Antioxidants, unlocking the benefits for your skin

We all hear about how important antioxidants are for our health. This article explains how DermaVitál skin care products harness the power of antioxidants to restore damaged skin and prevent signs of aging.

What are antioxidants?
The cells in our bodies are constantly under attack from internal and external forces, like UV rays, air pollution, harsh temperatures, stress, metabolism, cigarette smoke – the usual suspects. Antioxidants are chemicals that essentially protect our cells by neutralizing the effects of these forces.

What are free radicals?
If our cells are under attack, then think of free radicals as the invading army. In a nutshell, free radicals are unstable atoms that break down other molecules and weaken cellular structure – and that’s why they are bad news for skin. Free radicals contribute to signs of aging. (If you want a brief chemistry lesson to explain how that happens, here goes: Think way back to high school chemistry class and remember that electrons are negatively charged particles shared by atoms, and that every atom needs a stable configuration of electrons to form a chemical bond. Free radicals are caused when atoms with weak bonds split apart. Free radicals lack the proper balance of electrons in their outer layer and are therefore considered unstable. This means that they are highly reactive and prone to disturbing surrounding atoms. Free radicals steal electrons from stable atoms that contain oxygen, a process called oxidization. This process results in more molecular instability which can then alter the molecular structure of cells – which is dangerous because it can interfere with the function of healthy cells, like skin cells.)

What do free radicals and antioxidants have to do with my skin?
Free radicals are bad for our skin because they break down the skin’s cellular structure. Excess free radical damage impairs the skin’s ability to repair itself, which leads to signs of aging, like wrinkles, rough skin, fine lines, puffiness and loss of elasticity.

Antioxidants help fight against all this. That’s why we like them. Antioxidants help repair skin and strengthen blood vessels. Our bodies naturally produce some antioxidants, but not enough to fight off all the effects of free radicals. That’s why it’s important to add antioxidants to our diet, and also to our skin care routine