Are Antioxidants Good For Skin?

Not sure if antioxidants are good or bad for your skin? Don't worry, we have you covered! In this article we talk about what they are and if they have any benefits.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures.
The sources of antioxidants can be natural or artificial. Certain plant-based foods are thought to be rich in antioxidants. Plant-based antioxidants are a kind of phytonutrient, or plant-based nutrient.

The body also produces some antioxidants, known as endogenous antioxidants. Antioxidants that come from outside the body are called exogenous.

Antioxidants are said to help neutralise free radicals in our bodies, and this is thought to boost overall health.
And that’s not all, some antioxidants also brighten your skin, calm irritation, and even smooth fine lines—as long as you choose the right ones.

What Can Antioxidants Do For Your Skin?

Antioxidants have many benefits for the skin whether you eat them in foods or use them in skincare products. There are benefits to both. Many skincare products add antioxidants to their products to deliver antioxidants straight onto the skin. This may have the following benefits:

• Protection against UV damage: Sun damage is a huge ageing factor of the skin. Antioxidants may help give a protective effect against UV damage when used along with sunscreen.
• Calm inflammation: Free radicals by their very nature create inflammation. Antioxidants can help reduce inflammation and may have a soothing effect on the skin.
• Slow premature ageing: Topical antioxidants can make the skin look more youthful and protect against extrinsic ageing (for instance, premature ageing caused by external factors like chronic sun exposure, smoking, pollution, and more). Antioxidants don't seem to slow intrinsic (chronological) ageing, however.
• Brightens skin tone: Antioxidants can help prevent abnormal skin pigmentation. Some antioxidants (like vitamin C) also work to inhibit tyrosinase, an enzyme that stimulates melanin production.

Antioxidants We Recommend

As well as maintaining a healthy diet containing antioxidants, we also have many products to recommend.

Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Niacinamide are all products rich in antioxidants that we recommend using:

Cleansers:

DermaQuest C Infusion Cleanser
DermaQuest Essential Daily Cleanser
DermaQuest SkinBrite Cleanser
DermaQuest Delicate Cleansing Cream

Serums:

DermaQuest C Infusion Serum
DermaQuest Delicate Soothing Serum
DermaQuest SkinBrite Serum
DermaQuest B3 Youth Serum

Moisturiser:

DermaQuest Nourishing Peptide Rich
DermaQuest Delicate Daily Moisturiser

Oil/Facial drops

Obagi Daily Hydro-Drops
Obagi Professional C Serum 10%


All of these products are rich in antioxidants and will have the benefits discussed above such as protect from sun damage, help with premature ageing and brighten skin tone.

For any more on this topic and to speak to our skincare expert, book an online skin consultation and get all your questions answered!