Vitamin A: The Gold Standard, Anti-Ageing Ingredient

All hail this multitasking, anti-ageing, balancing ingredient.

An essential beauty hero that deserves its gold standard status.

It’s the most effective wrinkle-fighting, complexion-perfecter money can buy.

But somehow, this most celebrated superstar ingredient is also the most complicated.

Coupled with a sometimes awkward first few weeks of use.

Plus, there can be confusion around names.

Is Vitamin A for the skin the same as Tretinoin?

And when the heck are you supposed to use it, anyway?

So join us as we peel back the layers on this little beauty hero.

What is Vitamin A?

It is a vitamin, but, okay, less obvious; it promotes cellular turnover and is essential for the normal function of skin cells.

Our skin cells shed every 30 days; however, this study (1) found that using Vitamin A increases this to 14 to 21 days. Helping regenerate new skin cells is essential for the growth and maintenance of hair, nails, and teeth.

Often referred to as the “normalising” vitamin for its ability to convert skin cells back to normal cells, it treats acne, oily and ageing skin.

What the Heck is with All the Names?

It is a chemical compound related to vitamin A and retinoids. Tretinoin has been a significant player in the skincare world since its introduction in the 1950s.

Within this family, there are several subsets: ‘Retinoids’ is the general term for prescription-strength topicals such as Tretinoin (Retin-A), Tazarotene (Tazorac), or Adapalene (Differin).

Retinol, vitamin A, Retinyl Palmitate, and Retinyl Acetate can be found in anything over the counter, meaning they’re not quite as strong as their retinoid brethren.

Which Vitamin A do I Use?

It’s pretty simple. If you’re struggling with acne or require more aggressive treatment to lessen the appearance of hyperpigmentation, it might be worth getting a prescription.

However, an over-the-counter product is all you need to get started, and the A+ retinoid skin shot is a great place to start.

Vitamin A Benefits?

Once inside the cell itself, vitamin A produces the following changes by stimulating the retinoid receptors in the DNA:

• Reduces large pores, improves skin texture
• Improves hyperpigmentation
• Encourages cells to turn over rapidly
• Facilitates the flow of oil through sebaceous glands to your skin’s surface
• It also means that the collagen those cells create can be newly stimulated.

You can read about more benefits in our article. It is retinol, the holy grail for lines and wrinkles.

Normalises Skin

Vitamin A is often called the great cellular regulator or normaliser because it controls cell growth and cellular turnover.

Within the cell’s nucleus are receptors that bind specifically to vitamin A.

When retinoid binds to these receptors, the DNA is programmed to promote keratinocyte differentiation and normalise the turnover of our skin cells.

It also increases the activity in the growth layer of skin cells, compacting the epidermis – the outer layer of skin – which could be the predominant reason for skin thickening.

In a nutshell, it encourages your dull, stubborn skin cells to slough off, leaving room for your beautiful new skin below.

Balances Oily, Combination Skin

Retinoids are among the most effective treatments for overactive oil production in the sebaceous glands, which are especially active in people with oily skin and acne.

When vitamin A binds to a receptor on the cell’s surface, a cascade of events is initiated that normalises the cell’s growth pattern, causing the oil glands to decrease in size and dramatically reduce oil production.

Vitamin A for Acne

If you suffer from whiteheads, blackheads, and acne grades 1 and 2, then the A+ retinoid complex will have you covered.

However, if you have deeply rooted cystic acne, there are three retinoids you should be aware of: Tretinoin, tazarotene, and adapalene.

All three of these require a prescription to help get to the root of your cystic acne problems and prevent them from forming; they speed up cell turnover, help keep your pores free of debris, and keep your skin clear.

You must wait 6 to 12 weeks to see results that align with your cellular turnover.

This study (2) also found that vitamin A is extremely helpful in the early treatment of acne inflammation.

Prevents Premature Ageing

Vitamin A has a remarkable effect on fibroblasts, the most critical cells in the dermis for inducing the genes that produce collagen, which keeps your skin plump and firm.

Healthy collagen is formed, and unhealthy collagen is removed through enzymatic activity, helping reduce fine lines.

The improved collagen production and elasticity in your skin truly give vitamin A the ability to reverse those signs of ageing.

Hydrates and Moisturises

Your natural moisturising factor (NMF) is boosted, allowing your skin to retain more water and plump out wrinkles.

Reduces Pigmentation

Vitamin A actively reduces tyrosinase activity; this vital enzyme is critical for melanin production in your skin.

It also reduces pigment clumping at the base of the epidermis, making pigment particles, or melanosomes, smaller and less visible.

Because cells have more efficient turnover, the pigments trapped in the outer cells are also effectively removed. If you want more help with your dark spots, this article discusses melanin and its role in pigmentation.

Repairs UV Damage

When UV light hits your skin, it increases the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which break down collagen fibres.

Vitamin A inhibits these MMPS and, as a result, helps to preserve your collagen’s health.

How to Use Vitamin A

Vitamin A is measured in international units (IU) per gram. The recommended effective dose is between 500 IU and 50,000 IU per gram; anything below 500 IU is considered ineffective unless combined with a penetration enhancer.

Here at NC, we always use clinically proven adequate vitamin A levels, so we are sure of the effects at even the lowest doses.

The Retinol Uglies

Although vitamin A has evolved to have more stable, elegant, and improved delivery systems with minimal risk of irritation in most cases, too much vitamin A still gets a bad rap.

Prescription Tretinoin and even some traditional retinol forms face the problem of the molecule binding to undesired receptors that are not involved in the expected effects of vitamin A.

This causes the “retinol uglies” undesirable side effects such as irritation, redness, and flaking. This is because the level of ceramides in your skin has decreased, impairing your barrier function.

Ideally, you want to build your base and strengthen your foundation, which you can do with our A+ retinol skin shot, which is rich in ceramides.

To conclude. The naked truth

Beauty marketing is a blood sport. It’s never enough to sell something tried and tested.

It must be the latest, most excellent, innovative skin solution.

Yet when it comes to skin frustrations, vitamin A is the one evidence-based ingredient with extensive research behind it.

When applied to your skin, retinoids encourage cells to turn over rapidly, and your cells slough off, revealing beautiful new skin below and boosting collagen and elastin production.

Vitamin A also helps to stem the flow of oil to the surface of your skin, which is why it is often called the normalising vitamin.

So, with regular use, vitamin A can improve skin texture and reduce lines and wrinkles, lighten dark spots, minimise pores, prevent breakouts, and clear up acne.

Phew, with results like that, you must admit it is the holy grail skincare ingredient.

When starting your retinoid journey, you may experience redness and dryness that can lead to surface-level peeling, also known as the ‘retinol uglies’.

So build up slowly by applying once every few days, only at night. Remember that vitamin A typically takes about 12 weeks to produce noticeable changes in the skin.

So, stick with it for at least that long to see the excellent skin-healing benefits of this essential skin-loving vitamin.

References

1. Khalil S, Bardawil T, Stephan C, et al. Retinoids: a journey from the molecular structures and mechanisms of action to clinical uses in dermatology and adverse effects. J Dermatolog Treat. 2017;28:684–96. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
1. Tsai H.H., Lee W.R., Wang P.H., Cheng K.T., Chen Y.C., Shen S.C. Propionibacterium acnes-induced iNOS and COX-2 protein expression via ROS-dependent NF-kappaB and AP-1 activation in macrophages. J. Dermatol. Sci. 2013;69:122–131. doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2012.10.009. – DOI – PubMed