Best ingredients for skin

Ascorbic acid is the reference form of vitamin C and the most common form in supplements; NIH ODS notes its bioavailability equals that of vitamin C naturally present in food.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Enzymatically hydrolyzed collagen from bovine hide or bone, delivering short peptides rich in glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.

Typical: 2.5–15 g

The most common zinc salt in multivitamins, lozenges, and immune products, containing about 14.3% elemental zinc.

Typical: 10–25 mg

The succinate ester of natural (RRR or d-) alpha-tocopherol, the one vitamin E form the body maintains in plasma and the form on which the RDA is based.

Typical: 67–268 mg

Zinc chelated with picolinic acid, a tryptophan metabolite that is proposed to aid mineral transport across the gut wall.

Typical: 10–25 mg

The simplest amino acid and a major building block of collagen, glutathione, and creatine.

Typical: 3–5 g

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that serves as the cofactor for five carboxylase enzymes in fatty acid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism.

Typical: 300–5,000 mcg

Lutein is a yellow xanthophyll carotenoid that concentrates in the macula of the eye, where it filters blue light and quenches reactive oxygen species.

Typical: 10–20 mg

Zinc chelated with two glycine molecules, sold as a gentle, well-absorbed form for people who get nausea from zinc salts.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 and the niacin source used in most multivitamins because it delivers full NAD-precursor activity without the skin flush of nicotinic acid.

Typical: 16–35 mg

Retinyl palmitate is an ester of retinol and the most common preformed vitamin A used in supplements and multivitamins.

Typical: 750–1,050 mcg

Astaxanthin is a red keto-carotenoid produced by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis and responsible for the pink color of salmon and krill.

Typical: 4–12 mg

Hyaluronic acid is a large glycosaminoglycan that holds water in skin, joint fluid, and connective tissue.

Typical: 80–200 mg

A zinc salt of citric acid with a relatively high zinc content of about 31%, giving it a compactness advantage over gluconate and picolinate.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Sodium ascorbate is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Riboflavin is the yellow, water-soluble B vitamin that the body builds into the flavin coenzymes FMN and FAD, which drive energy production and the recycling of other vitamins including B6, folate, and niacin.

Typical: 1.3–400 mg

Beta-carotene is an orange plant pigment that the body can split into retinol as needed, which is why it is called provitamin A.

Typical: 3–15 mg

Hydrolyzed type I collagen from fish skin and scales, positioned as a pescatarian-friendly and lower-molecular-weight alternative to bovine collagen.

Typical: 2.5–10 g

Copper chelated with two glycine molecules, supplying about 25% elemental copper in commercial grades.

Typical: 0.5–2 mg

Flaxseed oil is cold-pressed from flax (Linum usitatissimum) seeds and is the richest common plant source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a short-chain omega-3 that typically makes up 50-60% of the oil.

Typical: 1,000–3,000 mg

Grape seed extract is a concentrated polyphenol fraction prepared from the seeds left over after winemaking or juice pressing.

Typical: 150–300 mg

Lycopene is the red carotenoid that gives tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit their color.

Typical: 10–30 mg

The densest zinc source at about 80% elemental zinc, which is why it is the default in multivitamins and low-cost tablets where space is tight.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Calcium pantothenate is the stable calcium salt used to deliver pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), the building block of coenzyme A and therefore of fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism.

Typical: 10–500 mg

Pine bark extract is a polyphenol-rich extract of French maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) bark, standardized to oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs).

Typical: 50–200 mg

Evening primrose oil is pressed from the seeds of Oenothera biennis and is valued for its gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 fatty acid that usually makes up 8-10% of the oil, with linoleic acid as the bulk.

Typical: 500–1,300 mg

A natural oil concentrate containing all four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) in roughly the proportions found in vegetable oils, usually with gamma-tocopherol dominant.

Typical: 100–400 mg

Aloe vera inner leaf extract is the dried, decolorized gel of Aloe barbadensis, supplied as a 200:1 concentrate so that 50 to 200 mg represents 10 to 40 g of fresh gel.

Typical: 50–200 mg

An extract of bamboo stem and leaf standardized to a high silica content, typically about 70%, making it the most concentrated botanical silica source and a staple of hair, skin, and nail formulas.

Typical: 100–500 mg

An extract of pomegranate fruit or peel standardized to punicalagins or ellagic acid, the polyphenols responsible for its antioxidant reputation, used in heart, antioxidant, and exercise-recovery formulas.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

Calcium ascorbate is the calcium salt of vitamin C, commonly supplied as the dihydrate.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

An extract of a small creeping herb used across Asian traditional systems and now included in cognitive, skin, and circulation formulas.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

An extract of the aerial parts of field horsetail, a plant that accumulates silica in its cell walls and has a long traditional use for hair, nails, and connective tissue.

Typical: 200–500 mg

A low-molecular-weight bovine or marine collagen hydrolysate used at milligram doses in gummies and chews, where the matrix cannot hold the multi-gram servings used in research.

Typical: 100–500 mg

A complex of zinc with the amino acid L-methionine, best known under the OptiZinc trade name, carrying roughly 21% elemental zinc.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Sea buckthorn oil is pressed or CO2-extracted from the berries and seeds of Hippophae rhamnoides, a hardy shrub native to Europe and Asia.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

Borage oil is pressed from the seeds of Borago officinalis and is the most concentrated common plant source of gamma-linolenic acid, typically around 20% GLA, roughly twice the level in evening primrose oil.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

Ceramides are the lipids that make up much of the intercellular cement of the skin's outer layer and help it hold water.

Typical: 30–70 mg

Cynatine HNS is a branded, solubilized keratin produced from New Zealand sheep's wool by a patented process that keeps the protein bioavailable.

Typical: 500 mg

Ascorbyl palmitate is an ester of ascorbic acid and palmitic acid that is soluble in fat rather than water.