Glutathione Benefits for Skin
Glutathione is fast becoming a favorite ingredient of skincare enthusiasts, functional medicine practitioners, dermatologists, and anyone looking to give their skin a boost inside and out. Here we’ll explain all of the impressive glutathione benefits for skin and how this new supplement may help you.
How Glutathione Works in the Skin
Our skin is our largest organ and one of the main avenues our body uses to interact with the world. Skin allows us to feel and helps protect us from injury and disease. It is also a major factor in our appearance (and how satisfied we are with it). Keeping skin in tip-top shape is crucial to overall wellness. Glutathione (GSH) plays an integral role in this process.
Glutathione is produced in the liver but appears in every cell in the body, where it works to regulate cellular function and control harmful free radicals. Free radicals are a byproduct of some cell reactions, including immune responses to injury or disease. They’re also caused by exposure to environmental toxins, like air pollution, heavy metals, and viruses.
If left unchecked, these molecules can damage cells and their DNA, leading to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and low glutathione has been linked to many chronic health problems and skin issues like: acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, age spots, blemishes, sunspots, redness, inflammation, wrinkles, and fine lines.
Glutathione Benefits for Skin
Numerous studies have shown evidence that glutathione supplements can lead to noticeable improvements in skin appearance and performance.
Acne and Acne Scars
Research indicates that people with more severe acne have higher levels of systemic oxidative stress and GSH deficiency (as measured through blood samples). Common acne breakouts may be a sign that the body has too much oxidative stress and could benefit from glutathione supplementation. In addition, glutathione facilitates cellular regeneration, which could reduce the visibility of acne scars.
Dull and Lackluster Skin
Glutathione is one of the main detoxifiers in our bodies, protecting us from free radicals, infections, heavy metals, and toxins. When put to work on the skin, Glutathione can clean up the effects of oxidative stress, resulting in brighter, more radiant skin.
Age Spots and Blemishes
Because Glutathione is able to suppress the activity of tyrosinase, causing the production of melanin to decline, it is an effective way to lighten darker skin spots and even skin tone.
Psoriasis
Glutathione can also help with psoriasis. One study provided amino acid supplements to patients suffering from psoriasis, a disease that causes a build-up of dead skin cells and leads to redness, itching, blisters, and (in severe cases) arthritis. The patients took the supplements along with their other treatments. All of them saw an improvement of symptoms, demonstrating that GSH can complement established treatment methods like pharmaceuticals.
Wrinkles, Fine Lines, and Sagging Skin
Glutathione can also help with signs of skin aging like wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin. As we age, our ability to make GSH declines as well as our skin’s ability to generate new cells and defend against harmful exposure to sun and pollution. This leaves the skin more vulnerable to damage from free radicals, worsening the cycle.
Meanwhile, higher levels of GSH boost cell turnover, reduce redness and the appearance of wrinkles and protect cells against DNA damage from UV rays (an important step in preventing skin cancers). It also improves skin elasticity to increase tightness, plumpness, and smoothness.
Why Glutathione is Effective in Skin Care
Many common skincare products and treatments work at the surface level to temporarily improve the appearance of skin but do nothing to treat underlying issues like oxidative stress. Supplementing glutathione, on the other hand, does just that. By boosting cell functions and disarming free radicals, GSH fights the process of skin aging and unlocks the full benefits of the body’s innate healing ability.
How to Get Glutathione Benefits for Skin
Glutathione supplements for skin problems can be taken orally, transdermally, or by injection or IV. However, GSH is not absorbed well through the digestive system, so many practitioners and patients prefer topical lotions and sprays.
The Auro Skin Protocol, for example, provides glutathione and other effective ingredients like Vitamins C and E as skin creams. They are formulated using a sub-nanotechnology delivery method, which ensures that you are getting the most potent and absorbable forms of these skin allies.
