It’s common knowledge that tomatoes bring many health benefits to the table, but the real question is: can they be used to improve your skin? The verdict is – yes, they can. Of course, it goes without saying that there is not yet an ingredient that is capable of entirely erasing imperfections like fine lines and wrinkles on its own. However, the various properties that tomatoes possess have been met with much praise when it comes to dermal improvement. That being said, what exactly are they and how do they help your skin?
Containing a healthy dose of antioxidants and vitamins A, B9, C, magnesium and potassium, it turns out that tomatoes are not just a recipe for a more radiant complexion, but also a stronger immune system. Vitamin A is acknowledged for its role in fighting off free radical damage, which is a known cause of collagen degradation. It also encourages the skin’s healing response, which is vital to our overall dermal health. Vitamin B9 is paramount for both cell production and tissue growth as well as acting like a natural detoxifier to the skin. Vitamin C is a recognized hero when it comes to not just skin brightening, but the production of collagen and sun defense. Magnesium, on the other hand, has been reported to be extremely useful in balancing out the skin and, as such, helpful in calming dermal conditions like acne. Potassium is just as useful – it boosts hydration and stabilizes pH levels. However, all this goodness aside, what truly makes tomatoes the hero of the hour when used in skincare products is their lycopene content. Lycopene is a carotenoid that not only gives tomatoes their color, but also their antioxidant capabilities. In terms of enhancing your skin, lycopene aids in impeding damage from both free radicals and UV rays. Of course, it’s no substitute for sunscreen, but any protection against such harmful stressors can really benefit your skin in the long run, and it’s true to say that every little helps. Due to such UV protection, lycopene lends a helping hand in safeguarding your skin (to some extent) from photodamage and, as a result, goes towards delaying premature signs of aging caused by sun exposure.
In addition to these qualities, lycopene has also been proclaimed to help improve dermal texture. This is because it’s able to inhibit collagen breakdown (caused by collagenases, which are enzymes responsible for dissolving collagen’s peptide bonds). This, combined with lycopene’s ability to boost dermal elasticity and hydration, is said to contribute to making a visible difference to your overall complexion by promoting plumper, firmer skin with less noticeable wrinkles and fine lines. Fun fact: the riper a tomato gets, the more its lycopene content rises, so bear this in mind if you plan on eating them. In this vein, it’s also worth knowing that, like other such carotenoids, lycopene is fat soluble (meaning that it’s more readily absorbed with fat). This means that, when cooked, lycopene’s bioavailability (a substance’s ability to be assimilated by the body) increases, which is great news for your skin since your body’s more receptive.
As we all know, choosing a skincare product with lycopene isn’t the only way to benefit, as we covered above; tomatoes can be added to an extremely wide variety of tasty dishes from salads to soups, which makes them even easier to incorporate into your diet. Of course, if you’re initially unwilling to welcome tomatoes onto your plate with open arms, try investing in a lycopene-infused mask, cream or serum instead. Alternatively, cold pressed tomato seed oil is also available, which adds to your choices. Though it’s never a bad idea to eat tomatoes, it has been suggested that the topical application of skincare products is more effective since it makes for a more targeted approach.
If you’d like to read more about carotenoids and what their role is in skincare, check out our blog post What Are Carotenoids? Alternatively, if you’re more interested about antioxidants in general, we would point you towards our blog post on What Are Antioxidants?