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You want skin that looks incredible and feels healthy from within, and the secret is simpler than you think...
True radiance starts on the inside. When your skin has the essential nutrients it needs, it becomes stronger, more resilient, and better able to protect itself. Every day, your skin works hard protecting your body from pollution, UV exposure, and stress. With the right mix of nutrients and supportive compounds, you can give it the internal skincare routine it deserves, helping it repair, rebuild, and stay resilient. In this guide, you’ll get to know the nutrients that help strengthen your skin barrier, boost elasticity, and bring out your healthy, confident glow.
The Inner Architecture of Beautiful Skin
To understand how nutrients work, you first need to know what they're supporting. Think of your skin as a magnificent structure with two main components vital for its health: the outer protective layer and the underlying support system.
The Skin's Protective Shield: The Epidermal Barrier
The outermost layer of your skin acts as a powerful defensive shield, known as the epidermal barrier.¹
What does it do? It’s responsible for maintaining the perfect water balance, protecting you from harmful things like microbes and UV radiation, and preventing excessive water loss.¹,²
How does it work? Special fats called ceramides within this barrier form a permeability layer, which is crucial for preventing dryness and keeping out unwanted invaders.³ When this shield is damaged, you get issues like increased water loss, a common feature in conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis.²,⁴
The Foundation: The Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
Beneath the surface lies the ECM, the structural framework that gives your skin its strength and integrity.⁵,⁶ Think of it as a flexible, springy mesh made of interlocking proteins that keeps your skin healthy and resilient. it's composition is made up of the blend of the following materials:
Collagen: The Ultimate Protein
As the most abundant component of the ECM, collagen makes up about 30% of the total protein in your skin.⁷ It is the main protein that gives structure, strength, and supports wound healing.⁸ Think of collagen as the steel beams in a skyscraper, it holds everything up and keeps it strong.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA): The Water Magnet
This molecule is also a star of the ECM. A whopping 50% of your body's HA is found in the skin.⁹ HA acts like a super-sponge, binding and retaining water to keep your skin plump and hydrated.¹⁰
Both the shield and the foundation are constantly working to repair themselves, but as we age or face stress, they require support from the nutrients we consume. Certain nutrients are clinically shown to enhance your skin's ability to stay strong, retain moisture, and fight the visible signs of ageing.
Key Vitamins for Skin Resilience and Youthfulness
1. Collagen: The Strength Provider
While not a vitamin, collagen is arguably the most critical structural component. Supplementation can directly support the ECM.¹¹ Some of it's key benefits include
- Supports Skin Texture: Studies show that taking a specific collagen peptide (like VERISOL®) found in Collagenics Advanced reduced eye wrinkle volume by an average of 20.1% and increased the production of new collagen and elastin in women aged 45 to 65 after just 8 weeks.¹¹
- Boosts Hydration and Elasticity: Collagen intake is consistently associated with improved skin elasticity and hydration, particularly in women over 50.¹² In one study, individuals taking only 1 gram of collagen per day noticed their skin was more hydrated and had fewer visible wrinkles in less than 12 weeks.¹³
Providing these benefits, supplements with, hydrolysed collagen peptides, often cited in clinical research as VERISOL®, can provide a reliable dose of collagen for validated results.
2. Vitamin C: The Collagen Co-Pilot
Vitamin C is essential because your body needs it to manufacture collagen.¹⁴
- Collagen Synthesis: Vitamin C is necessary for the biochemical steps that create new, strong collagen.¹⁴
- Wound Healing: Deficiency in this vitamin is linked to impaired wound healing.¹⁴ It improves the organisation of the wound matrix and decreases inflammatory factors.¹⁵,¹⁶
- Antioxidant Power: It helps protect the skin from damage caused by oxidative stress.¹⁵
That’s why you’ll see vitamin C in high-quality skin supplements, including Collagenics Advanced.
3. Hyaluronic Acid (HA): The Hydration Hero
HA is a large sugar molecule naturally found in the skin, prized for its ability to hold over 1,000 times its weight in water.¹⁰ Oral HA supplementation has been shown to significantly reduce water loss from the skin, a key sign of a healthier barrier, in adults after just 28 days.⁹ Providing this combination, Collagenics Advanced delivers clinically trialled doses of VERISOL® collagen, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid to support smoother elasticity and deep, lasting hydration.
Beyond the Big Three: Other Essential Nutrients
Beyond topping up the key nutrients that make up your ECM, your skin also needs a full spectrum of other essential nutrients to function at its best. A recent study even highlighted several additional ingredients that play an important role in supporting skin elasticity and firmness.¹⁷
Vitamins (E, B1, B2, B6, B12, Folate, C) found in Femme Essentials Multivitamin and Mineral support antioxidant defence, collagen synthesis, and protection against photoageing.¹⁷
Minerals (Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Copper): Help maintain skin barrier integrity and drive essential biological processes. Magnesium, zinc, and copper are key cofactors.¹⁷
Vitamin D: Specifically associated with improved skin firmness.¹⁷
Fatty Acids: Essential for strong cell membranes and a healthy skin barrier. Found in foods like fish, walnuts, flaxseed, as well as in omega-3 supplements, like Omegagenics EPA/DHA.¹⁷
A diet rich in these nutrients supports barrier integrity and can help prevent skin disorders. However, if your diet is lacking, high-quality supplementation can bridge the gap.
Nourishing Your Glow with Vitamins for Skin
Achieving resilient, glowing skin isn't just about what you put on your skin; it’s about what you put in your body. The evidence is clear: the right vitamins for skin health, like collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C in Collagenics Advanced, can help strengthen your skin’s protective shield, support natural healing, and keep your complexion hydrated, smooth, and glowing. Paired with a nutrient-dense diet, you can significantly support your skin's natural functions.
Ready to take control of your skin health from the inside out? Consult a healthcare practitioner to discuss the right high-quality supplements for your unique needs or to delve deeper into optimising your wellbeing. If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love exploring our other expert insights on health, wellness, and high-quality supplements below.
References
- Rosso JD, Zeichner J, Alexis A, Cohen D, Berson D. Understanding the epidermal barrier in healthy and compromised skin: clinically relevant information for the dermatology practitioner: proceedings of an expert panel roundtable meeting. J Clin Aesthetic Dermatology. 2016;9(4 Suppl 1):S2-S8.
- Montero-Vilchez T, Segura-Fernández-Nogueras MV, Pérez-Rodríguez I, et al. Skin barrier function in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis: transepidermal water loss and temperature as useful tools to assess disease severity. J Clin Medicine. 2021;10(2):359. doi:10.3390/jcm10020359
- Fujii M. The pathogenic and therapeutic implications of ceramide abnormalities in atopic dermatitis. Cells. 2021;10(9):2386. doi:10.3390/cells10092386
- Thiboutot D, Rosso JQD. Acne vulgaris and the epidermal barrier: is acne vulgaris associated with inherent epidermal abnormalities that cause impairment of barrier functions? Do any topical acne therapies alter the structural and/or functional integrity of the epidermal barrier? J Clin Aesthetic Dermatology. 2013;6(2):18-24.
- Yue B. Biology of the extracellular matrix. J Glaucoma. 2014;23(NA;):S20-S23. doi:10.1097/ijg.0000000000000108
- Potekaev NN, Borzykh OB, Medvedev GV, et al. The role of extracellular matrix in skin wound healing. J Clin Medicine. 2021;10(24):5947. doi:10.3390/jcm10245947
- Pfisterer K, Shaw LE, Symmank D, Weninger W. The extracellular matrix in skin inflammation and infection. Frontiers Cell Dev Biology. 2021;9:682414. doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.682414
- Avila Rodríguez MI, Rodríguez Barroso LG, Sánchez ML. Collagen: A review on its sources and potential cosmetic applications. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2018 Feb;17(1):20-26. doi: 10.1111/jocd.12450.
- Göllner I, Voss W, Hehn U von, Kammerer S. Ingestion of an oral hyaluronan solution improves skin hydration, wrinkle reduction, elasticity, and skin roughness: results of a clinical study. J Evidence-based Complementary Altern Medicine. 2017;22(4):816-823. doi:10.1177/2156587217743640
- Papakonstantinou E, Roth M, Karakiulakis G. Hyaluronic acid: a key molecule in skin aging. Dermato-endocrinology. 2012;4(3):253-258. doi:10.4161/derm.21923
- Proksch E, Segger D, Degwert J, Schunck M, Zague V, Oesser S. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacol Physi. 2013;27(1):47-55. doi:10.1159/000351376
- Proksch E, Schunck M, Zague V, Segger D, Degwert J, Oesser S. Oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides reduces skin wrinkles and increases dermal matrix synthesis. Skin Pharmacol Physi. 2014;27(3):113-119. doi:10.1159/000355523
- Kim DU, Chung HC, Choi J, Sakai Y, Lee BY. Oral intake of low-molecular-weight collagen peptide improves hydration, elasticity, and wrinkling in human skin: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrients. 2018 Jun 26;10(7). pii: E826. doi: 10.3390/nu10070826.
- Pullar JM, Carr AC, Vissers MCM. The roles of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients. 2017;9(8):866. doi:10.3390/nu9080866
- Lutsenko EA, Cárcamo JM, Golde DW. Vitamin C prevents DNA mutation induced by oxidative stress. J Biol Chem. 2002;277(19):16895-16899. doi:10.1074/jbc.m201151200
- Mohammed BM, Fisher BJ, Kraskauskas D, et al. Vitamin C promotes wound healing through novel pleiotropic mechanisms. Int Wound J. 2016;13(4):572-584. doi:10.1111/iwj.12484
- Podgórska A, Kicman A, Naliwajko S, Wacewicz-Muczyńska M, Niczyporuk M. Effect of intake of selected nutrients on skin firmness and elasticity in women. Front Nutr. 2024;11:1483678. doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1483678
