Does Topical Vitamin A Cause Thin Skin? (Ep. 49)

I recently had a discussion with a patient about topical vitamin A.  She was under the impression that you have a limited number of skin cells, and that Vitamin A caused them to "wear out" and would cause thin skin with time.

This show talks about how and why vitamin A is beneficial for almost all ages, and how to incorporate it into a healthy skin care plan.

Was she right?  Or is there more to it?  Listen and find out!

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Dr. Hall: The other day I had a patient
in the office and we were talking about

skin care products, which is a very common
discussion that I have here in the office.

When we're talking about facial
rejuvenation, this patient was young.

We were doing a little mole removal and
I recommended that she start a topical

form of vitamin a retin a or retinol.

You know, there's a there's a bunch of
medically indicated brands out there

that are worth using And she asked a
question which was really intelligent.

She said, you know, I heard that
vitamin a , because of the way that

it works to stimulate the upper level
of your skin turning over causes your

skin to thin over time because you
have a limited number of skin cells.

Like you have a limited number of eggs
in your ovary if you're a woman and

Once you run through all of those, that
your skin starts to thin over time.

And, We had a discussion about how skin
actually ages and figured this would be

a great podcast episode because it will
serve to kind of help you understand

how your skin ages, why retinol is an
important part of a skin rejuvenation or

skin prejuvenation, so maintaining younger
skin, program, and gives us a good,

good bit of information to talk about.

So firstly, what causes skin to thin?

And this is a topic that can get
really science y really quickly.

Everybody's heard of oxygen free radicals.

And they are a natural part of
the aging process, and as those

free radicals accumulate it
causes breakdown in your skin.

There are two layers of your skin.

There's the epidermis,
which is that top layer.

That's fairly thin.

And that's the layer that we all see.

And then the dermis, which is a thicker
layer, that's where the collagen

and elastin in your skin lives.

So gives the skin, it's it's bulk and
gives the skin, it's stretchiness.

And what happens is those
oxygen free radicals cause

chemical reactions in the skin.

And.

Cause enzymes to be released that break
down those collagen and elastin fibers

over time and also keep your own body
from building more collagen and elastin.

You can look these up.

It's matrix metalloproteinase
is one of the enzymes.

And then TGF beta, which is a growth
factor is down regulated to help

keep you from producing more collagen.

So, really what happens over time in
a nutshell is reactive oxygen species

or free radicals build up, causes the
dermis to thin, exacerbates dryness,

and causes, when that dermis thins,
it causes the skin to get wrinkly.

And so the thinning of the skin
really happens in that dermal

layer, not the epidermis.

How does retinol work?

Retinol causes the epidermis,
the top part, the very thin part

of your skin to grow faster.

So you can almost think of it
as a very slow chemical peel.

You shed the, that top kind of dead layer
of skin that makes your skin look dull.

And it, causes your skin to brighten
because that kind of dull, the light is

not reflected off of dull dead skin cells.

Those skin cells are more alive.

There's more liquid
and there's more water.

And so it reflects and gives
you a brighter skin tone.

Really what we're doing with
our topical vitamin A's is.

We are getting rid of those
surface dead skin cells and

causing the cycle of reproduction
in those skin cells to increase.

Because those skin cells are healthier,
your skin retains more water.

And so it appears hydrated, it
appears healthy, it's no longer dull.

And so...

Retinoids, , the kind of prescription
strength retinols are really

important for overall skin health.

They're important as a
rejuvenation treatment or as

part of a rejuvenation treatment.

They're also a good addition for younger
patients who are looking to maintain

healthy skin or slightly improve the
quality of their skin so that they are

starting from a good place and we can slow
the skin aging process down significantly.

So that's the long
answer to the question.

The short answer to my patient's
question the other day, do retinoids

or topical vitamin A's thin your
skin over time and cause it to age?

No, that's a product of time
and oxygen free radicals.

The retinoids actually improve skin
health and are a small part of a

long term healthy skincare plan.

Thanks for listening to
this short little episode.

If you've got any questions, you can
shoot me a DM, shoot me an email.

Look forward to talking
to everybody later.