Nutritional supplements containing oils from flax and borage may help improve the health of the skin, according to new research.

Scientists from Germany and France explored how daily flaxseed and borage oil supplements would affect reddened, inflamed skin.

They applied nicotinate to the skin of 45 women to induce reddening and then assigned them to three groups – one who consumed supplements of each type of oil and a third who ingested a placebo.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that those participants taking flaxseed oil had a 45 percent reduction in reddening, while a 35 percent reduction was noted in subjects consuming borage oil.

“The present data provide evidence that skin properties can be modulated by an intervention with dietary lipids,” the researchers concluded.

Flaxseed oil is a rich source of the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, which is one of the omega-3 fatty acids.

It also contains lignans, which have been linked to lower incidences of a variety of health conditions, such as cancers and heart disease.