Antioxidant Skincare

source:flickr by:Werner Kunz (werkunz1)

Antioxidant Skin Care for the Smoker

Smoking is terrible for one’s health. Everyone knows it, though many choose to ignore this fact and continue smoking due to stress, habit, addiction, social pressure or simply the enjoyment of the cigarette itself. In addition to increased risk of heart attacks, stroke and cancer caused by smoking cigarettes, the skin is greatly compromised by each and every puff of smoke. In fact, cigarette smoke is one of the main causes of premature skin aging, second only to sun damage. How can a smoker help reduce these smoke-induced visible signs of aging? In addition to kicking the habit, smokers (and ex-smokers) should use an antioxidant-rich skin care regimen to help repair the damage left behind by cigarettes.

With each inhalation of cigarette smoke, more than a trillion free radicals are created in the lungs. These free radicals cause an inflammatory response that then travels through the body, leaving damage in its wake. Plus, the smoke contains over 4,000 toxins that enter into the bloodstream and circulate through the body, including the skin’s structure. When a cigarette is smoked, it causes constricting of the blood vessels in the upper layers of the skin, thereby reducing the quality of circulation and diminishing the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to the skin.

Each cigarette smoked destroys up to 35mg of vitamin C, an unstable antioxidant vitamin that cannot be produced by the body. Vitamin C is responsible for preserving the collagen within the skin. In addition to killing the vitamin C, cigarette smoke also destroys collagen itself. Collagen keeps the skin looking plump and smooth, both youthful, beautiful qualities. With the body’s vitamin C stores destroyed, the skin begins to thin, sag and wrinkle, leading to the condition known as “smoker’s face“. Cigarette smoke also destroys another antioxidants vitamin — vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential to the prevention of damage to the skin. With reduced vitamin A levels, the skin is more prone to external damage, again leading to premature signs of aging.

The term “smoker’s face” was added to the medical dictionary in 1985. Characteristics of this condition include deep lines and wrinkles, thin skin texture, gauntness of the features, and gray or yellow skin tone. Unsurprisingly, none of these terms have ever been synonymous with beauty. Thankfully, there are many antioxidant skin care products created to help reduce these signs of damage in order to re-create a healthy, youthful appearance.

Whether you quit smoking years ago, are trying to quit right now (congratulations!), or somehow still choose to smoke despite the numerous health risks, antioxidant products can help you reduce fine lines and wrinkles, improve collagen production and protect against future damage. One of the leading skin care products for smokers is UnDamage, a line specially developed for treating the signs of “smoker’s face”. Aside from UnDamage, any antioxidant foods or skin antioxidants will be beneficial in your quest for healthier, more beautiful and younger-looking skin.

Chirally Correct Skin Care

In the world of beauty products, there are many hot phrases and odd terms used to educate, entice and even confuse the customer. You may have heard about important delivery systems, must-have ingredients and, of course, antioxidants; but, have you ever heard about chirality and its importance in skin care?

The word chiral (sounds like “spiral”) is derived from the Greek word for hand and is a mathematical approach to the concept of handedness. The term chiral is used to describe something that is non-superposable on its mirror image, which means that the object or objects can never be identical to their mirror image. Sound confusing? You’re not the only one who thinks so. An easier way to understand chirality is to take a look at your hands, which are possibly the best accessible example of chirality. No matter how you position or orient your hands, the major features of the hands will never coincide.

Chirality in chemistry almost always refers to molecules. In a chiral molecule, the two mirror images are usually known as optical isomers and labeled as right- and left-handed. These isomers have different effects on your body and skin. One isomer will provide benefits, while the other will either be disposed of by the body or even cause harm. In some cases, the isomers will cancel each other out completely. This is why some expensive, seemingly well-formulated skin care products don’t supply the results you expect of them! If the formulation isn’t chirally correct, your skin care beauty product could be neutralized even before you apply it, or, even worse, actually damage the skin.

When an antioxidant skin care product, or any other skin care product for that matter, is chirally correct, it means that the company manufacturing the product has actually isolated the separate optical isomers and included only the beneficial isomer in the formulation. By doing this, your skin receives all the benefits of the ingredient without any of the side effects. Chirally correct skin care products can even be used by sensitive skin types as the irritation-causing isomers aren’t in the formulations!

Chirally correct ingredients can be easily distinguished as they always feature either an L- or D- at the beginning of their name. For instance, L-ascorbic acid is the chirally correct form of vitamin C. It provides all of the benefits of an antioxidant vitamin without the side effects seen with achiral (not chiral) vitamin C. While many skin care brands use chirally correct ingredients, there are only three lines that promise each of their formulations to be completely chirally correct: CosMedix, PCA Skin and Sircuit Skin.

Chirality in antioxidant skin care products is key. Even if a product is absolutely filled with antioxidant ingredients, achiral molecules could cause so many free radicals that the benefits of the product are never seen.

source:flickr by:SonOfJordan

Say Goodnight With Antioxidants

Most antioxidant skin care sources will no doubt suggest that you apply your antioxidant products in the morning to help protect your skin against UV rays and other forms of environmental damage. Using antioxidants in the morning makes the most sense, mainly due to the fact that daytime is when you’re exposing your skin to the harshest elements. Shockingly, new mindsets are suggesting that your antioxidant application should mainly happen at night. Surprised? You’re not alone. Take a glimpse below to learn about the compelling argument for nightly antioxidant application.

As we know, antioxidants act like sponges that absorb free radicals and other forms of damaging energies. When skin antioxidants are applied in the morning, they will protect your skin in many ways, including by absorbing UV rays, one of the leading causes of free radicals. However, the sun’s rays will also destroy the antioxidants before they can make their way into your skin cells to neutralize free radicals, thereby shortening the beneficial life of the antioxidants and leaving damaging energies within the cell. So, although applying antioxidant skin care products in the morning will definitely help maintain the health and beauty of your skin, the greatest anti-aging skin care benefits will be seen if the antioxidant is allowed to enter the cells.

By applying your antioxidant cream at night, you’re enabling the antioxidants to enter the skin cells where they can do the most good. Once the antioxidants have entered the cells, they neutralize the free radicals that cause damage and eventually lead to visible signs of aging, pigmentation irregularities and more severe issues. In the morning, the antioxidants are still present within the cells and ready to protect against UV-induced damage.

You’re probably now wondering why you shouldn’t just apply your antioxidant skin products both morning and night to cover all your bases. Amazingly enough, you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to antioxidants! Recent studies suggest that over-ingesting oral antioxidants may cause the body to quit producing its own antioxidants, thereby reducing your body’s natural defenses against free radical damage. This cases some skin care experts to believe that over-using topical antioxidants may have the same effect. As with most things, the best results are seen with moderate use. Therefore, you should try to limit your antioxidant application to exclusive morning or night use, preferably the latter.

source:flickr by:bradley j

Antioxidant Vitamins A, C and E

Three of the best antioxidant ingredients in skin care are the vitamins A, C and E. (They also happen to be extremely important taken internally!) These three wonder vitamins are able to boost many of the body’s functions while supplying exceptional antioxidant protection.

Used solely for their antioxidant benefits, the vitamins A, C and E are able to prevent against wrinkles, discoloration and sagging skin. They effectively neutralize free radicals while providing individual actions that further improve the health and beauty of the skin. Here’s a look at the other benefits these vitamins offer your skin.

Vitamin A: The Refiner
Vitamin A is able to refine and thicken the skin to help reduce the appearance of visible signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles. It also improves dermal collagen density and elasticity, both of which also help create a younger-looking complexion. Vitamin A may heal and prevent sun damage, keratosis pilaris, stretch marks, eczema and other skin concerns, making it one of the best multi-tasking skin care ingredients.

Also known as: retinol

Vitamin C: The Brightener
When taken internally, vitamin C helps the body regenerate its own vitamin E, increase iron absorption and even minimize your risk of cancer. Vitamin C in antioxidant skin care products can help repair and protect against UV damage, diminish discoloration irregularities and boost the production of collagen while enhancing skin brightness and radiance. Vitamin C may also be an effective treatment for fine lines and wrinkles, although sufficient studies have not yet been performed to confirm these beliefs.

Also known as: L-ascorbic acid

Vitamin E: The Conditioner
Of the three vitamins featured here, vitamin E is the star. It smooths, softens and conditions the skin for a silky, youthful texture. It helps prevent sunburn, photodamage-related hyperpigmentation and even skin cancer. It enhances the skin’s barrier function to reduce irritation and diminishes transepidermal water loss, allowing the skin to remain hydrated and calm. On top of all of this, it can boost circulation, balance oil production, enhance new cell growth, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, diminish stretch marks and even more. The benefits of this antioxidant-rich vitamin are truly incredible, making it one of the greatest skin antioxidants.

Also known as: tocopherol

Any anti aging skin care or antioxidant product is greatly enhanced by any one of these ingredients. Take a peek at your skin care products to see if these antioxidant vitamins are included. If not, a regimen revision could be a great way to boost your antioxidant protection, skin health and beauty.

source:flickr by:justmakeit

Antioxidant Foods and ORAC Values

In our post on the best antioxidant foods, we took a brief look at ORAC units and which foods have the highest ORAC values. Now, we’ll take a look at what ORAC units actually are and why they’re so important to your body.

ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It’s a test tube analysis that’s designed to measure the antioxidant power of different foods, much like an SPF rating for sunscreen. The USDA recommends consuming at least 3,000 ORAC units a day to help prevent signs of degradation in the skin, body and mind. Recent findings suggest that consuming a high number of ORAC units can help prevent disease and delay the aging process.

It is believed that oxidative stress significantly contributes to the development of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease and more. Alternatively, antioxidant foods with high ORAC values may be able to help reduce your risk of developing these and other diseases. In addition to these degenerative and potentially life-threatening diseases, free radicals are known to cause major issues within the skin, as well as cosmetically significant damage, such as wrinkles, loss of elasticity and more. Antioxidant skin care products containing ingredients with high ORAC values may help decrease the likelihood of this type of damage from occurring within the skin.

While 3,000 ORAC units may seem like quite a lot to take in each and every day, it is not as difficult as one might guess. For example, one half cup of dried small red beans contains 13,727 ORAC units! Plus, the benefits of antioxidants are certainly worth the trouble of including antioxidant foods with high ORAC values in your diet. Simply sprinkle some fresh wild blueberries (13,427/cup) on your morning oatmeal or toss a cup of cooked artichoke hearts (7,904/cup) with pasta and olive oil and you have yourself a healthy meal high in both ORAC units and flavor!

source:flickr by:lanier67

Antioxidants and UV Protection

We all know how important it is to wear sunscreen while spending time outdoors. But, did you know that antioxidants are as important as sunscreen when you’re aiming to keep your skin looking healthy and youthful? Antioxidant products are an effective way to reduce wrinkles and keep visible signs of aging at bay. Luckily, more and more beauty companies are including skin antioxidants in their sunscreen formulations.

One of the leading causes of free radicals is UV damage. Free radicals, in turn, wreck havoc within the skin, sometimes leading to cell death. In addition, UV rays can induce collagen breakdown, DNA repair interference and an inhibited immune system. All of these actions can induce premature signs of aging, skin disorders, less defense against infection, pigmentation issues, changes in skin texture and even cancer. One of the best defenses against UV-induced skin problems is using antioxidant skin care products, as well as fortifying your body internally by eating antioxidant foods.

When building your skin care regimen, take special care to incorporate as many antioxidant-rich products as possible. Many skin care products use antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, which also help the skin by brightening, conditioning and nourishing. Natural skin care products use botanical, marine, fruit and even vegetable extracts, many of which contain high levels of antioxidants. If you begin your day by applying antioxidant products, your skin’s defense against free radicals will be generously increased.

If you are not currently using a daily sunscreen formulation, step back and take a good look at your skin. If you’re not seeing any damage yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not there! Any exposure to the sun can be damaging to your skin, and excessive sun exposure is certainly causing issues, even if they’re not yet visible. However, the sun can be tricky, too. While too much sun exposure can be dangerous, too little exposure can also cause problems. It is recommended that one gets 10-20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure a day to get a good dose of vitamin D while strengthening the skin’s defenses against UV radiation.

Antioxidants – think of them as the body’s body guard. One of the main culprits behind the aging process is Oxidation, which is caused by free radicals. These highly unbalanced atoms attack healthy cells, causing the cells to die. Antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E or Green Tea interact with and kill free radicals, keeping the cells safe and healthy. Antioxidants are abundant in many vitamins, especially in fruits and vegetables. Skin care products formulated with antioxidants can be directly applied to the skin for immediate and lasting results.

More recently, possibility of using antioxidant to protect the skin from the harmful effects of the sun have been studied. Learn more about UV-protection from antioxidants.

This Antioxidant resource web site is brought to you by Glow.com as an information resource because we believe that information is key to your skin’s health and beauty.