Undiscovered Beauty
Welcome to your newest obsession!
Undiscovered Beauty
Welcome to your newest obsession!
Featured Article
The Secrets of Skin Youth: How Antioxidants Prevent Premature Aging
It's no secret that antioxidants have been linked to many health benefits, but did you know they can also prevent premature skin aging? Antioxidants are natural compounds that help protect the body from free radicals. Free radicals cause a variety of diseases and skin damage, including wrinkles and age spots. One way antioxidants work is by neutralizing these free radicals before they can do their damage. We're going to discuss four different antioxidants in this blog post: vitamin C, vitamin E, green tea extract, and resveratrol. You'll learn how these antioxidants function as anti-aging agents for your skin!
How antioxidants prevent photoaging
Antioxidants prevent photoaging by neutralizing free radicals before they can cause skin damage. Free radicals are unstable molecules caused by UV rays, cigarette smoke, and pollution. They can damage skin cells, including collagen and elastin fibers that keep your skin firm and plump. Antioxidants bind to these free radicals and stop them from causing damage.
Antioxidants for skin health
Vitamin C, vitamin E, green tea extract, and resveratrol are antioxidants that prevent photoaging by absorbing UV rays from the sun or pollution particles. They are commonly used in the formulation of skincare products thanks to their high antioxidants activity.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant found in many foods such as citrus fruits, which have been shown to protect against oxidative stress caused by sunlight exposure. It has also been shown to improve photodamage (damage done when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet light) on both human subjects and animal models of photoaging with moderate doses administered orally over time-frames ranging from weeks up through months for humans and years for animals. The best sources of vitamin C include oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that can be found in many different types of foods, including almonds, wheat germ, egg yolk (yolks), spinach, asparagus, broccoli, and bell peppers. Vitamin E has been shown to protect against oxidative stress caused by ultraviolet light exposure on both human subjects and animal models, with oral doses ranging from 50 IU per day up to 2000 mg per day.
Green tea extract
Green tea extract is another potent antioxidant that has been studied to prevent photoaging due to the high level of polyphenols present in green tea leaves. Its compound, EGCG, a polyphenol, is the one that holds antioxidants activity. A recent study found that green tea extract heightened erythemal (skin reddening caused by UV rays) protection and decreased photoaging. There are some great green tea skincare products you can use to reduce aging signs and breakouts and even skin tone.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol antioxidants are naturally occurring antioxidants that can be found in grape skins or red wine grapes. It has been shown to protect against photoaging and to reduce the appearance of inflammation in human subjects when ingested orally at doses ranging from 150 mg per day up to 1500 mg per day.
*This article is not a comprehensive guide on antioxidants for preventing photoaging.
