There are probably very few people who haven’t heard of “anti-oxidants”. Vitamin supplements, health drinks and cosmetic products; if the adverts are to be believed these products are packed full of that one unique powerful anti-oxidant. What are anti-oxidants actually and what is their role in skin care products?
The effects of oxygen (or free radicals)
A very simple example to explain this is: if you take a bite out of an apple, it will change colour after a while. The apple is reacting to oxygen which makes it go brown. If you immediately apply lemon juice, an anti-oxidant, the apple doesn’t have a chance to react with the oxygen and so retains its original colour.
Slow but sure…
Anti-oxidants are substances which are capable of eliminating free oxidative radicals. Free oxidative radicals are the “bad guys” and are mainly responsible for the ageing of your skin. I once heard a well known Dermatologist say that free radicals can be compared to small children. Although you don’t directly see the damage, they gradually turn your beautiful house into a shabby shack. You are therefore better off without them, the free radicals not the children! Just as with the apple, a protective layer of anti-oxidants in your skin gives the free radicals less chance of causing damage.
Although there are natural anti-oxidants present in your skin which destroy free radicals, these are not always enough. The amount of free radicals can increase greatly through, for example, smoking or exposure to the sun. In addition to this as the years go by your supply of anti-oxidants decreases. And a decrease in anti-oxidants in your skin can also arise through excessive irritation or exfoliation. Enough reason to make sure that this shortage is quickly remedied.
And do they really work?
Free radicals age the skin, anti-oxidants prevent this. It seems too good to be true. Do anti-oxidants really work in cosmetic products? We’ll go into this more tomorrow!
Regards Jetske
(Dr. Jetske Ultee- Research Physician and Head of The Skin Therapy Department)
You can read more about anti-oxidants (do anti-oxidants in a cream really work?),
skin ageing (getting older) and
‘Green cosmetics‘.
This article is also available in Dutch