The Importance of Antioxidants and Benefits for the Skin: Here’s a Guide for Newbies

I write so you share. Thank you.

When I went to Deciem’s store in Covent Garden, London, to buy skincare products and asked the attendant ‘What are antioxidants and why does my skin need them?’ I felt this was something I should have known long before. She explained. But I didn’t understand.

All I could remember was ‘protects you from the air’ but that wasn’t solid enough for me to keep it in my memory. I knew I would forget it again.

I have come across the term a few times since then and today, finally, I’ve decided to write the guide I need for myself. If you’re new to natural skincare and cosmetics (and the jargon that comes attached to it) I hope it helps you too.

Let’s get started with this quote to show the importance of antioxidants in skincare:

Skincare expert Paula Begoun almost immediately downgrades a product on Beautypedia if it doesn’t contain antioxidants. ~ Source

Importance of Antioxidants: What do Antioxidants do Exactly?

I’d like an answer to this question that is NOT complicated or uses too many technical or scientific terms, but also I don’t want an ‘it’s good for your skin’ one.

So I’ll try to understand it to be able to answer the questions here while doing my research. Let’s see how I get on.

To get started, here’s what happi.com says:

Antioxidants are natural substances made up of vitamins and minerals. They can counter “free radicals” that damage DNA, lipids and proteins.”

Time to learn what free radicals means (in layman’s terms, of course!). Here’s an explanation from healthiertalk.com that’s good enough for me to understand:

“Free radicals are created by oxidation. In excess they will accelerate your aging and lead to all sorts of negative health problems. They are simple molecules with an electron missing. In an effort to become ‘whole’ again they seek out other chemical structures in our bodies from where they can steal an electron.”

**According to healthertalk.com, as long as we breathe oxygen oxidation is unavoidable, thus the creation of free radicals will always continue. It reminds me of what happens when iron is exposed to air and water: it rusts! (oxidation takes place).

And here’s what happens with the problem of free radicals over time (source):

“The production of free radicals increases with age, while the endogenous defense mechanisms that counter them decrease. This imbalance leads to the progressive damage of cellular structures, and thus, results in accelerated aging.”

Here’s Antioxidant’s and Free Radicals Explained Simply

From pollution, bad diet, etc we’re exposed to toxic chemicals > oxidation occurs in the body > molecules miss an electron > free radicals are formed > they steal an electron from surroundings (causing damage) > anti-oxidants neutralise free radicals by voluntarily giving one of their electrons without hurting themselves.

Well, I understand that.

**Note that oxidation is important, otherwise nothing would degrade or decompose…

Example of Antioxidants in Food and Herbs

According to Draxe, here are the top 10 antioxidants in food:

1. Goji berries: 4,310 ORAC score
2. Wild blueberries: 9,621 ORAC score
3. Dark chocolate: 20,816 ORAC score
4. Pecans: 17,940 ORAC score
5. Artichoke (boiled): 9,416 ORAC score
6. Elderberries: 14,697 ORAC score
7. Kidney beans: 8,606 ORAC score
8. Cranberries: 9,090 ORAC score
9. Blackberries: 5,905 ORAC score
10. Cilantro: 5,141 ORAC score

And, again, according to Draxe, these are the top 10 antioxidants in herbs (although I believe cilantro, mentioned above, is a herb):

1. Clove: 314,446 ORAC score
2. Cinnamon: 267,537 ORAC score
3. Oregano: 159,277 ORAC score
4. Turmeric: 102,700 ORAC score
5. Cocoa: 80,933 ORAC score
6. Cumin: 76,800 ORAC score
7. Parsley (dried): 74,349 ORAC score
8. Basil: 67,553 ORAC score
9. Ginger: 28,811 ORAC score
10. Thyme: 27,426 ORAC score

**ORAC value has been provided by Superfoodly. ORAC means ‘Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity’. I’ve also read that it is still debatable wether eating superfoods actually helps. If interested, more here.

Now Let’s Look at Why our Skin Needs Antioxidants

I love this quote by Michelle, from labmuffin.com:

[…] since your skin is the main interface between you and the outside world, that’s where free radicals form in the greatest amounts. ~ Source

No doubt the skin is in contact with air all of the time. “The main interface”, as she puts it.

Here’s another interesting paragraph from the same source:

[…] sun exposure should be one of your biggest skincare concerns, and free radicals are a big part of the reason. Free radicals form in your skin within 15 minutes of exposure to UV, and continues for up to an hour afterwards. Sun damage from UVA exposure is largely from free radical damage, and since UVA penetrates into the dermis, free radical damage can occur quite deeply in the skin. UVB can also produce free radicals too. ~ Source

More here, now from dermaroller.co.uk:

[…] antioxidants are essential in helping to protect your skin from the unavoidable damaging effects of the environment. Antioxidants protect the skin from the damaging effects of the sun, the biggest cause of premature skin ageing and skin cancer. They also prevent scarring, calm the skin and brighten a dull complexion.. ~ Source

Which brings me back to the first quote used in this article:

Skincare expert Paula Begoun almost immediately downgrades a product on Beautypedia if it doesn’t contain antioxidants. ~ Source

What this means to me is that basically all (or most) beauty products should contain antioxidants. Simple enough.

Let’s have a look now at how antioxidants work in skincare products, natural antioxidants for the skin and benefits of antioxidants for your skin.

Antioxidants for Skin

According to webmd.com, these are the things that would work on the skin: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha-lipoic acid, Retinoic acid.

I won’t talk about each of the above as there’s so much over the Internet about them (i.e. here). The idea is to just group them here so at least they’ve been mentioned.

Also, during my research, I actually came across a very interesting forum. One of the users points to the article mentioned above which clearly states that only Vitamin C can treat wrinkles:

“At present, topical antioxidants are marketed to prevent aging and UV-induced skin damage, as well as to treat wrinkles […]. However, currently, only vitamin C can actually treat wrinkles by influencing collagen formation through a mechanism other than antioxidation. For other products, their ability to improve wrinkles is either due to swelling or hydrating effects […] Hence, antioxidants can prevent wrinkles, but not treat them.”

As I understand it all other antioxidants improve wrinkles by ‘pumping the area’ (so more like a trick than a treatment if that makes sense). Please do correct me if I’m wrong.

What to Look for Regarding Antioxidants in Skincare

I’ve taken some of Michelle’s information and displayed it below in bulleted points – I find it extremely helpful!! (Thanks Michelle).

• The antioxidant needs to stay active in the product until you apply it
• The antioxidant also has to penetrate the skin
• Enough has to penetrate to make a difference
• The antioxidants with the most evidence supporting them are vitamins C and E, ferulic acid, green tea polyphenols and coenzyme Q10
• Combinations of antioxidants usually perform better
• Antioxidants should be applied before free radicals are formed (i.e. before you go into the sun)

Please check Michelle’s article and if you like any of the products she recommends you can purchase them using her links (I don’t know Michelle, but I can see the girl has written a post at length which is most definitely very helpful).

What I’m Using as a Newbie (with Affiliate Links)

As for me, I’m using The Ordinary’s Vitamin C Suspension 23%+ HA Spheres 2% and The Ordinary’s  Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. They’re both cheap and I LOVE THEM. Being a newbie at skincare in general I think this is a great start. (*Zinc also has antioxidant properties.)

I’ve been using both for about 3 weeks now together with other The Ordinary products. I’ll be adding Vitamin E to my homemade skincare/cosmetics so that’s already taken care of 🙂

I fell in love with The Ordinary products when I heard Nadine Baggott (Health and Beauty Editor HELLO! UK) rave about the products in her review video and, yes, I was well impressed. I recommend you watch it, if anything, for her contagious enthusiasm!

Here’s a link to the products pages so you can read about them:

>> Vitamin C Suspension 23%+ HA Spheres 2%>> Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

And here are the affiliate links:

**At no extra cost to you**

>> Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%>> Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Finally, here’s a guide to Vitamin C from the The Ordinary website:

>> Guide to Vitamin C​

**Jump to the General Vitamin C Guidance if you want to skip the products. It is a great read.

Final Thoughts

To me all of this is fun. I learn and apply but I’m not really ‘fighting’ anything. My new understanding about what the world is and how it works (read my ‘About‘ page) clearly shows me that the body is an emerging tool (in the ‘now’) so we can experience what is known as ‘life’.

Science and physics are subject to an overall, powerful Being (You!) who lives beyond the body and what happens to it, beyond time and beyond space (not as a belief or obscure reality available to just a few, but as an obvious, direct experience anyone can have). That’s why these topics are a lot of fun and something to enjoy – never a determining factor in terms of the happiness that is here, available, all of the time, to each one of us.

The 2 links I found most useful in the topic:

– Read Michelle’s article on how antioxidants work and why they’re good for your skin here.

– Very interesting article mentioned above regarding antioxidants in skincare formulation here.