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Article: Why Calcium is Essential for Glowing Skin: Top 3 Reasons to Add It to Your Routine

Why Calcium is Essential for Glowing Skin: Top 3 Reasons to Add It to Your Routine

Most people think of calcium as important for bones and teeth, but calcium is also essential for healthy skin. Without enough calcium in your diet, your skin can become dry and sensitive or prone to skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis (Hildebrand, 2019).

Hi, I'm nutritionist Karen Fischer. In this free report, you’ll learn:

  • Why calcium is the best beauty secret for glowing skin

  • How your skin care routine could fail if you are deficient in this essential mineral

  • How calcium affects eczema (atopic dermatitis) and psoriasis

  • Calcium myths busted (watch the video)

  • Best dosages and calcium types to get the results you want

Here are the top three ways calcium keeps your skin glowing and healthy. 

 

1.Calcium Creates a Strong Skin Barrier

You skin barrier is what keeps your body safe from microbe invasion and it locks in moisture so your skin stays supple and soft. It's your body's fortress and it cannot work properly without calcium.

Calcium is essential for building and maintaining a strong skin barrier. This barrier is made of skin cells and fats, working together like bricks and cement to protect your body.

How does calcium help your skin barrier?

Calcium helps to guide the production of skin-smoothing fats and it directs skin cells to move from the deeper layers of your skin to the surface, where they form a tough protective layer (Lee, 2018).

 

  • When your skin barrier is damaged—which is common in conditions like eczema—calcium levels in the skin change (Elias, 2002). This signals the skin to release fats and other protective substances that help to repair your skin barrier, making it strong and resilient again.
  • In dry or low-humidity conditions, calcium helps to thicken the skin barrier so your skin is better at holding onto moisture, reducing the risk of cracks and skin infections (Sun, 2015Hildebrand, 2021), which is important for overall skin health.

So your skincare routine could fail if you are deficient in calcium because it's the foundation for skin barrier health.

 

2.Calcium Supports Skin Hydration

Calcium plays an important role in keeping your skin hydrated and smooth. As mentioned, within the skin's top layer, calcium helps to produce fats that form a barrier to prevent water loss (Lee, 2018).

When calcium levels are balanced, this barrier stays strong, keeping your skin soft, smooth and hydrated. However, when the skin is low in calcium, it may struggle to retain moisture, leading to flaky skin, dryness and sensitive skin.

This is especially helpful for those with sensitive skin or conditions like eczema, where hydration is key (Hildebrand, 2021). By supporting the skin's natural moisture barrier, calcium helps your skin to maintain a healthy level of hydration, giving it a plump and glowing appearance.

So calcium is an essential nutrient for skin hydration, as fats can't effectively hydrate your skin without calcium.

 

3.Calcium Controls Skin Cell Turnover

Calcium is crucial in regulating skin cell turnover, which is the process of shedding old skin cells and making new ones. This cycle, known as  keratinocyte differentiation, keeps your skin looking fresh and young and it prevents clogged pores.

 

Diagram: Keratinocyte differentiation is the process by which immature keratinocytes (skin cells that produce keratin) mature and transform as they move from the basal layer of the epidermis to the surface, eventually forming the protective outer skin barrier.

  • Calcium is not only for people with dry skin conditions, people with oily skin or acne should take calcium to keep pores unclogged.
  • For people with psoriasis, this skin cell turnover process speeds up too much, leading to flaky patches as skin cells build up faster than they can shed (Manning, 2022).

The good news is calcium helps to keep skin cell turnover at a normal pace, which may reduce the incidence of flaky skin, so the skin appears smoother.

Calcium also supports the development of new skin cells, making it a valuable mineral for anyone with eczema or psoriasis or those looking to keep their skin bright and resilient (Yeh, 2020).

Calcium for Eczema and Psoriasis

Research shows that low calcium levels may be linked to conditions like ageing skin (Celli, 2022), eczema and psoriasis (Yeh, 2020). One study found that people with psoriasis often have lower calcium levels than those with healthy skin (Qadim, 2013).

Another study by Hildebrand and colleagues (2021) found that children with eczema were more likely to have lower dietary calcium intake than those without eczema. While more research is needed, adding calcium to your diet could help support skin health in people prone to skin rashes or dry and sensitive skin. Avoid taking excess calcium as minerals should be taken in sensible amounts (refer to the video at the end of this blog). 

Calcium is also involved in other skin functions, like controlling sweat glands and immune responses (Manning, 2022). So it may help to support skin health in people with immune system dysfunction. 

By including calcium in your skincare routine—whether through diet or supplements—you can strengthen your skin barrier, improve skin hydration, and support glowy skin that is less flaky and more radiant.

Calcium with magnesium and vitamin K2

For those with sensitive skin or skin disorders, getting enough calcium, along with magnesium and vitamin K2, may improve overall skin resilience. If you're looking for a reliable source of calcium, designed specifically for skin health in mind, consider Skin Friend PM Mineral Matrix, a patented supplement to support skin health with calcium, magnesium and vitamin K2. Watch the video, below, to find out why taking calcium with these nutrients magnifies your results.

Dosages and Best Types of Calcium

Watch the Calcium Myths Busted video (below) to discover the best forms of calcium to take and learn about safe dosing. You could be making these mistakes and it could be costing you your health. 

Click for references

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee. (2011). Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D: Overview of Calcium. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56060/

Cashman KD. (2002). Calcium intake, calcium bioavailability and bone health. Br J Nutr. 87 Suppl 2:S169-77. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12088515/

Manning D, Dart C, Evans RL. (2022). Store-operated calcium channels in skin. Front Physiol. 13:1033528. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9581152/

Yeh YC, et al. (2020). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in Orai 1 associated with atopic dermatitis. Hum Mol Genet. 29(11):1808-1823. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31600783/

Celli A, et al. (2021). Decreased Calcium-Sensing Receptor Expression in Aged Skin. J Invest Dermatol. 141(11):2577-2586. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33862069/

Elias PM, et al. (2002). Modulations in epidermal calcium regulate expression of differentiation-specific markers. J Invest Dermatol. 119(5):1128-36. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12445203/

Sun R, et al. (2015). Lowered humidity enhances epidermal barrier in human skin models. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 21(1):15-22. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24803151/

Hildebrand H, et al. (2019). Calcium Intake in Children with Eczema and/or Food Allergy. Nutrients. 11(12):3039. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6950300/

Karvonen SL, et al. (2000). Psoriasis and altered calcium metabolism. J Invest Dermatol. 114(4):693-700. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15408395

Lee SE, Lee SH. (2018). Skin Barrier and Calcium. Ann Dermatol. 30(3):265-275. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29853739/

Qadim HH, et al. (2013). Calcium serum level in psoriasis patients. Pak J Biol Sci. 16(6):291-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24498793/

Reference for video

Rondanelli M, et al. (2021). An update on magnesium and bone health. Biometals. 34(4):715-736. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33959846/

van Ballegooijen AJ, et al. (2017). Vitamins D and K synergy for bone and heart health. Int J Endocrinol. 2017:7454376. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5613455/

Research Outreach. Calcium ions and healthy skin. https://researchoutreach.org/articles/calcium-ions-healthy-skin-key-process-gives-insight-future-skin-therapies/

Li K, et al. (2012). Calcium intake and cardiovascular risk. Heart. 98(12):920-925. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22626900/

Houston M. (2011). Magnesium in hypertension and cardiovascular disease. J Clin Hypertens. 13(11):843-847. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22051430/

Bourgoin BP, et al. (1993). Lead content in 70 dietary calcium supplements. Am J Public Health. 83(8):1155-1160. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1695147/

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

Blancquaert L, et al. (2019). Bioavailability of Magnesium Supplements. Nutrients. 11(7):1663. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31330811/

Kappeler D, et al. (2017). Magnesium citrate vs oxide: bioavailability comparison. BMC Nutr. 3:7. https://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40795-016-0121-3

Jeon YS, et al. (2022). Low serum calcium and disrupted sleep in shift workers. Nutrients. 14(15):3021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35893875/

Karen Fischer

Karen Fischer

Karen Fischer is a registered nutritionist, award-winning author, and skin health expert with over 20 years of experience. With a Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc) and ongoing PhD research in eczema, she developed science-backed, toxin-free solutions that have helped thousands. As the founder of Skin Friend, Karen formulates innovative skincare and supplements endorsed by doctors and dermatologists. She’s the author of seven health books, including The Healthy Skin Diet, The Eczema Detox and The Eczema Diet, and her research is set for publication in 2025. Featured in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Sky News, Karen is dedicated to helping people achieve healthy, resilient skin.

about the author

Best known for her eczema solutions, Karen Fischer is a registered nutritionist and an award-winning author with seven published health books, including #1 best-sellers The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox. Karen is currently completing a PhD involving eczema research and she is a trusted expert in the field of skin health ...

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