Learn About Antioxidants And How they can improve Your Skin
Antioxidants protect your skin and make you look beautiful.
When taken optimally, they prevent ageing. Sunlight, pollution, smoking and stress eat away collagen and elastin in the skin tissues, producing wrinkles. Antioxidants, which are chemical compounds, shield your skin cells by destroying free radicals. Unchecked, free radicals attack and destroy your healthy cells.
There are about eight popular antioxidants used in skin care
products today. They are: Alpha Lipoic Acid or ALA; CoQ10;
copper peptide; vitamin C; vitamin E; nayad ; and pycnogenol.
Alpha Lipoic Acid or ALA is a very powerful antioxidant but it is effective only when taken internally. When applied on the skin, it loses its effectiveness. ALA is ranked last in the list of antioxidants beneficial to the skin.
CoQ10 is present in every cell in our bodies but a stressful
life style can deplete it. CoQ10 is essential in manufacturing
energy from glucose. It works as an electron transporter for
the mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouse that generates energy for the body. CoQ10 can recharge vitamin E and therefore, it acts as a cellular antioxidant.
Copper peptide has the ability to activate collagen and
elastin .Copper gives skin strength and flexibility.
Vitamin C helps lighten the skin and build collagen and
elastin. It is unstable, so there are many variations of it.
Vitamin C-Ester is more stable but has to go through changes
before it can benefit the skin. L-ascorbic acid is the most
skin-friendly form of vitamin C. It should be used at two per
cent strength.
Vitamin E shields against damage from ultraviolet light. It is
effective in the oil part of the cell, unlike vitamin C which
fights free radical damage in the water-soluble part of the
cell.
Kinetin prevents aging of leaves in plants. Further laboratory studies showed that kinetin delays the destruction of fibroblasts, which produce elastin and collagen in a skin cell.
Nayad is a patented ingredient from the cellular wall of
Baker’s yeast. It improves the moisture in the skin by 27 percent, reduces wrinkles by 56 per cent, and enhances elasticity and firmness of the skin by 74 per cent. Nayad increases skin’s ability to repair, protect and improve its appearance.
Pycnogenol is 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50
times more powerful than vitamin E. It has been
called the magic bullet of free radicals.
