DIY Topical Beta-Carotene

It is well known that beta-carotene which is a precursor to vitamin-A is converted to retinyl palmitate inside the human body. Beta-carotene is sometimes called the "plant form" of vitamin-A since they usually occur as the yellow-orange pigments in plants and fruits. Carotenoids are organic pigments in plants that absorb blue light.

Application of beta-carotene topically in skin cells to some extent work. This is due to the fact that the enzymes necessary to convert beta-carotene to retinyl esters exists on the skin cells.
The retinyl esters are the chemicals responsible for affecting the oil glands and skin cell differentiation.

Every skin is different so some persons would respond well to a topical beta-carotene instead of the topical vitamin-a. If there is 100% conversion efficiency in the skin cell, 15mg of topical Beta-Carotene would convert into 25,000 IU of retinol palmitate or Vitamin-A.


To make a DIY topical beta-carotene

1. Cut open a beta-carotene capsule. If is already oily and has a paste consistency you can already spread it to the facial skin. If it is on powdered form, you still need to combine it with an oil carrier such as flax seed oil or olive oil ( take note: oil carriers are comedogenic to some extent )

The bad side about using topical beta-carotene is that some skin discoloration occurs as they are natural pigments. Beta-carotenes are natural dyes that would love to make your skin color orange :(.