Antioxidant ingredients are important and we recommend our antioxidant serums as a key step in your daily care. Especially during sunny periods of the year (for everyone), if you’re 30+ and/or a city dweller or a smoker (all the time).
We break down why it’s a crucial to have in your skincare routine, the earlier, the better.
Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals
The human body uses oxygen for multiple purposes, but basic oxygen metabolism generates stress constantly, this makes electrons spin off from their orbits and form ‘hungry’ molecules called free radicals.
Free radicals are highly reactive and unstable molecules, constantly in search of replacing the missing unpaired electron. They steal electrons from healthy stable molecules transforming them to free radicals starting a chain reaction and repeating the process which can destroy living cells in the area.
For our skin there are two key stressors:
- Oxidative Stress Ageing – although free radicals can help to maintain good cellular balance, with age, they damage skin more intensely. The damage of skin structure leads to appearance of wrinkles, pigment spots, loss of elasticity, skin dryness and irritation.
- External Factors – Ultraviolet rays and air pollution are the main tiggers of oxidative stress.
The Power of Antioxidants and Where to Find Them
Antioxidants protect the skin by neutralising free radicals.
In nature different plant pigments protect fruits and vegetables from harmful UV rays. Think colourful – red pigment lycopene of a tomato, blue pigment anthocyanin of a blueberry, for example. As well as many others including Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
The best way to protect the skin is by using antioxidants inside and out. As part of your diet (for example, Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants and has been scientifically proven to have many benefits) as well as topically from skincare solutions.
The Benefits of Antioxidants in Skincare
Using antioxidant serums can repair skin damage and prevent premature ageing. The skin’s resources are freed up for other necessary skin functions such as collagen synthesis for example.
It’s a good idea to use them twice a day (morning & night).
MORNING: to help increase the efficiency of daily sun protection.
NIGHT: to help repair damage related to free-radicals and prepare the skin for the next day of stress.
We have two to choose from, Nrj-Soin a stimulating serum for all skin types or Soin-Apax, best suited for sensitive skin (both available as samples).
