Dark Spots + Discoloration
Dryness
Dullness + Uneven Skin
Loss of Firmness + Elasticity
Puffiness + Dark Circles
Wrinkles + Fine Lines

Zinc: Why It’s Awesome for Beautiful Skin

Are you getting enough zinc in your diet? Maybe you haven’t thought about it lately — or maybe ever! The mineral doesn’t get talked about as much as — well — more “famous” nutrients like iron, calcium, or vitamin D. But it turns out that approximately 17.3% of the people don’t get enough of it in their diets.1

Zinc plays an important role in your body: it strengthens the immune system, keeps the digestive system working properly, encourages hair growth, and promotes the health of your skin.

A zinc-rich diet will help your complexion stave off irritation, redness, and the signs of premature aging.

And it can be especially challenging to get enough in your body if you follow diets that exclude certain foods. For example, if you follow a plant-based diet or abstain from high-cholesterol foods for health reasons — you may have lower concentrations of zinc in your body.

When you’re getting enough zinc in your diet – – you’ll reap the benefits of a healthier body and beautiful skin.

What Exactly Is Zinc?

Zinc is a metallic trace element that’s absolutely essential to maintaining the health of the skeletal, gastrointestinal, immune, reproductive, skin, and central nervous systems of your body.2

This trace mineral is also an antioxidant.3 Antioxidants are responsible for combating oxidative stress, which can inhibit immune responses and lead to chronic conditions in various systems and organs in your body, including your largest organ: the skin.

About six percent of your body’s zinc intake goes to maintaining your skin. And keep in mind your body has no permanent place where zinc is stored — it’s constantly being used up. That’s why a continuous supply of zinc from external sources is necessary to satisfy cell metabolism and tissue repair needs.

Zinc for Beautiful Skin

So what are some of the benefits zinc provides for the skin? Here are a few:

Helps Relieve Redness, Irritation, and Dryness

Red, dry, and irritated skin? It can roll around every winter or even nag you throughout the year. It’s annoying and uncomfortable and can have you reaching for creams just to get some relief.

Sensitive skin is often a byproduct of oxidative stress. So if you’re not getting enough antioxidant foods in your diet, you may experience skin irritation. Zinc has properties that fight irritation, so a diet rich in zinc may help calm skin.

Zinc can also help support the skin’s regeneration process. The mineral encourages something called reepithelialization. Reepithelialization is the process by which skin wounds are closed and eventually repair themselves, forming new skin.

Helps Keep Dark Spots at Bay

zinc | Beverly Hills MDHormones, aging, and sun exposure: all can contribute to the appearance of dark spots on the complexion.

It turns out that zinc may be able to help minimize skin darkening. You see, zinc has the ability to suppress the actions of cells called “melanocytes”.

Melanocytes are cells that exist in the bottom layer of the epidermis and they’re responsible for pigment creation in skin and hair. Melanocytes are what give you brown, black, or red hair, and they also dictate whether you have dark, olive, or fair skin. But when melanocytes are overactive, they can cause the skin to darken and become uneven, contributing to the appearance of “age spots”.4

But by inhibiting the actions of these melanocytes, zinc can help the skin maintain an even tone, with fewer age spots.

Helps Prevent Visible Signs of Aging

Oxidative stress is one of the foremost causes of the wrinkles, sagging, and thickening that appear as skin ages. Oxidative stress occurs when the body attempts to fight off free radicals, which are unpaired, charged atoms. These free radicals increase with age and scavenge the body, causing damage.5

As an antioxidant, zinc combats free radicals and protects the body — including the skin — from oxidative stress. This boosts the skin’s ability to stave off wrinkles, sagging skin, and any other unnecessary signs of premature aging.

Helps Fight Acne

zinc for beautiful skinAcne is a skin condition that occurs when pores are blocked by dead skin cells and excess oil. Acne may present itself as blackheads, whiteheads, or pimples — which can lead to scarring. There are a variety of factors that can cause acne, including hormones, age, stress, and lifestyle choices.

Interestingly, studies have demonstrated that people with acne often have lower levels of zinc in their bloodstream.6

And it’s suggested that zinc intake may be effective in minimizing the occurrence of moderate acne. It’s unclear how zinc specifically targets acne, but scientists theorize that zinc may suppress the production of sebum which exacerbates breakouts. So if you’re not getting enough zinc in your diet, your skin might have a harder time limiting oil that can lead to breakouts.

Zinc for Skin and Hair

Clearly, zinc plays an integral role when it comes to beautiful skin. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another huge beauty benefit of zinc — healthy hair growth!

Now, we all know that hair has the potential to be your crowning glory. But unfortunately, hair tends to thin with age.7 There are many factors that play into hair loss, but it seems that zinc — or a lack thereof — may be one of them. For example, scientific studies have shown that people who experience hair loss have significantly lower levels of zinc in their bodies than those not experiencing hair loss.8

Scientists are still studying just how zinc affects hair loss and hair growth, but it seems that zinc-related enzymes have the potential to regulate the hair growth cycle and prolong the growth phase. That means your hair will have a chance to grow longer. Another benefit? Even if you have experienced a certain amount of hair loss — due to stress, say — zinc may have the ability to help your hair follicles recover. In other words, it can help hair grow!9

So to prevent unnecessary hair loss, go ahead and up your zinc intake!

What Does a Zinc-Rich Diet Look Like?

So how can you make sure you’re getting enough zinc into your diet? You might think that zinc supplements are a foolproof way to make sure you’re meeting your body’s zinc needs–and they are helpful, especially if your zinc levels are especially low. But it’s important not to rely solely on zinc supplements. Your body will absorb zinc supplements quite well at first, but will eventually habituate, and your body’s zinc absorption rate will decrease over time.

So the best way to avoid a zinc deficiency is by eating a diet that’s high in zinc.

Besides a supplement, the best dietary sources tend to be from animal products, like eggs, meat, and seafood.

These foods make zinc more bioavailable – – in other words, easy for your body to absorb. Animal-derived proteins contain amino acids the boost your body’s zinc absorption rates.

You can also get zinc through vegetarian sources like seeds and cereals, but these sources contain phosphates and phytates that inhibit zinc absorption. In fact, your body may only absorb about 20 to 40% of the zinc you eat from these sources, so you’ll have to eat larger quantities to get the benefits.

What To Eat!

Here are some nutritious (and delicious) foods to get you started:

Shellfish: By far and away, oysters are the most mineral-rich food you can eat. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of zinc is about 8 to 11 milligrams for adults.7 That means a serving of 6 oysters will give you about 215% of your daily zinc needs.8 Amazing! If oysters aren’t your thing, clams, lobster, crab, shrimp, and mussels are all good sources too.

Meat: After shellfish, meats provide the greatest amount of the beautifying mineral. Three ounces of beef will offer you 47% of your daily needs, while a pork chop will give you 19% and chicken 16% of your daily allowance.9

Of course, it’s important to eat in moderation, and consume lean, grass-fed meats, as a diet high in fatty meats can negatively affect fat and cholesterol levels.

Sesame Seeds: Sesame seeds are a good source too, but you’ll need more than a few seeds sprinkled on your hamburger bun. Try incorporating tahini — a paste made out of toasted sesame seeds — into your diet. Many hummuses are made with tahini, or you can use tahini to make salad dressings and other sauces.

zinc | Beverly Hills MDPumpkin Seeds: An easy, on-the-go snack, pumpkin seeds are another potent supply. They also contain protein, which is essential to healthy skin production.

Cereal: Fortified breakfast cereals are often high in zinc, containing 25% of your RDA. Look for cereals that are whole grain, multigrain, or bran-based. Avoid sugary cereals as sugar can inhibit zinc absorption.

Wheat Germ: Wheat germ is a surprisingly easy element to add to your diet and full of that beautifying mineral. Use it in place of granola on top of your yogurt, or sprinkle some into a smoothie or oatmeal.

When It Comes To Skin…

Zinc may be a tiny trace mineral, but its impact on the skin is immense. When your body has the right amount it needs, it will show in a complexion that’s smooth, youthful-looking and glowing. So, if you’re looking to boost the appearance of your skin–be sure to eat a diet that’s high in zinc to meet your body’s needs.

Article updated: March 28, 2018

 

For more health and beauty tips, keep reading on our blog here:
7 Fabulous Fixes for Crow’s Feet (look in your fridge!)
Want to Stop Hair Loss? Try These 10 DIY Treatments


Sources
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3510072
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19528881
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4429650
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18377619
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4496685
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4120804
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4560543/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24371385/
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3870206/
10. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional
11. https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/view/oyster,3494
12. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/#h2

 

Updated Privacy Policy

We've revised our Privacy Policy pursuant to GDPR.
Please take a moment to review.

This privacy policy is only applicable to European Union residents. We respect your privacy and appreciate the importance of your trust. As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), please review the following terms carefully.

1. General Terms

As more fully described below, we may collect and process certain information that is provided by you to us. We have a legal basis for collecting and processing such information because:

  • You have given us permission to do so;
  • We must provide services to you in conjunction with a purchase order that you have placed on our website; and/or
  • We are required to do so in order to comply with applicable law.

The Section below describes the types of information that we may collect from you and our business purposes for collecting such information.

2. What is Not Covered in this Policy?

Our website sometimes links to services run by other companies, such as paying for product orders through PayPal®. Those companies have their own privacy policies, so please remember that the information you provide to them will follow their policies and not ours.

3. Information that We Collect and Process.

Information Provided by You:

We may collect Personal Information that you provide to us. “Personal Information” is information that can be used to identify you individually, and includes items such as your name, home address, e-mail address, telephone number, demographic information, and/or payment information, such as your account or card number, if used to make a purchase from our Website. If you maintain an account on our website, Personal Information may also include a user name, password and answers to our security questions. The type of Personal Information that we may collect depends on your use of this Website and what information you provide to us. Please note that in order to purchase any of the Products offered from our Website, you will be required to provide us with your name, billing address, shipping address, e-mail address and credit card number. If you sign up for our Beverly Hills MD Loyalty Rewards Program, you will be required to provide us with your email and a password.

For more information on our Beverly Hills MD Loyalty Rewards Program, please see our Terms and Conditions here.

Analytical Information:

We and our third-party service providers may also use a variety of technologies that automatically or passively collect information about how this Website is accessed and used (known as “Usage Information”). “Usage Information” may include the type of browser and device you used to access our Website, your operating system and application version, the web pages accessed by you, the time you accessed these web pages, preceding web page views, and your use of any features or applications on this Website. Statistical data like this helps us understand what is interesting and relevant to our customers, so we can best adapt our content for our customers’ benefit.

We and our third-party service providers may also automatically collect an email address, IP address, location, carrier information or other unique identifier information from the computer, mobile device, technology or other device you use to access this Website. We may use this information to, amongst other things, administer this Website, help diagnose server problems, analyze trends, track web page movements, improve our services, match collected information to postal addresses, help identify you and your shopping cart, help us tailor special offers to you, and gather broad demographic information for collected use.

Cookies and Other Technology:

Like many sites, our Website employs cookies, JavaScript tags and Web beacons (also known as clear GIF technology or “action tags”) to speed your navigation of our Website, recognize you and your access privileges, and track usage of our Website. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored as text files by your Internet browser on your computer’s hard drive. We use both persistent cookies and third-party cookies. Persistent and third-party cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our customers to enhance your experience on our Website. Persistent cookies are used to make it easier for you to navigate our Website and remain on your hard drive for an extended period of time. Third party cookies are only used for short-term tracking.

Most Internet browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You may download an opt-out cookie here to disable any and all cookies we employ to track and enhance your user experience– however, your ability to use the website will be then limited and/or unavailable.

Please note that this opt-out is cookie-based (i.e., a cookie must be on your computer to tell our systems that you have opted-out). If you delete, block or otherwise restrict all cookies, this opt-out may not be effective. Further, because different computers and different Internet browsers all require their own version of the opt-out cookie, you must perform this opt-out process on all computers and browsers that you wish to be opted-out.

4. Our Use and Sharing of Your Information.

We use the information that we collect about you for a variety reasons, including the following:

  • Verifying your identity;
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  • Processing any product returns, exchanges or subscriptions;
  • Responding to your questions;
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  • Inviting you to participate in a survey regarding your health, our products or websites, which are always voluntary on your part;
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  • We may also use and disclose any information that is aggregated or de-identified so that it does not identify you personally, in our discretion.

If you provide us with a payment card when placing an order on our website, we use third-parties to validate your card, authenticate your identity and “tokenize” your payment credentials to make your payments more secure. Your “tokenized” credentials will be stored in your account in order to help make future purchases more convenient. You may delete or edit the stored payment methods in your account at any time by visiting our website or contacting customer support.

We may share your Personal Information as follows:

  • With our vendors, consultants, agents, contractors, and other service providers or sub-processors (discussed more fully below) that we use to support our business;
  • To provide you with any information or services that you request;
  • To respond to subpoenas, court orders, and other legal process, or as otherwise required by law;
  • To exercise our legal rights or to defend ourselves against legal claims, to enforce our contracts, to investigate, respond to and resolve problems or inquiries (including governmental inquiries), or to permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain;
  • In connection with an actual or potential merger, sale, acquisition, assignment, or transfer of all or part of our assets, affiliates, lines of business, or products and services, including at bankruptcy;
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  • With your consent.

We contract with certain sub-processors to assist us in providing services to our customers. These sub-processors use the Personal Information that you submit to us in order to perform the following tasks:

  • Order processing at checkout;
  • Credit card authorization, tokenization and identity verification;
  • Order shipping and handling;
  • Emailing newsletters and other promotional materials for those customers on our mailing list;
  • Adapting content, advertisements and offers;
  • Storing and “backing up” our customer records.

5. Security and Your Information.

No data transmission over the Internet or website can be guaranteed to be secure from intrusion. However, we and our subprocessors maintain commercially reasonable physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your Personal Information in accordance with data protection legislative requirements. We follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) when handling credit card data. We also recommend that you take steps to protect against unauthorized access to your account through shared or public computers, devices, and applications.

6. How Long We Will Retain Your Information.

We will not retain your Personal Information for longer than necessary. Your e-mail address will be retained on our mailing list until you request that we stop sending you advertising communications. We will retain your other Personal Information in order to provide you with the ability to act on our Product warranties, to fulfill any Product subscriptions and/or for business record and legal purposes.

For example, we may keep just enough of your personal information to ensure that we comply with your request to erase your personal information, or to exercise or defend our legal claims.

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This Website is governed by and operated in accordance with the laws of the State of California and the United States, and is intended for the enjoyment of residents of the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that information we collect will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

8. Third Party Links and Services

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites and products and services. We do not control such linked websites and this Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any third-party website that you visit before you provide any information to that website’s owner.

9. Our Children’s Policy.

This Website is not directed to children under the age of sixteen (16). Children may not use our Website or purchase our products, and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of sixteen (16). We have no way of distinguishing the age of individuals who access our Website. If a child has provided us with personal information, the parent or guardian should contact us to remove the information and opt out of promotional opportunities using the contact link provided below.

10. Changes and Updates to our Privacy Policy.

We may change this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice to you. Any changes that we make will be effective immediately upon our posting of the revised Privacy Policy on this Website. Your continued use of this Website constitutes your consent to any changes made. We will use your Personal Information in a manner consistent with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time you submitted your Personal Information, unless you later consent to a revised policy. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

11. Your Personal Data Rights pursuant to GDPR.

As you may know, GDPR provides European citizens certain rights with respect to the access and control of their personal data. For your convenience, we have summarized these rights here. In the event you wish to contact us regarding any of these rights, or for any other reason, please use the link provided in Section 12.

  • Access your personal data: You have the right to be informed of and request access to the personal data we process about you.
  • Update your personal data: You have the right to request that we amend or update personal data in our possession that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Restrict the use of your personal data: You have the right to request that we stop processing all or some of your personal data.
  • Object to or complain about the use of your personal data: You have the right to object to us processing your personal data if we no longer have a legitimate or legal need to do so. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority regarding our use of your personal data.
  • Port your personal data: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data in our possession in a machine-readable format, as well as the right to transmit that personal data for use with another party’s service.
  • Erase your personal data: You have the right to request that we delete your personal data.

Please note that while we will try to accommodate your requests, there may be times when we might not be able to help. For example, if you have recently purchased a product from us and this product is still within its applicable Money Back Guarantee period, we will not be able to honor a request to erase your personal data unless you first agree to waive your right to the Money Back Guarantee.

12. Questions or Requests?

In the event that you have any questions regarding our use of your personal information or wish to submit a request to view, modify, erase or restrict our processing of your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer here.