E93: Can you use Vitamin A in the Summer? (Myth Busters!)

Hello everyone and welcome back to the podcast Emilie, better known as the Meta Fairy. And today we are talking about a very, very, very common myth that a lot of people believe. And it’s “can you use vitamin A in the summer?” Hmm, yeah, we’re cracking that code guys! That’s where we’re going. So, let’s talk about this myth. I want to debunk this today. And I want to make you guys understand a little bit more about vitamin A because there’s so much misunderstanding of misconceptions about vitamin A that I feel like I just have to enlighten you guys about it.

But let me ask you this: when you think of vitamin A, what does your mind go to? 99% of the time, you’re gonna think retinol. 99% of time which, it’s true! Retinol is a form of vitamin A. However, there’s a lot of different forms of vitamin A. So you have the alcohol form, which is the retinol, you also have the acid form which would be the prescription strength like tretinoin, for example is one that you’ll hear about. These forms – you have to be a little more careful because they’re a little bit more sensitizing on the skin, they will make your skin UV sensitive as well. So you got to make sure you put on that SPF every two hours if you’re going to wear a prescription strength or retinol in the summer. And you just have to be a little more careful because it doesn’t suit all skin types.

Let me enlighten you with another form of vitamin A, which would be the oil form the esters. So the esters are really really fun because they don’t make your skin UV sensitive. And lot of people don’t know this. The esters do not make your skin UV sensitive and you can wear them everyday because it’s a lower form. 

It’s a lower dosage of vitamin A and it will make your skin irritated. But the reason why I’m saying this is because most of us have probably everyone has a deficiency of vitamin A. And when we have a deficiency in vitamin A, we actually have a bunch of different conditions that will come up in our skin. So whether it’s hyperpigmentation, more acne, accelerated aging, lower skin immunity, there’s just a lot of things that can happen when you have a vitamin D deficiency. Okay, vitamin A is actually an essential skin nutrient that you should feed your skin every day. And as soon as we walk out the doors, because we all have to go into the sunlight, right like, we’re not hermits most of us have to go outside whether it’s to run an errand, whether it’s to go to work, whether it’s to see friends, move around, you know, we have to go out and as soon as we hit that sunlight, whether you’re wearing some protection or not, it actually depletes your cells from that natural vitamin A reserve that they have. So that’s why you need to replenish it on a daily basis. Super important.

And the way to do that is with the esters because you can actually wear them every day. So it kind of throws off the myth of saying “Can you wear vitamin A, on a daily basis?” Yeah, you can in the summer you can absolutely 100%. And the fact that the esters do not make your skin UV sensitive is awesome, because that means that you, ideally, yes, you wear your sunscreen because if you’re doing all the things to make your skin not aged, please put on your sunscreen. It’s not as stressful as if you were to wear a retinol or retinoic acid because they will 100% make your skin UV sensitive.

When a retinoic reaction happens, it means that you will most likely have a reaction to the UV rays and you might have more pigments, you might have irritation and things like that. So the fact that the esters don’t make your skin UV sensitive is awesome because you can really prioritize that form in the summer if you’re more worried about the sun.

So fun fact, and I have to read this because I researched it but ‘ “scientific studies have shown that retinol palmitate, which is a form of the esters offers additional powerful photo protective benefits because it can absorb UVA and UVB rays equivalent to SPF 20.” Isn’t that amazing? How a lower form of vitamin A can actually act as a natural sunscreen. I wouldn’t necessarily say hey, like don’t worry, never wear your sunscreen ever, but it kind of you know, it kind of makes you wonder like why is there so much concern about wearing vitamin A in the summer? Well, if you have the right form, and that’s something that you should be aware of as a consumer, you should just, you know, make your research and ask your questions, but not everyone knows this. So that’s I’m talking about it now.

Now that we touch base on retinol and retinoic acid you can wear it in the summer you can you just have to be uber Uber careful about putting on your sunscreen. Like it’s just it’s a no it’s a no it’s not a discussion. You just have to be super careful about the UV rays. It’s kind of like taking a medication. You know, when you have a medication and there’s like a little warning on the bottle that says UVA-UVB sensitizing. It’s the same idea. You don’t want to use something and then hey, like, I’m fin, I don’t wear my sunscreen then you have all these pigments that come up to the surface. Or you’re promoting more skin cancer. You know what I mean? So yeah, you can wear it you just have to be someone that really really really diligently reapplies their SPF every two hours. Like I’m not kidding every two hours. That’s why I love so much the the powder for those of you are watching the sunscreen, the color science powder, it’s so easy to reapply. You just throw it in your purse, and you can have some color you can have a transparent one, it doesn’t matter but you just put it in your purse and then you reapply every two hours. It’s just so simple.

But yeah, if you’re not someone who doesn’t reapplies sunscreen, it’s probably because you don’t have a product that suits your habits and your lifestyle. So check out the color science. I’ll link it below so you guys can check it out but check it because I actually have a client that said that it was like cheating for her. I’m quoting her that’s not me. So take advantage of that. If you’re especially if you’re someone who’s wearing retinol and retinoic acid, check them out.

But yeah, if obviously these are forms that you’re going to wear at night only. You’re not going to wear that during the day because obviously during the day you’re gonna go outside and have a good old time and go outside so you’d have to be careful. But yeah, I mean, if you guys want to check out in Environ, if you came to the event, you know this is my Environ speech, but they do utilize the ester form in their products. And you can wear it every day and honestly, the skins immunity is much higher, the complexion is much more even the hydration is better too because having that additional vitamin A feed in your skin that means that your moisture barriers and better health so you’re retaining more moisture. You’re also going to regulate those sebaceous glands. So for you guys that have hormonal acne, maybe you’re a little older and you still have problems with breakouts. Vitamin Aysa is your friend if you guys didn’t know Accutane, which is a very popular, strong acne prescription. It’s actually a strong form of vitamin A. So when you lose when you use it in a lower form, you can absolutely regulate those sebaceous gland activity. So something to think about honestly we’ve been using that brand for I’m gonna say almost three months now and my skin has never been in the health that it is now I have this glow all the time. My acne, I mean it’s in my genes,  that was always a struggle, but it’s almost all gone and the texture is better I don’t know I’m just I’m such a fan. I might not be I’m not neutral because I have it and we recommend it but if you have questions make sure that you you can always comment vitamin A in one of the reels post too if you guys want more information honestly our practice has never been better with the use of the environment products and that’s with using vitamin A on daily basis.

So I hope this helped you guys understand a little bit more about vitamin A. it is such a wonderful ingredient. and I will see you on the next episode. I hope you guys are enjoying the view enjoying the sound and everything. If you guys have any questions feel free to send us a DM @metaesthetique online, or send us an email for a longer conversation: hello@themetaesthetique.com so we will chat very soon, and take care!