Your skin tells you what it needs. If it’s feeling less plump and showing signs of sagging skin, there are ways you can support it from the inside and the outside in using acids, adaptogens, and vitamins. It’s never too late to regenerate aging skin— using vitamins for skin elasticity will have your skin feeling and looking younger. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D all provide their own benefits for preventing the effects of aging. We’ll dive into each of these and more vitamins, herbs, and ingredients for skin health. 

What Causes Skin to Lose Elasticity? 

Elasticity is your skin’s ability to bounce back. It’s a reflection of the proteins, collagen and elastin found in the dermis of your skin. Collagen provides structure and strength to the skin while helping renew and repair skin cells. In fact, there are 5 types of collagen, that can affect your body.  Elastin is what enables your skin to stretch. 

Both are needed for plump, bouncy skin. But stress, environment (like toxins in the air), lifestyle factors (alcohol, sugar, lack of sleep), age, and time have a direct impact on your skin elasticity. 

That’s because all of these factors contribute to oxidative stress, or an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in your body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that, when functioning properly, can help fend off pathogens in your body. But they’re kept in check by antioxidants, and when there are more free radicals present than antioxidants to control them, they can do damage to your cells. 

This oxidative stress is the root cause of accelerated aging skin, and one of the major ways that shows up is collagen breakdown. 

Oxidative stress is the root cause of accelerated aging skin, and one of the major ways that shows up is collagen breakdown.

The Best Vitamins & Supplements for Skin Tightening

Even though all these factors can speed up the process of aging, there are several nutrients, adaptogens, and vitamins for skin elasticity that can help your body build collagen levels or fight free radicals. Radiant skin is within your reach if you follow a skin care routine with these best vitamins for skin tightening.

1. Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a group of fat-soluble vitamins that are important for the growth and development of skin cells. It has been shown to help improve skin texture, stimulate collagen synthesis, help cell turnover, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin A can also help to reduce forehead lines if used routinely.

Certain carotenoids, or yellow, orange, and red pigments found in food, act as provitamins that your body converts into A to help protect your skin from UV damage and environmental factors like pollution. A is also commonly found in supplements and topical skin care products — you might know it as retinol or retinoids. 

2. Vitamin C 

Vitamin C, an essential ingredient for skin health, is an antioxidant that helps protect against oxidative damage and plays a role in the production of collagen, which helps keep skin firm and elastic. Particularly in topical applications, Vitamin C has been shown to improve loose skin from wrinkling and increase collagen production. Both orally and topically, it can protect skin from damage caused by environmental factors UV exposure and pollution. Vitamin C can also promote a healthy immune system so it’s win-win.

3. Vitamin D 

The sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D, has been shown to help improve skin hydration. Your skin naturally produces Vitamin D when exposed to UV rays from sunlight, but levels change depending on your diet, the amount of melanin in your skin, and the season. In fact, most of us are clinically Vitamin D insufficient. 

While Vitamin D can be obtained from many animal foods, Silver Ear Mushroom is one of the only bioavailable vegan forms of Vitamin D. Its low molecular weight supports your skin barrier and promotes deep skin hydration. 

4. Vitamin E 

A potent antioxidant, Vitamin E particularly helps protect healthy skin from damage caused by UV radiation, which can lead to accelerated skin aging and sagging skin. Its photoprotecting effects have been found to be strongest when taken topically and in conjunction with Vitamin C. 

A super rich form of natural Vitamin E, orally ingested Tocotrienols from rice or “Tocos” for short, contains essential fatty and amino acids to help protect collagen and prevent visible signs of aging. Applied to the skin, Tocos can help protect the face from oxidative stress to preserve bounce. 

5. Vitamin K 

Vitamin K plays a role in blood clotting and wound healing. Research shows it can help reduce the appearance of dark circles under the eyes and improve skin elasticity. 

6. Schisandra 

Schisandra is an adaptogen that’s prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a longevity and beauty berry. Once available only to members of the royal courts of China, the Schisandra berry has been revered for thousands of years for its ability to make dry skin smooth, supple, and radiant. This berry’s effect is increased collagen production; plump, hydrated skin; improved skin elasticity; and a glow that emanates from within. 

7. Astaxanthin 

Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that helps improve skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of lines. Even though it doesn’t act as a precursor to Vitamin A like other carotenoid pigments, it still has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits that can help improve your skin’s condition.

8. Amla

Long hailed as a powerful beauty tonic rich in antioxidant Vitamin C, Amla, or Indian Gooseberry, is an adaptogen known as the great protector of the skin, preserving collagen protein and guarding against the aging effects of free-radical damage. It also actively contributes to beautiful skin by helping to increase elasticity. 

9. Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic Acid is found naturally in the skin and helps support collagen synthesis. You can take it as a supplement or find it in skin care to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and encourage collagen production in your body.

Add These Vitamins to Your Routine

Many of these ingredients can be found both in skin care and in supplements, so you can holistically support skin tightening and collagen production internally and on the skin’s surface. 

Let’s start on the inside. 

SuperBeauty® is a skin care capsule that delivers a potent antioxidant complex plus essential ingredients to help protect cells from accelerated aging. Antioxidants Glutathione, Vitamin C, and E help neutralize free radicals, Astaxanthin helps improve skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of lines, and adaptogenic Schisandra is traditionally used for hydration and skin clarity.

Collagen Protect® is a vegan collagen creamer and skin supplement to help protect and preserve your natural collagen. Hyaluronic Acid helps support collagen synthesis and reduce the appearance of fine lines, Silver Ear Mushroom supports your skin barrier and promotes deep skin hydration, and Tocos contains essential fatty and amino acids to help protect collagen and prevent visible signs of aging.

As for a topical application, Plump Jelly, our hyaluronic acid serum, helps hydrate and preserve elasticity from the outside in with 3 of the same ingredients. Hyaluronic Acid and PGA Peptides work synergistically to hydrate around the cells, while Beet Amino Acid and Silver Ear Mushroom deliver water into the cells and lock it in for long-term moisture. Tocos helps protect skin from oxidative stress to preserve elasticity.

Incorporating these skin supporting ingredients into your everyday routine can not only help bring elasticity back to your skin in the present, but also takes a proactive approach to building health long-term.