The Best Skincare Supplements For Your Cosmetic Treatments

Benefits of Skincare Supplements

Topical products can only take you so far. When it comes to skin health, the inside-out approach will get you much more sustainable results.  Now, this isn't to say you should forego your cleanser or SPF. The basics of a solid skincare routine, with skincare products like cleansers, toners, moisturizers, and sunscreen, will help to rid your skin of impurities, restore hydration and natural pH, and protect against skin cancer. Everything else is auxiliary! Skin supplements are taken to help optimize your skincare regimen and the outcome of your cosmetic procedures every step of the way, while healing skin from the inside out.

In many cases, your diet may be enough to supply your skin with the necessary nutrients. However, depending on your cuisine, lifestyle, location, and age, you could be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals and not even realize it! For instance, many Americans are deficient in vitamin K. Additionally, those living in the northern hemispheres are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency. What’s more, once we hit our mid-twenties, natural collagen production starts to slow down, eventually resulting in wrinkles, sagging, and dry skin. This is where a simple capsule or scoop of a supplement can help to fill in those nutritional gaps and get your skin back to glowing health.

Maintenance in between cosmetic procedures

Cosmetic procedures often come with a lot of homework. Side effects vary depending on the specific procedure and your skin type. Here are some common side effects caused by cosmetic procedures:

• Redness and inflammation: Common with chemical peels, botox and other fillers, laser skin treatments, and facelifts
• Skin tightness: Common with facelifts
• Dryness: Common with chemical peels and laser skin treatments
• Hyperpigmentation: Common with chemical peels and laser skin treatments
• Infection: Common with chemical peels, laser skin treatments, injections like botox and other fillers, and facelifts
• Bruising: Common with injections like botox and other fillers and facelifts
• Breakouts: Common with laser skin treatments

Your dermatologist or plastic surgeon should be able to give advice as to what side effects you may experience, how long they will last, and how you can mitigate them. Diet, exfoliation, regular exercise, soothing lotions, supplementation, stress reduction, sleep, LED therapy, massage therapy, and hydration are common remedies for side effects. In many cases, they also act as protective maintenance to help prolong the life of your procedure!

The Best Skin Supplements

• Omega-3s: Omega-3 fatty acids may be able to help reduce the skin’s sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) rays, as well as inflammation and redness from acne. Some studies have also found that omega-3s improved the skin's barrier function to combat dryness and inflammation from skin conditions like eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis.
• Collagen Peptides: Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It's what gives our skin its plump and smooth texture. With age our collagen levels decline, as does our skin elasticity, leading to more wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging. Oral collagen supplements, (that's right, you need to ingest collagen to absorb it), provide many anti-aging benefits including improved skin hydration and wrinkle prevention. Many cosmetic procedures like microdermabrasion aim to stimulate collagen production in the skin, so taking it can actually help to prolong results and support further collagen production.

• Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a very common topical product for skincare, but we can also benefit from getting it through our diet! In addition to strengthening our immune systems, vitamin C enhances the bioavailability of collagen, thus encouraging more collagen synthesis. Its antioxidative power also fights off free radicals to protect our skin cells from oxidative stress, and protect existing collagen stores. It can even make sunscreen more effective in minimizing sun damage!
• Glutathione: Glutathione, the body's master antioxidant, has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Although when it comes to skincare, most people use it as a natural skin lightener. It also helps to break down nutrients like protein, so it's a great pairing with collagen supplements.
• Crystal Tomato: Did you just do a double-take? That's right, crystal tomato, an oral skincare supplement, may also help to manage redness as the result of cosmetic procedures. It contains L-Cysteine, an amino acid that boosts the liver’s production of glutathione. It's a roundabout way of helping your body produce more glutathione and may also enhance supplementation!

• Prebiotics and Probiotics: Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome can have benefits for your skin's texture and clarity as well! Unlike the other supplements which should only be taken orally, topical application of probiotics may be able to help treat dryness, manage moisture levels, regulate acne-causing bacteria, and treat eczema. If you're worried about getting an infection as the result of your cosmetic procedure, consider feeding the healthy bacteria in your gut with probiotics (fiber) to encourage a healthier balance.
• Biotin: Maybe people view biotin simply as a solution for hair loss, but it can help support healthy skin too! Vitamin B7 or vitamin H helps the formation of fatty acids that hydrate and nourish the skin, which can help to prevent dryness. Whether you're taking it to boost your skin and/or hair health, it becomes more effective when used with collagen!
• Vitamin E: Vitamin E is usually applied topically to reduce inflammation and restore your glow. With freshly exfoliated skin, however, it can cause more pain and irritation. Oral supplementation of vitamin E may result in glowing skin similar to topical application.
• Hyaluronic Acid: Similar to vitamin E, hyaluronic acid is a common ingredient in topical skincare products. It binds water to collagen, trapping it in the skin and improving your skin's natural barrier. Ingesting it may have similar benefits, helping your skin to repair and lock in moisture even after cosmetic procedures.

Many of the benefits of the above supplements do not start or end with skincare; they are a great supporter of total body wellness. Topical products may irritate your skin when applied shortly after a procedure, so make sure to consult your dermatologist before moving forward. Having a new skin procedure is the start, not the end of a journey! If you want to heal your skin and go a bit longer between "refresher" procedures, consider using any of the supplements above to get glowing skin from the inside out.

Article References:

1. https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/cosmetic-procedures/the-risks-of-cosmetic-surgery
2. https://www.webmd.com/beauty/nutrients-for-healthy-skin#1