Where can products with antioxidant action help?

A brief glance at a beauty store’s shelves is enough to realize that the term “antioxidant” is a key term in the field of skincare. Vitamins, natural extracts, and complexes are just a few of the examples of substances with antioxidant effect appearing on a product’s packaging. But what are these antioxidants, and why do we need them?

Antioxidants, as their name might suggest, are substances that act against oxidative stress. To explain this better, however, we need to trace our steps back. Let us start with free radicals. Free radicals are molecules consisting of atoms which, instead of having all their electrons “paired”, are desperately looking elsewhere to pair them up. The reason this may happen in a molecule, where an electron is left without a pair, is due to many things: UV radiation, pollution, or even prolonged exposure to various chemicals and pollutants.

The fact is that, in their attempt to replace their lost electron, they begin to approach our healthy cells to steal the electron they need to stabilize themselves. This process causes blemishes, wrinkles, and various changes to the skin. Free radicals are also naturally produced in our bodies. However, enzymes exist to combat them. A new source of free radicals which has become a staple in our everyday life is blue light, emitted by screens. A bad diet, on top of prolonged exposure to such sources, increases the production of radicals. All these things disturb out body’s balance, and our natural defences are not enough. An example of oxidative stress caused by free radicals is an apple that “turns black” when it is not eaten directly after being sliced.

What can we do to protect ourselves from all this, then? Two things we can certainly do is use antioxidant products and not forget to use sunscreen daily, even in the winter months.

The use of sunscreen has been widely discussed, so we will not make further mention here. Let us talk about antioxidants. Antioxidants act by neutralizing free radicals that would otherwise cause damage. Essentially, they “donate” their electrons to the radicals, without them destabilizing. That way, healthy cells are protected, and no new free radicals are produced. Furthermore, consider the fact that, because oxidative stress breaks down the skin’s collagen and causes irritation and redness, all these functions are now working at full capacity. The complexion and appearance of the skin is improved, the skin looks brighter, younger, and healthier, and premature signs of aging are eliminated.

Now you know what this term means. The fact of the matter is, you can never have enough antioxidants in skincare products!