Q: What's Better Than Retinol? A: Beta-carotene!

Only a few foods "make it" to the skin, and beta-carotenes are one of them!

The supplement market is currently EXPLODING with products you can ingest to help with skin health, but not everything you eat ends up in the skin tissues. For example, even though your skin supplement contains collagen and vitamin C to build up the skin tissues, you can't control how the body uses those two ingredients once you ingest the supplement. Both collagen and vitamin C are vital for other body systems apart from the skin, so the body will direct these nutrients wherever it feels they are most needed, such as to joints or the immune system. The simple fact is, precious few foods are capable of actually making it to the skin directly. 

What are beta-carotenes?

Beta-carotenes are the plant-based form of vitamin A and part of a bigger group of antioxidants called carotenoids. Lucky for us, carotenoids are naturally found in many different foods and are easy to obtain with a balanced diet based on whole foods. Beta-carotenes are bright red in color, which is why many foods that contain them are orange or red. Carrots, for example, are one of the richest food sources of beta-carotene. In fact, beta-carotenes were first discovered in carrots, and it's where beta-CAR-O-TENE gets its name from. Carrots, of course, are orange in color. Other rich sources of beta-carotene include butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkins, mango, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and even egg yolks!

When ingested, beta-carotenes are sent straight to the skin tissues.

Not only are they deposited directly in the skin's tissues, but they also give skin a natural "glow from within." Ever heard of a baby whose skin turned orange because of an obsession with carrots?  Since adults are larger than babies, when beta-carotenes are deposited into the skin, they do not turn orange... they just glow from the inside out. Big bonus: beta-carotenes are also deposited in the retinas and help maintain healthy vision! 

Our Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm is bursting with beta-carotene!

You may have noticed our Total Cranarchy Balm is bright yellow. This is because it is full of natural beta-carotene from the Sea Buckthorn Berry extract! Adding rich amounts of beta-carotene to the skin with direct topical application is a solid plan to make sure your skin reaps all of the benefits of this vital vitamin A. Beta-carotenes are a gentler cousin of retinol - both beta-carotenes and retinol are different forms of vitamin A. So, if you can neither tolerate nor afford retinol products (which also require a prescription), then we offer you Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm as an excellent alternative. Total Cranarchy also contains 2% bakuchiol, and bakuchiol has been proven to produce similar results to retinol but with none of the irritation or prescriptions. 

Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm is a highly concentrated, bangin' product that's thoughtfully designed to do it all!