928.

Unlike plants and most animals, humans can not synthesise Vitamin C on their own. Humans lack this ability due to a deficiency in an enzyme called ‘‘L-gulono-gamma-lactone oxidase’’. This enzyme catalyses the final step in Vitamin C biosynthesis.

Vitamin C’s water-soluble form is easily absorbed through the water in our body. The body doesn’t store Vitamin C, so you must replace your supply every day – excess amounts are flushed out through your kidneys.

This amazing antioxidant slows the rate of free-radical damage in the skin. Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage other cells, particularly collagen, and cause skin dryness. But most devastatingly, they accelerate the ageing process, causing fine lines, and wrinkles.

So what can Vitamin C really do?

❚ Brightens the skin and helps to create a heathy glow – but it also does so much more. ❚ Improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin – It is now well-known that the skin gets considerably less damage if significant amounts of vitamin C are applied topically before and after sun exposure. ❚ Strengthen skin’s barrier response – Oxidative stress is the loss of both oil and water soluble antioxidants within the protective membrane. Examples of these are vitamin E, thioctic acid (alpha lipoic acid), omega’s 3 and 6, (in the form of essential fatty acids), vitamin A, (in the form of retinyl palmitate and beta carotene) and vitamin C.

Although vitamin E abounds in quantity, it is a very poor antioxidant and can only neutralise a small number of free radicals before becoming inactive. Vitamin E is reactivated by vitamin C and therefore without vitamin C, the cell has lost an important antioxidant (vitamin E) leaving it susceptible to oxidative stress. This then leads on to lipid peroxidation, which is a deterioration of the phospholipids that make up 45 per cent of the cell membrane. ❚ Reduce inflammation – Chemical mediators that induce an inflammatory response (example histamine) are believed to be reactive oxygen species. By administering powerful antioxidants, we can counteract solar-light-induced inflammation, and clinical studies have demonstrated the suppressive action of vitamins C and E on UV-induced inflammation.

❚ Promote collagen production – Resulting in a more youthful, plumper skin. Ascorbic acid is required by the body to produce collagen – the fibrous structural protein of connective tissues. It is the matrix on which bones and teeth are formed, and the triple helix that ‘‘holds’’ dermal tissue together. Collagen protein requires vitamin C and iron for

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