Vitamin A: An amazing molecule

"Vitamin A is the greatest deficiency in the world.

Most people are unaware that they suffer from a chronic, localised deficiency of Vitamin A. As vitamin A is light sensitive it is destroyed everyday in our skin and that is the main reason we develop photoageing. You could say that the skin is constntly in need of Vitamin A."

- Dr. Des Fernandes

Vitamin A affects 300 - 1000 genes in the human body, in particular the genes that cause epidermal stem cells to grow and differentiate into normal keratinocytes and mature into healthy layers of the epidermis. There is no eqivelant or alternate to vitamin A, which belongs to a family of organic chemicals called Retinoids. Retinoids occur naturally in the human body and are closely linked to the chemistry of vision in the retina of the eye. This vitamin appears to be the most important molecule for healthy-looking skin. Everybody, everywhere is exposed to UV light. This exposure damages the vitamin A naturally found in the skin.

By absorbing energy from UV light, certain forms of vitamin A act as a natural sunscreen therefore, the more vitamin A the skin has, the more protected the skin will be against sun damage.

While taking vitamin A supplements (at least 5 000 IU per day) may help to replenish the vitamin A the skin has lost, it is not nearly as effective as topical application straight onto the areas that are depleted of vitamin A.

This essential nutrient needs to be replaced on a daily basis to promote healthy-looking skin and minimise the signs of photoageing.

Vitamin A's normalising abilities are particulary important when it comes to photo-damaged skin, because there is often a lot of damage too reverse. Individuals with this skin concern will often complain of pigmentation marks, excessive wrinkling and coarse, thickened skin. These symptoms manifest themselves decades after UV exposure, and so even if one has shunned the sun and religiously slathered themselves with sunscreen for the past 10 years, your skin may tell a different story of being less careful in ones youth.