Guest Post — Let’s Talk About Vitamin C & Skin Care

The following is a guest post written by Bea Kinnear, a USANA Associate and author of Your Skin & You. She is owner and moderator of the Yahoo! Sensé Help Site, where she works with Kathleen Rockney, Jacquie Malinowski, and Janet Bernstein to educate members about skin care. The site is where a version of this and other articles in the “Let’s Talk” series originally appeared. Bea has agreed to share select articles with What’s Up, USANA? as a resource for readers to learn more about Sensé products. Read previous posts here.

In 1992, Duke University’s Dr. Sheldon Pinnell discovered that applying L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) on hairless pigs suppressed sunburn. It was because of his research that today we now have Vitamin C in almost all skin care products.

After 1992, Vitamin C would improve further with the development of quality, stable forms of Vitamin C ingredients. Listed below are stable and effective forms of Vitamin C ingredients to look for in products:

• Ascorbyl Palmitate
• Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate
• Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate
• Sodium ascorbyl phosphate
• L-ascorbic acid
• Retinyl ascorbate

The three stable Vitamin C ingredient used in Sensé are:

• Ascorbyl Palmitate Vitamin C, which easily penetrates the skin cells and releases a proper amount of acid to help the production of collagen
• Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, which is specifically good for sensitive skin and
• Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, an excellent, very stable, oil-soluble Vitamin C ester.

Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is also known for its free-radical fighting properties, diminishment of fine lines, and is considered a skin-firming agent. Sensé contains other ingredients such as Meadowfoam, also rich in Vitamin C content.

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an important component of collagen (the substance that binds cells together). It also helps to repair the structure of the capillaries, arteries and veins, and aids in the production of elastin. Collagen relies on Vitamin C for its stability to help repair and renew skin.

Vitamin C has shown to increase collagen production, including dermal collagen, which is significant for wrinkle reduction, strengthening skin’s barrier response, enhancing skin’s repair process and reducing inflammation.

Lack of sufficient Vitamin C can also affect your fingernail and toenail strength and appearance. Your skin can also become dry and tight and will not heal as quickly.

It is best to check a product before buying since most products on the market just do not have sufficient Vitamin C concentration to be of any benefit.

Vitamin C in a well-formulated, stable-packaging can:

• protect skin cells
• support structure from UV-related damage
• improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin
• strengthen the skin’s barrier response and reduce inflammation
• promote collagen production which is important for anti-aging
• help in the appearance of wound trauma repair
• boost the efficacy of sunscreens (but is not a sunscreen itself)
• helps to minimize fine lines and wrinkles

High quality, stable Vitamin C (Proteo C™) is found in all the Sensé skin-care line. Proteo-C amplifies the overall effectiveness of every Sensé skin care product and is delivered quickly into the skin through our self-preserving technology.

For an application to join the Sensé Help Site, please contact Bea.