To what extent does the body absorb vitamins through the skin?
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I had to stop off at the store on the way home last night to buy some facial tissues and hand lotion for my runny nose and dry skin. I was amused by the lotion in the tissue and the vitamins in the lotion. I think of them as Marketing Innovations; changes companies make to their products which don’t really change the product except to give the admen some serious fodder for the admill.
Now I’m starting to wonder. The lotion in the tissue really does seem to make them softer on my reddening nose. And I have to assume the vitamins in the lotion just have to be somewhat beneficial to my chapped skin.
To what extent are the vitamins contained in skin lotions and the like absorbed through the skin. If it’s fair to assume that Vitamin E, for example, is used by the body to repair skin damage, does applying it directly to the skin in any way affect one’s daily requirement? (i.e. Do you now need less than you would have otherwise?)
I have found some web sites hawking stand alone vitamin creams — especially Vitamin E, D and C — and while they don’t all claim benefits beyond the epidermis, they all seem to make tacit reference to health advantages. Some of them even claim to protect against Vitamin D Deficiency. While I understand that Vitamin D is “made” in the skin as a result of exposure to Ultraviolet light, I am skeptical about the benefit of smearing vitamin D directly on the skin as a means to overcoming the problem.
So, cure or fuel my skepticism as necessary. Can I crush up my vitamins and mix them with my hand lotion and rub my way to health?
The vitamins get into the topmost layer of skin, and that’s it. They don’t get into your bloodstream and travel to the other parts of your body that need the vitamin. AFAIK, all vitamins are needed internally as well as externally, so… better keep up with your daily requirements, too.
Well the topmost layer of skin is comprised of dead cells, and they have very little need for vitamins.
Transdermal drug delivery isn’t new, nicotine and fentanyl patches for instance. So it’s not impossible that some vitamins may be absorbed through the skin from a lotion. However, it doesn’t strike me as a very efficient way in which to deliver vitamins even to the area smeared with the lotion.
And I’m also wondering about how effective vitamins in lotion would be in treating any vitamin-deficiency caused skin ailment. Surely, a vitamin deficiency that had actual symptoms would be too severe to be treated by a lotion, and also would the condition of your skin actually be your number one priority?
I’m thinking along the lines of chapped skin, minor rashes, acne and that type of skin irritation. The dead skin might not need vitamins, but obviously there is some need for attention. Without any lotion or application, the natural maintenance of the skin requires a certain amount of raw material. Some of the crap that goes into lotion must provide some of that or at least do something. (right?)
I wouldn’t expect there to be a remedy for Rickets that involves Vitamin D creams, but there are claims that psoriasis treatments using vitamin D analogs are possible. Of course, psoriasis is not a vitamin-deficiency caused skin ailment that I know of and I’m sure you’re right that by the time you’re teeth are falling out from lack of proper nutrition, your skin tone isn’t a top priority.