The skin-transforming benefits of antioxidants.

What are antioxidants?
You’ve probably heard about the importance of incorporating antioxidants into your diet via antioxidant-rich foods like berries, cabbage, kale and even dark chocolate. But what are antioxidants and why are they so beneficial? Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals (more on those below) and prevent cell damage from occurring within our bodies. This is important for preventing internal inflammation, which is the cause of many physical ailments. When it comes to skincare, though, antioxidants are just as crucial for maintaining a healthy complexion, inside and out.
Ready for a mini science lesson? Antioxidants help prevent and treat cell damage and premature signs of aging by fighting off pesky free radicals, which are unstable molecules that damage skin cells. Free radicals are missing an electron, which is what makes them unstable, and while they search for a replacement electron, they wreak havoc in the process by causing things like premature lines and wrinkles, dark spots and a weakened skin barrier. This is where antioxidants come in to save the day. They act as a neutralizer against free radicals, releasing some of their own electrons and counteracting the negative effects of free radicals.
Now that you understand what antioxidants are, continue reading to learn more about which antioxidant serum is best for your skin type and concerns.

What are the skincare benefits of using antioxidants?

The skincare benefits of using antioxidants are endless. Incorporating an antioxidant serum into your daily skincare regimen can help with inflammation, which is often the source of pimples, blemishes and redness. Antioxidants also help to correct signs of premature aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles. An imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body (referred to as oxidative stress) can cause collagen to break down within your skin, and you likely know that a good collagen supply is crucial for maintaining skin’s plump, bright and youthful appearance because it smooths lines and wrinkles, so you’ll definitely want to use antioxidants to restore that collagen supply. But wait—there’s still more! One of the most important (and impressive) benefits of using an antioxidant serum is its ability to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays by preventing skin’s natural inflammatory response to sun exposure. Of course, wearing sunscreen on a daily basis is the best way to do this, but antioxidants have been proven to add an extra layer of protection, so it’s a good idea to layer an antioxidant serum underneath your SPF in the morning. Sun damage is also one of the leading causes of dark spots, and some antioxidants, like vitamin C, are able to inhibit the production of the enzyme that stimulates dark spot-causing melanin production.

What are the best antioxidants for my skin?

Now that you know why you should be using an antioxidant serum in your skincare routine, the question that remains is which antioxidant serum is best for you and how do you choose? There are several to choose from, and they each have their own benefits for skin. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of antioxidants.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide, otherwise known as vitamin B3, improves your overall skin tone and texture, calms down any existing inflammation, soothes redness and improves the skin’s barrier function and its ability to retain moisture and hydration.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is perhaps the most well-known type of antioxidant serum because the benefits of vitamin C are so thoroughly studied and documented in scientific literature. The best vitamin C serum works to target dull skin and premature signs of aging, boosts collagen, fades dark spots and addresses hyperpigmentation. The hero ingredient is one of the most studied skincare ingredients, so you can’t go wrong with incorporating a vitamin C serum into your skincare routine.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring antibacterial and anti-inflammatory antioxidant that fights aging and improves the overall appearance of your complexion. The benefits of resveratrol also include its ability to strengthen the skin’s barrier, thus preventing moisture from escaping. Fun fact: Resveratrol is the antioxidant that’s found in the skin of grapes, so if you’ve ever heard that wine is full of antioxidants, you’ve got resveratrol to thank! Try SkinCeuticals Resveratrol BE to reap the many benefits of the antioxidant serum.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a workhorse of an antioxidant because it truly does it all. It not only fights free radical damage but also has moisturizing and skin barrier-strengthening abilities—which means that vitamin E can do wonders when it comes to treating existing skin damage, accelerating the healing process, as well as preventing further damage from occurring. SkinCeuticals Face Cream is an excellent way to incorporate the antioxidant into your regimen.

Retinol

Due to its ability to accelerate the skin cell turnover process, retinol is a derivative of vitamin A that is widely considered the gold standard when it comes to treating a variety of skin issues, such as fine lines and wrinkles, pore size, hyperpigmentation and acne.