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Vitamin K benefits for skin are both powerful and well-researched. Although when people think about vitamins that contribute to a beautiful and healthy complexion - vitamins A, C, and E are often the first, but vitamin K deserves a place in the spotlight as well.
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamins, meaning it can dissolve in fats and oils and also stored in body fat. It is a vitamin that is critical to the normal functioning of the many proteins within the body such as the coagulation factors that control bleeding.
The link between certain vitamins and healthy complexion has long been established. Food and beauty products packed with nutrients that contribute to skin health have always been in demand.
Vitamin K1 is commonly found in green leafy vegetables, cucumbers, olive oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. Vitamin K2 is found in butter, cheese, and egg yolk.
If you've previously excluded vitamin K from your list of skin-friendly nutrients, this piece will help you realize the various vitamin K benefits for skin that not many are aware of.
Vitamin K is primarily known for its many health benefits particularly on the bones and vascular system. However, because of this vitamin’s many beneficial properties, recent studies and clinical experience have revealed the following beautifying benefits of vitamin K:
Vitamin K has been found to work as a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants have always been acknowledged as an important substance in promoting beautiful and healthy skin as they prevent the harmful effects of free radicals. Free radicals are most commonly caused by exposure to smoke, environmental pollution, and the harmful rays of the sun.
Apart from its antioxidative property, vitamin K is also found to be involved in tissue renewal and cell growth control. These particular vitamin K effects are significant in maintaining a softer, glowing, and more young-looking complexion.
Vitamin K helps your body to produce new skin cells. When this happens, the fresh and healthy skin cells will readily replace older skin cells which are dry and hard, particularly in your outer skin. As soon as the dead skin cells are eliminated, the new and fresher skin cells will be exposed.
Skin specialists have long discovered that signs of skin aging like wrinkles and dark spots can be caused by environmental factors and not just aging. This means that even if you are still young, your skin is not exempted from the signs of aging skin especially if you are exposed to unhealthy elements. Fortunately, one of the vitamin K benefits for skin is helping reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Wrinkles and fine lines are primarily caused by reduced collagen and elastin production. Collagen and elastin are crucial in maintaining the skin’s elasticity or its ability to stretch. When you lack them, your skin loses its elastic ability, resulting in wrinkles and fine lines.
Vitamin K helps protect the collagen in the body. When healthy collagen production is maintained, your skin appears more, plump, smooth and youthful. This means that your skin will be able to maintain its elasticity, hence, preventing wrinkles and fine lines.
One study stresses the anti-aging benefits of vitamin K. Researchers studied the obvious difference between skin aging in Japanese women who regularly consume macroalgae (seaweed) which is packed with vitamin K compared with Caucasian women of the same age who do not eat them.
The study revealed the often overlooked ability of vitamin K in maintaining elasticity and capillary integrity of skin, as well as inhibition of elastin degradation. All these things are important factors in the promotion of healthy skin and prevention of skin aging.
Concealers are always in demand because they help many people to hide the dark circles under their eyes. This condition is not only unsightly but even contributes to one’s overall appearance. But why just hide this imperfection when you can improve it? Vitamin K benefits for skin include helping the skin dissipate bruising and discoloration.
The skin around the eye area is particularly delicate because it is extremely thin. Dark circles under the eyelids commonly occur because of the fragility of blood vessels. When the blood vessels break, blood leaks to the surrounding skin resulting in eventual discoloration. Not getting enough sleep, rubbing eyes, puffiness, and genetic factors all play a role in the dreaded under eye circles.
Vitamin K is known primarily for its anti-coagulant property which helps regulate bleeding. This property also helps in strengthening blood vessels to prevent breaking or damage. This means that vitamin K is effective in preventing the root cause of dark circles under the eyes.
One biomedical research published in 2015 supported this vitamin K beneficial effect. Researchers of this study found that applying a caffeine pad containing vitamin K significantly reduced dark circles under the eyes and even depth of wrinkles.
Apart from helping you maintain a beautiful and youthful-looking skin, vitamin K also aids in the restoration of a healthy complexion and in addressing certain skin conditions such as the following:
Pretty much everyone experiences bruising at some point. Bruising is medically known as “purpura” referring to its purple color. It appears underneath the skin when tiny blood vessels break and leak blood in the soft tissue.
In a study examining the effects of vitamin K on bruising, it was found that vitamin K significantly helps in the reduction of the severity of bruising. In the said clinical trial, patients who applied vitamin cream to their faces twice a day for two weeks before laser treatment were found to experience less bruising than those who did not apply vitamin K.
The skin is prone to injury as it is the most exposed part of the body. When your skin gets wounded, it is natural for you to look for available relief that will help in hastening the process of healing. This is another area where vitamin K can greatly assist you.
Considering vitamin K’s ability to reducing the severity of bruising, researchers investigated its potential in wound healing. One study revealed that, as suspected, topical application of vitamin K significantly promotes wound healing.
The anti-inflammatory property of vitamin K also helps in reducing discomforting symptoms of inflammatory skin problems like eczema and psoriasis. Clinical experience and other evidence suggest that consuming foods rich in vitamin K aids in reducing inflammation in the body.
A scientific review on psoriasis and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin K showed the significant role that such vitamins play in the management of a chronic immune-mediated disease like psoriasis and eczema. In the review, the researchers found vast anecdotal evidence suggesting positive effects of taking oral vitamin K2 together with vitamin D supplements among people with psoriasis.
Vitamin K benefits for skin go beyond promoting a beautiful complexion as it helps to prevent skin issues and restore skin to good health. So if you want to experience these vast benefits, make sure to consume vitamin K-rich food and use skin care products with vitamin K in your standard beauty routine.
