If you keep up with all things skin care, you have likely heard at least once or twice about how free radicals are bad news for your complexion. But are you aware of why these molecules are so damaging to your body’s largest organ, and what they are capable of? If not, you will want to keep reading.
Before getting into just how much havoc free radicals can wreak on your skin, we must first explain what they are. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that are formed by normal bodily functions — like breathing, for instance — as well as environmental aggressors, such as UV rays, smoke, and pollution. These unstable compounds look to pair with a missing electron. In doing so, they can latch onto your skin, create a negative chain reaction on your skin’s surface and induce damage to cells. Free radicals have extra energy in them that can damage neighbouring skin cells and collagen.
What Can Free Radicals Do to Your Skin?
Aside from genetics and time, free radicals are one of the most common causes of visible signs of skin ageing, including sagging skin, fine lines, and wrinkles. The Cleveland Clinic suggests that when the skin is exposed to environmentally induced free radicals, they can penetrate the skin, attack lipids that protect you against moisture loss and, in turn, weaken the skin’s barrier. As a result, the skin appears to age prematurely due to dryness and loss of elasticity. In addition to premature ageing, a study published in The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology suggests that there may be a connection between free radicals and acne.
How Can You Help Protect Your Skin from Free-Radical Damage?
While there is not much you can do about pollution that is already swarmed the atmosphere, you can certainly take precautionary measures to ensure your skin stays well-protected against free radicals. That is where antioxidants like vitamin C come in. Antioxidants are capable of neutralising free-radical damage by pairing with scavenging free radicals in search of a missing electron. Without that protection in place, the free radical could latch onto a skin protein and break it down.
How to Incorporate Antioxidants into Your Skin-Care Routine
Now that you know the crucial role of antioxidants in skin care, it is time to start applying them to your skin. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) suggests using antioxidants in tandem with a broad-spectrum sunscreen to help protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. There are plenty of antioxidant-rich serums on the market that can serve as a solid line of defence under your sunscreen of choice. Below, we share some of the best antioxidants on the market. SkinCeuticals are the originators of antioxidants – recognised as the gold standard.
SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic
SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic is a daytime antioxidant serum — formulated with vitamins C and E, as well as ferulic acid –– that offers environmental protection against free radicals. In addition to protecting the skin against free-radical damage, C E Ferulic can help reduce the visible signs of ageing (think: fine lines and wrinkles) and photo-damage.
SkinCeuticals Double Defence C E Ferulic Kit - free SPF
Phloretin CF
Phloretin CF represents a new class of topical Vitamin C based formulations. After five years of extensive research, SkinCeuticals developed this patent-pending innovative technology combining the newly-discovered, broad-range power of Phloretin with vitamin C and ferulic acid in a single formulation. Phloretin CF is formulated with an optimum acid combination of 2% Phloretin, 10% vitamin C, and 0.5% ferulic acid.
*Illumination Gift Set | Phloretin CF - Free Full Sized Simply Clean Worth €35.00
Illumination Gift Set | Phloretin CF - Free Full Sized Simply Clean Worth €35.00
SkinCeuticals Double Defence Silymarin CF Kit. Free Full Sized Advanced Brightening UV Defence SPF 50 Worth €49.00
SkinCeuticals brand NEW Double Defence Silymarin CF Kit is comprised of our latest antioxidant innovation Silymarin CF and brand icon, Advanced Brightening UV Defence SPF 50. This kit your 'double defence' for normal, oily and blemish-prone skin to help prevent free radical damage and protect against UVA and UVB rays. This skincare solution is clinically proven to improve the appearance of blemishes, fine lines and discolouration.
Suitable for normal, oily, & blemish prone skin types.
https://www.nualawoulfe.ie/collections/skinceuticals/products/skinceuticals-double-defence-silymarin-cf-kit
*Promotion kits - comes with free full sized product - available while stocks last .
