No, not literally.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a quick and easy solution to beautiful skin? Something you could take before you go to sleep and wake up with a flawless, glowing complexion? Good news: there is, and we have it.
Ok, so maybe overnight is a bit of a stretch. As with anything, everything takes time and our skin is no exception to this. A good rule of thumb in determining your timeline to a clear complexion is to keep in mind how long you’ve seen the condition. Take that duration, then add six months. Just about every skin concern comes with an internal factor, and usually it’s brewing for a good few months before we see it on the surface of our skin.
Internal Skincare
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of chatting skin health with one of our NuBabes, you know how obsessed we are with treating from the inside out and how every skin concern we see externally has an internal factor or cause. This is why we can’t get enough of Advanced Nutrition Programme. The same great active ingredients that we love topically, can now be used internally. Literally skin care you swallow.
Here’s a quickie breakdown of each of these little miracle-workers-in-a-sustainably-sourced, vegetable-ink-printed jar:
SKIN VITAMIN A+
Vitamin A is one of the most important nutrients for the skin, yet over 40% of Canadians are Vitamin A deficient. Skin Vitamin A+ is a powerhouse anti-aging supplement that builds healthy skin cells, activates cell turnover, stimulates collagen and elastin, protects against environmental stressors, builds skin immunity and reduces pigmentation.
SKIN ANTIOXIDANT
Skin Antioxidant contains a combination of seven powerful phytonutrients that guard against premature aging from light and pollution. These super phytonutrients protect the skin, block UV penetration, influence DNA repair, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and help minimize the look of wrinkles. Each plant nutrient works synergistically to protect and nourish the skin at the deepest cellular level.
SKIN OMEGAS+
Benefitting from the addition of Vitamin A, ANP Skin Omegas+ is the perfect companion to your skincare regime. It contains optimum levels of EPA (an important omega 3) along with GLA (important omega 6) made from Evening Primrose Oil. Skin Omegas+ enhance barrier layer of the skin, increase hydration and smoothness, improve immunity and act as an overall anti-inflammatory.
SKIN ACCUMAX
Skin Accumax is a scientifically advanced nutritional supplement designed to deliver clear, flawless skin naturally. Vitamin A reduces sebum production, promotes cellular turnover and strengthens the skin. Vitamin C has antibacterial properties, plus lightens and brightens the skin. Vitamin E helps with the absorption of DIM and is a potent anti-inflammatory. DIM, the star ingredient, aids the liver in dealing with bad or excess hormones that cause inflammation and breakouts.
Not Your Average Supplement
No single nutrient holds the secret to healthy, glowing skin. In fact, it is the combination of various vitamins, minerals and many other nutrients working synergistically together that create and maintain healthy skin cells. So what does a healthy cell need?
- Healthy cells need energy in order to stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal itself
- Our bodies are 70% collagen, which is a protein. We need the right ratio of protein continuously because as we age, we breakdown collagen faster and eventually stop producing it on our own. It’s like a constant game of catch-up.
- Fluids, i.e. water and blood, are needed in order for healthy functioning cells. Water is required for overall hydration and transportation, and blood, as we know, delivers our nutrients.
- Good fats are a necessity for our body. Fat is needed to lubricate our skin and joints, as for women especially fat is important because it is where the body stores hormones. Omegas 3, 6 and 9 are essential fatty acids, meaning that the body cannot produce it on it’s own and must receive it from an outside source (i.e. supplements and food sources).
- Vitamins and minerals then act as food for the cells. Just like we need fuel to function our best, every single cell in our body operates the same.
The reason we love Advanced Nutrition supplements so much is because they have managed to create a capsule collection> (pun intended), of just four products that can treat anything from acne and hormonal imbalances, rosacea and eczema, anti-aging, pigmentation and rejuvenation. We know — it almost sounds too good to be true.
Start From the Inside Out
As Vancouver’s Tone + Texture clinic, we treat a lot of acne and acne scars. We know how difficult it can be to clear chronic congestion and the marks left behind by acne. While we have many solutions to rid the present acne and scars, sometimes internal factors like hormonal imbalances prevent us from reaching the optimal results we’re aiming for. Thankfully, Advanced Nutrition Programme has a natural way to aid in balancing hormones.
All acne stems from imbalanced hormones. Both males and females produce estrogen naturally in their bodies, although women produce significantly higher levels. Research suggests that DIM (Di-IndolyMethane, derived from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli) preferentially promotes the metabolism of estrogen to the less harmful, and less active 2-hydroxyestrone form.
The ingredients in Skin Accumax work synergistically to combat acne from within. DIM< is a great supplement that aids the liver in dealing with bad to excess estrogens. It will help balance hormones and give the liver a much needed break.
Excessive or dominant estrogen and the liver are closely linked because the liver is responsible for detoxing hormones. A normally functioning liver will have no problem sorting out the overabundance of estrogen under normal circumstances, but since people with acne don’t have balanced hormones, the liver becomes overwhelmed and the excess estrogen gets recirculated through the body the body. This inevitably results in acne.
- Vitamin A plays a major role in cellular renewal and healthy skin. It greatly reduces sebum production. It is proven to be effective for skin rejuvenation and protection. Just as topical retinols encourage the reconstruction of collagen and remove dead skin cells from the top layer of the epidermis to reveal new skin underneath. Oral Vitamin A (Retinal Palmitate) works internally on a cellular level.
- Vitamin C is enriched with free radical-fighting antioxidants, which are important for cellular renewal. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that effective reduces hyperkeratinization (a disorder of the cellular lining inside of a follicle where they do not slough). Because Vitamin C is water soluble it protects both fat soluble Vitamins A and E and fatty acids from oxidation.
- Vitamin E provides protection against free radicals and premature aging cause by artificial light or sun damage and environmental pollutants. It is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that works with Vitamin C to help reconstruct collagen and keep your skin youthful and able to retain moisture and firmness.
Since acne is inflammatory by nature, it is recommended to pair up the Skin Accumax with Skin Omegas+ to help rebuild the barrier function of the skin and reduce inflammation from the inside out. Struggling with Rosacea or Eczema? The same products can be used, but in varying dosages. With drier, more inflamed skins you would simply up your Omega intake.
Once a Fountain, Now a Drizzle
It’s no secret that we produce less of the good stuff as we get older, meaning collagen. Remember those protein building blocks that make up 70% of our skin? We weren’t joking about the constant catch up. After about the age of 25, we stop producing collagen naturally and our body begins to break it down faster and faster each year. With this collagen loss, our melanin production also goes a little haywire. Overall production of pigment decreases, which can lead to dullness in the skin and formation of uneven patches. While skincare, especially ZO, can do wonders to help reverse and prevent this, it’s always great to attack it from the source. Enter: Skin Complete, the power duo combining Skin Vitamin A+ and Skin Antioxidant.
We know now that Vitamin A builds healthy skin cells, activates cellular renewal and stimulates collagen and elastin production, and antioxidants induce DNA repair, fight oxidative free radical damage and block UV penetration, but how exactly does it all work on pigment?
Pigmentation starts well below the skin’s surface where melanocyte cells pass melanin to keratinocyte cells. Think of this as a perfect relay between that pigment-producing-cell and the basic skin cell, which results in a perfectly even skin tone. Uneven pigmentation is a result of that melanin production being altered at the DNA level by free radical damage from UV rays, hormonal changes and injury and/or inflammation.
Most importantly, pigmentation begins with Vitamin A deficiency. Skin cells divide less frequently and damage is no longer effectively repaired and irregular pigment distribution is a result. Hyperpigmentation happens when the production of melanin goes into overdrive leaving spots of excess melanin on the skin. The creation of melanin is an oxidative process. Vitamins A, C and D and powerful antioxidants counteract this oxidation, limiting the excessive pigmentation production.
The most effective way to treat pigmentation is by protecting the skin externally with sunscreen, melanocyte suppressants like Brightalive and laser or IPL, but also internally with antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that stabilize free radicals, preventing and reducing the damage that they cause. The bonus is that antioxidants don’t just stop there, they actually play a key role in maintain and improving your overall health in profound ways!
Skin Complete is the skin supplement for pigmentation. Just one capsule of Skin Vitamin A+ helps to protect and improve skin’s resilience to lifestyle and external factors and helps repair DNA damage! One capsule of Skin Antioxidant daily is the ultimate skin supplement for pigmentation. The key is to help speed up the skin’s natural exfoliation rate while slowing or reducing the excessive speed the melanocyte is working at.
It takes about 90 days on average for the skin to renew itself completely, but pigmentation can sometimes take up to 2 years to fade completely. In that time, we recommend “doubling up” on treatment with ZO Medical Skin Care and in-clinic procedures which will aid in the de-pigmentation process.
Ready to jump on board with skincare you swallow? Book a complimentary Skin Health Consultation to learn more and have a customized treatment plan, from the inside out, created for you.
