What are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants protect our cells against free radical damage. Some common everyday ways we are exposed to free radicals are through UV rays, environmental pollutants, alcohol, industrial chemicals or solvents, cigarette smoke, and processed foods. Even stress invites free radicals to invade our bodies! And this creates a chemical reaction within our cells that can rapidly damage the body’s proteins, lipids, or DNA. So what exactly does an antioxidant do? Potent antioxidants scavenge the body to find active free radicals, and then, put simply, they create a buffer between our body and the dangerous free radicals, ending the damage! The good news is natural antioxidants are just as readily available as free radicals. Just like our body needs a diet with a mix of healthy, beneficial nutrients, so does our skin, the largest organ of our body. Daily, our faces are exposed to the environment we are in, whether outdoors or in. Not to mention today’s hectic lifestyles. Antioxidants are essential and the more you apply to the skin, the better! Let’s do a deep dive and get into our skin!

1. Vitamin A is a superhero that fights off free radicals. It also helps in the production of collagen.
2. Vitamin C is a must-have powerful antioxidant, it has anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. More on that later!
3. Vitamin E has antioxidant benefits by helping with ultraviolet radiation-induced photodamage, strengthening the skin’s natural barrier, and being effective against skin cancer. It is also a great moisturizing ingredient and helps in the skin’s healing process. What a little powerhouse!
4. Vitamin B3, also known as Niacinamide, fights oxidative damage and stress and improves skin tone and texture. It helps skin conditions like rosacea and acne. Niacinamide also helps in strengthening the skin barrier and preventing water loss. Okay, sounds good right? We are not done yet, good news continues.

How Do Antioxidants Help Your Skin?

1. Antioxidants Fight The Signs Of Aging

These free radicals daily cause oxidative stress to our skin leading to visible signs of aging. Oxidative stress breaks down collagen. Reduced levels of collagen in the skin lead to sagging, fine lines, and wrinkles. Antioxidants fight all these signs of aging and give your skin a youthful radiance.

2. Antioxidants Help Acne Prone Skin

Oxidative stress triggers inflammation in the skin leading to breakouts. Again, antioxidant properties include a reduction in oxidative stress, thereby reducing inflammation and acne.

When it comes to your skin and feeding it with antioxidants, remember the adage: “There’s strength in numbers.” When the powerhouse antioxidants detailed below are combined to work together and reinforced with daily use of an SPF of 30 to fight sun exposure, the visible results can be very evident!

Anti-Aging Benefits of Antioxidants

It is all about the A, B, C’s!

1. Vitamin C is a superhero to the skin! It prevents premature aging by boosting collagen production. It helps fade hyperpigmentation and dark spots that sometimes like to creep up on us along the way. It scavenges the free radicals triggering the early onset of wrinkles, brown spots, and fine lines, the major signs of aging. It helps brighten our faces so we can radiate confidence in our glow! What’s not to like?
2. Moving on to Vitamin B3, also known as Niacinamide. This is another powerful ingredient we want to add to our anti-aging skincare routine. It softens fine lines and wrinkles, supports elasticity, diminishes dullness, and helps renew and restore the surface of the skin. We are not done yet. It helps visibly minimize enlarged pores, tighten lax pores, and improve uneven skin tone. If you struggle with dry skin, topical application of niacinamide has been shown to boost the hydrating ability of moisturizers so the skin’s surface can better resist the moisture loss that leads to recurrent dry, tight, flaky skin.
3. Oil-soluble antioxidant Vitamin E works on a deep level to help skin manage the effects of photodamage. It also helps promote cellular restoration, thereby strengthening the skin barrier when used topically.
4. Not to be forgotten is Vitamin A. There are natural oils that are rich in vitamin A, like Rosehip oil. Rosehip Oil is to the rescue to help regenerate the skin, while increasing collagen production and skin elasticity. And they both are right there fighting the free radicals off for us.