Oral Ascorbic Acid / Vitamin C Supplement
Vitamin C is essential for building collagen, but eating it is not the same as applying it. Skin levels appear to follow blood levels, which plateau once intake is adequate, so extra pills mainly help people who start low. The best skin data are for oral vitamins C and E taken together: small randomised trials found the pair modestly raised the sunburn threshold and reduced UV-induced DNA damage. Observational data link higher dietary vitamin C to fewer wrinkles, but that kind of study cannot show cause. It fills a genuine gap; it is no substitute for topical vitamin C or sunscreen.
About 100–200mg a day from food or a basic supplement saturates blood levels in most adults; the upper limit is 2,000mg a day. High doses can upset the gut, and regular high-dose supplements have been linked to kidney stones in men. The sunburn trials used 2g vitamin C with 1,000 IU vitamin E, which is a research dose, not a daily recommendation. Keep using topical vitamin C and daily SPF.
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