Radicals & Antioxidants

Two of the buzz words within the health and wellness industry are free radicals and antioxidants, and we often hear them being linked when talking about illness and disease. Let’s take a minute to break them down and understand their role more specifically in the health of your largest organ…the skin.

Why Do We Need to Care About Free Radicals?

Free radicals are naturally occurring by-products within the body that occur as a result of normal functions such as breathing and digesting food. However free radicals do cause a bit of oxidative damage, so they can ultimately be destructive to our cells.

Free radicals can also be created by external factors such as pollution, excessive sun exposure, stress, consumption of a consistently ‘bad’ diet, cigarette smoke and more.

Ultimately this can lead to premature ageing by damaging the collagen fibres in our skin. Specifically this means a loss of skin elasticity, fine lines and wrinkles, loss of moisture, breakouts, blotchy skin and impaired barrier function.

We can reduce this oxidative stress in the body and on our skin by reducing exposure to the stressors mentioned above and increasing our intake of antioxidants.

Antioxidants Come to the Rescue

Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that protect the skin’s surface from oxidative damage caused by free radicals and environmental aggressors such as UV rays and pollution. In a nutshell they act like calming agents.

A good example of how they work is the analogy of an apple. When you want the apple to stay fresh longer, applying lemon juice – which is high in Vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids – prevents the apple from going brown as quickly as it would without the lemon.

Our body does make it’s own antioxidants such as glutathione, but unfortunately, it doesn’t always make them in the amount we need to protect us for when we have an excess of free radicals.

Fruits and vegetables are packed full of antioxidants, and are included in many well made, botanically based skincare products. Specifically products packed with the following ingredients are the skin’s superheroes as they boost firmness, brighten, repair sun damage and reduce inflammation.

· Vitamin C – one of the most potent antioxidants available; It brightens complexion and helps stop the biochemical reactions that cause uneven pigmentation to effectively brighten skin from within. It also boosts the collagen that keeps our skin looking firm. If you suffer from hyperpigmentation or sun damage, we recommend our 10% blend Vitamin C serum.

· Vitamin B – Niacinamide is an essential water-soluble vitamin, which is not synthesised in the body, meaning we have to apply it topically to our skin to be able to receive its benefits. It minimises redness and blotchiness on the skin, reduces the swelling and redness associated with acne and breakouts and much more. If you suffer from rosacea or acne, we recommend our Super Soothing Serum.

· Vitamin E – anti-inflammatory benefits, which provides support for dry, itchy skin (dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema etc); keeps skin hydrated and calm. Nutraceutical Nourishing Oil is a superfood charged serum that delivers a myriad of decadent antioxidant rich ingredients in a silky, nourishing base.

· Vitamin A – retinoids accelerate skin renewal and reduce signs of ageing overall. It is a ‘must have’ item for almost every skincare regime. We recommend our 1% blend Active Vitamin A Serum

In addition to great skincare products, ensure your diet is well balanced with plenty of fresh fruit and veg every day!