Can the vitamins from lotions be absorbed for use by our bodies?

Actually, some things do go through the skin barrier. Water soluble vitamin like vitamin C has been shown to be delivered but it is unstable. It’s useful for skin health when applied topically, but you won’t prevent scurvy because it isn’t absorbed as if you had eaten it. Here is a good reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/

While there are transdermal applications for many medications, I doubt that any vitamins in lotions are viable enough to be of any use, even if they did penetrate the epidermis.

I often wondered if my shampoo, body lotion, etc. would be more effective if I took them orally.

If you mix your lotion with a little DMSO, it (the vitamins, lotion, everything) will immediately permeate your physical body in mere seconds.
Unfortunately outlawed by the FDA it is available at veterinarians.

I don’t know about vitamins, but essential oils can have effects on your body.

@cazzie Can you just rub an orange on your body? I remember when vitamin C was first being introduced in cosmetic products. I happened to be a buyer at the time, I think Lancôme was one of the firsts I dealt with, and the face lotion was packaged differently to try to keep it more airtight, because of it’s instability. The product had a shorter shelf life than most of their products, especially once opened.

@JLeslie, You can rub an orange on your body if you like, but your blood stream won’t get any vitamin c and you’ll be sticky.

What topical vit C will do is it does reach the lower level of your skin in the collagen, but forget the expensive creams with it. I’ve said this before. Mash up a kiwi and give yourself a mask. Don’t get any in your eyes.

And, don’t mess with DMSO. You are more likely to poison yourself than improve your health.

@cazzie I only meant for my skin, not for internal absorption. Since the vitamin is so unstable in the lotions, and the lotions tend to be expensive. I just have no idea the concentration of the vitamin in the fruit compared to the lotions. What is DSMO?

WebMd has an article on DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide). It is a by-product of paper manufacturing and has some medical applications because it is easily absorbed by the skin. Whatever is on the skin becomes absorbed with the DMSO. It sounds dangerous.

The guy who invented the delivery system for the nicotine patch said to my boyfriend, ‘With DMSO, you can absorb small livestock into the skin.’ Yes. Dangerous.

Well the skin is the biggest organ. But most of the vitamins in lotions are so deteriorated and impure its a gimmick.

Sometimes I wonder if I have to eat the product instead of putting it on my skin.

@bea2345 hahaha…. but seriously, don’t do that.