Skin Care Antioxidant Science
When talking about skin health and
skin care, it seems that fads are the rule. Pick up any magazine or
newspaper and browse down to the skin care section and you are sure
to find advertisements for skin care products and vitamins to
enhance skin health.
Currently, the skin care antioxidant
fad is natural and holistic. It seems that the general belief is
that the more natural the skin care antioxidant product is, the more
effective it’s going to be. This belief is not without its
historical basis since several centuries ago, our ancestors have
been using plants and natural oils to beautify the skin and keep it
healthy. Now, when you open your medicine cabinet, you will probably
find several bottles, tubes, and glistening plastic dispensers that
contain labels identifying all the main ingredients in the skin care
products – ingredients that are more like a litany of all flora and
the fauna of the rain forest rather than compounds developed in a
sophisticated research laboratory.
The world has created a term for
these. Nutriceuticals, a word developed from the combination of
“nutrients” and “pharmaceuticals.” When it comes to the world of
nutrition and skin care, a familiar term readily pops up.
Antioxidants. What are they?
It seems that for every skin care
product that we buy, we always find that most of the ingredients
contain antioxidants. Antioxidants have several beneficial effects
for the skin. An antioxidant is a compound that can neutralize the
destructive oxygen molecules, called free radicals that result from
normal metabolism or oxidation. Free radicals may also be stimulated
by external factors, such as the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
The idea of free radicals is so
complicated that it is hard to explain it in one article alone. Just
to be brief though, one of the harmful effects of free radicals is
mutation in genes which could lead to skin cancer and affect the
ability of the skin to repair itself.
With the introduction of
antioxidants, free radicals may be greatly reduced and controlled.
Antioxidants are said to complement skin care nutrients, one keeping
harmful substances from destroying the skin while the other keeping
the skin healthy and strong.
Aging skin is a primary skin of
anyone who is concerned about skin health. Signs include fine lines
and wrinkles, brown spots and light spots, tiny rough precancerous
growths (called actinic keratoses), prominent jowl lines, sagging
skin, and a general increase in roughness and dryness of the skin.
Most skin care antioxidant products
that claim to everse or stall aging skin moisturize the top layer of
the skin. Through re-hydration, the appearance of fine lines.
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