The honest self-care

Plants spend the whole day in the sun without getting sunburnt.

But plants do not use sunscreen.

They have various color pigments in their cells that protect them from the harmful sunrays. A large group of these pigments are carotenoids.

And the most popular one is beta-carotene.

We find beta-carotene in large quantities in orange or red vegetables.

Some green vegetables also contain a very large abount of beta- carotene.

However, these vegetables do not look orange or red because they also contain a lot of the green leaf pigment chlorophyll.

The chlorophyll covers the orange color of the carotene.

Beta-carotene also protects humans from UV-radiation.

However, we cannot produce the orange pigment ourselves, but must eat food that is rich in it.

So let’s see how beta-carotene will work for you.

• 1. How does beta-carotene work in skincare?
• 2. Beta carotene instead of sunscreen?
• 3. Will you get tanned using beta-carotene?
• 4. How to take beta-carotene?
• 5. Is beta-carotene available in creams?

1.How does beta carotene work in skincare?

Only some areas in our body deposit larger amounts of beta- carotene. High concentrations are found especially in our skin and the retina.

So if your mum always told you to eat your carrots „because they are good for your eyes“ she was right!

Beta-carotene is deposited in the cell membrane as well as the skin cell itself.

Because of its special structure, it absorbs UV-radiation and prevents directly cell and DNA damaging.

However, UV rays are also responsible for creating oxidative stress when there is an excess of free particles in the body’s cells that damage these cells.

Beta-carotene is an excellent antioxidant that binds these toxic particles and makes them harmless.

This results in increased protection against sunburn and sun-related skin cancer.

The protection of the skin cells also means that light-induced wrinkling and skin ageing is reduced.

2. Should you use beta carotene instead of sunscreen?

No, but there are still great benefits.

Beta-carotene is a supplementary protection against UV- radiation that works from the inside, but has a much lower protection factor than sunscreen.

It must be taken in large quantities for at least 7 weeks before a protection against sunburn is achieved (see below).

Sunscreen, on the other hand, works immediately.

Especially on beach holidays, where you are exposed to very strong UV-radiation for a much longer time than usually, you should not go out without topically applied sun protection.

The great benefits of beta-carotene is its permanent effect.

Once there, the natural UV-protection can last for several weeks.

And even skin areas that have been unintentionally and only briefly exposed to sunlight ( e.g. on your way to work ) are protected.

3.Will you get tanned with beta carotene?

Yes and no.
If you eat a lot of beta-carotene over a longer period of time, it will be deposited in your skin. This will cause your skin to get darker.

But the color tone is different from that of tanning in the sun because tanning in the sun is caused by the pigment melanin (see picture below)

The orange-red pigment beta-carotene leads to a darker and slightly orange-tinted skin tone when stored in the skin.

Still beta carotene has a minor influence on melanin production.

Melanin is a dark brown to black pigment that occurs in hair, iris of the eye and skin.

How much of this pigment you have depends on your skin type.

Caucasian people, for example, have less melanin deposited in their body cells than people of color.

It has been found that when beta-carotene is taken in combination with other antioxidants such as vitamin C, melanin production in the body is increased.

So you can achieve a slightly darker skin tone with beta-carotene even during the winter months. Of course, this again depends on your skin type.

Some people’s skin produces melanin very fast, for others it takes forever.

During the summer, the skin automatically becomes tanner because the sun’s rays stimulate the body’s cells to produce more melanin.

And as mentioned above, melanin production is positively affected by beta-carotene.

4.How to take beta carotene for skincare?

You can either eat large amounts of fruits or vegetables containing beta-carotene (see list below) or use food supplements.

The advantage of beta-carotene supplements is that you know exactly how much beta carotene you have taken.

This is important, because if you take in too little of it, you cannot develop a natural skin protection.

Follow these steps for natural skin protection:

• Start early. Beta carotene must be taken for a minimum of 7 weeks, every day.

• A minimum amount 12 mg dayily must be used. 30 mg is good. As supplements come in drops, capsules or gummy bears, it is very easy to handle. Just stay to 1-2 units daily, depending on the concentration of your product.

• Always make sure to take your beta-carotene with a little bit of fat. It is only fat-soluble, so you need meals containing fat to ensure absorption during digestion.

If you prefer a diet rich in beta-carotene, use these incredients:

Vegetable	Amount of beta-carotene [ mg per 100g]
green cabbage	8,6
carrots	8,2
sweet potato	7,9
turnip	6,4
spinach	5,6
red paprika	3,5
pumpkin	3,2

5.Is beta carotene available in creams?

Not really.

Beta carotene is an excellent antioxidant, but unfortunately its color is orange. The color would not only dye the cream orange, but also your skin.

It would also leave orange spots on your clothing that are difficult to wash out.

However, beta-carotene is available as a skin care oil.

This is not an oil made from carrot seeds (which is used for cooking)!

The skin care oil, for example, uses olive oil enriched with beta-carotene.

This has a light antioxidant effect.

But it is only effective for a short time, as the colour pigments are not stored in the deeper layers of the skin.

The oil can also leave orange stains on your clothes.