Vitamin Treatment for Skin

The cost of anti-aging vitamin serums is really ridiculous. What is a lady who wants to age gracefully to do? Make her own, of course!

I have struggled all of my adult life with acute acne. I've been on Retin-A for thirty years. It was a god-send for me -- and apparently now, it's a god-send for ladies and gents who want to avoid wrinkles. That's all well and good, but it also makes it difficult for me to convince my health insurance that I need it for a real skin condition. I've tried to go without it, but to no avail. The fluctuating hormones of my pre/early menopause are adding a new dimension to the problem.

I recognize that the skin on my face looks good because of the treatment it gets - and there isn't much else I can use (except moisturizer) on it, since the RX makes it very sensitive. Anti-aging serums are a no-no.

That doesn't mean I don't want to address other areas of my body. Skin is our largest organ and I believe that taking care of our organs will keep us healthy. I do not eschew the sun -- I think vitamin D is too important. I get my sun when I run in the early evening -- but I do not sunbathe (who has time???).

I've been reading so much about the beneficial properties of Vitamins A, D and E as well as calcium for healthy skin. Also, the B vitamins are supposedly great for skin and hair. Vitamin and mineral products designed to help aging skin proliferate. Many are quite pricey. So, I make my own -- and so can you. I'm not going to give specific proportions (because I never follow recipes), but this is what I'm using on my neck, chest and tummy:

Vitamin A & D ointment
Baby Oil with Vitamin E
Calcium Gel

I squeeze the contents of two or three calcium gel caps into a small plastic jar and add the Vitamin A & D ointment then mix well. I then pour in about half as much of the baby oil.

Each night after my shower, I pat my skin dry and then rub in Infusium B leave in hair conditioner. I then moisturize my face with a fragrance free moisturizer. I rub my concoction on the front of my body (neck, boobs and belly). The rest gets plain baby oil. Since it's summer and I'll be showing my shoulders more, I will spread some of my concoction there. Rub excess into nails/cuticles.

So far, so good. The stuff I'm using on my neck and chest is making the skin there very soft and smooth. Rather than buying an expensive serum, putting this all together costs under five bucks. I use the A & D ointment straight as a bed-time eye and lip treatment. Once a week, I put it on my face. I don't over-do it on my face because of my tendency to break out. If you don't have acne like I do, it might be nice to do it more frequently.

I gag when I see the pricey serums being sold on ShopNBC or QVC. Maybe the ingredients are more "pure," and the packaging slick and attractive -- but I'll stick to my cheap home-made version any day!