Antioxidants: always a good idea

On the choose-your-own-adventure skincare smorgasbord, I'd start here

After rules(ish) #1 and #2 — hydration + moisture, and sunscreen application + removal — I think skincare is really a choose your own adventure smorgasbord.

For example, you could focus on your specific interest in luminosity, or firmness, or clarity, or calmness, or smoothness. Or all of the above?

“All of the above, and more of it!” is usually the answer I get; many of us tend to be maximalists where it comes to all things beauty- and health-related.

Our skin, however, usually prefers that we partake of the smorgasbord with some amount of moderation. This is why I did not call skincare a “choose your own adventure 1980s-style all-you-can-eat steakhouse buffet.” (Remember those? I used to need a full day to recover after polishing off those buffet extravaganzas with an absolutely ungodly amount of chocolate mousse. On an unrelated but analogous note, I’ll talk about overprocessed skin, and ways to recover from it, in a later post.)

But back to the skincare smorgasbord. If you’re not sure what to focus on next as you look at your routine, here’s where I’d start: antioxidants. They’re must-haves in a solid skincare routine. And if a small voice in your head is saying, “But…I was still hoping for ‘all of the above’,” the great thing is that antioxidants can help in a serious way.

A quick summary of today’s post

1. In your effort to age with grace, please use antioxidants. Apply them to your skin in the form of serums, and supplement internally with them, too…in moderation.

2. Where antioxidants are concerned, both internally and externally, it’s all about variety — because each antioxidant works a little differently. As you choose your skincare products, think about looking for the rainbow.

You’ll find the full story, which I think is always worth it, below the photo.

I know. Antioxidants: “Ugh, boring. I already know about all of this.” But do you?

OK, maybe you do…but just in case, I thought I’d explain exactly why they’re such a must in skincare.

To start with, some quick definitions to get us all on the same page:

Antioxidants are naturally-occurring compounds, found in vitamins and minerals, that help protect our bodies from free radical damage (and, in some cases, even help reverse it). I picture them like little shields: no single antioxidant is all-powerful, but multiple antioxidants can shield from different angles.

Free radicals are unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules that can cause damage to cells, resulting in illness or aging. I picture them like needy little cartoon characters, running around and looking for a friend to glom onto and pull down, causing — in the case of the hapless friend’s face — hyperpigmentation, inflammation, collagen breakdown, and general premature aging. No one wants to be that hapless friend, which is why we use antioxidants to protect ourselves.

Important detail: these needy little free radicals can come from many places. They can be generated by exposure to UV rays, pollution, unsavory chemicals, and other environmental stressors, and many of us know this already. Many of us also know that they can be generated by inflammation and internal stressors.

But if you’re thinking, “Got it! I can just live in a pristine bubble and meditate and wear sunscreen, and those free radicals won’t touch me,” I have bad news for you: they’re also generated by natural, everyday processes in our bodies, like cellular respiration. These types of free radicals are called “reactive oxygen species,” and the wonderful Marie Veronique chatted with me about them in this interview about mitochondria. They’re just part of the living process, and you know…if we’re living, we’re aging. It’s just what happens.

So, my suggestions:

1. In your effort to age with grace, please use antioxidants. Plenty of them.

Apply them to your skin in the form of serums — an added line of defense under your sunscreen. And it’s a good idea to not only eat the rainbow, but also supplement a bit with antioxidants, because bumping up antioxidant consumption internally as well as externally will reap the greatest benefits.

But where supplementation is concerned, be careful. There’s good evidence that over-supplementation with antioxidants (like anything else) can have negative effects: here’s a link to one related article, and Michael Greger, MD covers this topic in one of his books, How Not To Age, which is fairly dense but packed with thought-provoking info.

I love herbal infusions because they can be a fantastic source of antioxidants — ones that are biochemically balanced in a way that those found in typical supplements are not. And it’s a lot harder to go overboard with an herbal infusion than it is with a powder or a pill.

And if you’re thinking, “Ooh, I want to know more about going overboard,” check out the “Limits of antioxidant supplementation” portion of this helpful paper. It links to a number of others if you’d like to continue down that rabbit hole, which isn’t a terrible one to tumble into.

2. Where antioxidants are concerned, both internally and externally, it’s all about variety — because each antioxidant works a little differently.

Some antioxidants are super soothers, while others excel at brightening, for example. And yes, Vitamin C is great, but it's not all-powerful, so it's just one of many shields I recommend. Green tea is similar: great antioxidant, one of many shields. So as you choose your skincare products, think about looking for the rainbow.

And if you’re thinking, “Ugghhhh, I already have so many things on my to-do list, like eating more protein per pound of body weight and changing the filter in my washing machine at regular intervals, and now I have to look for the rainbow in these ingredient listings, too, and that is definitely not what I was hoping for,” and you’re a Sea Serum fan, here’s a bonus tip that might put you at ease:

You’ll find six different antioxidant-packed seaweeds and coastal plants in the Sea Serum. That impressive set of truly legit shields has you well covered, and it’s one of the reasons why that single product does so many things.

Want some more specific ideas?

Here’s my favorite rainbow of antioxidant-rich options.

INGEST THE RAINBOW

• My favorite Vitamin C supplement: LivOn Labs LypoSpheric Vitamin C. Each packet provides 1000mg, which most guidelines find to be a reasonable amount to take daily in supplement form. One of my favorite doctors, Sara (Gottfried) Szal, MD, has mentioned its helpfulness during perimenopause, menopause, and PMS: check out this clip from her talk at Ayla.

• Another Vitamin C option that’s a little different: MyHavtorn’s Sea Buckthorn Fruit Oil — yes, the one I bizarrely put on my face — is naturally rich in both vitamins A and C as well as Omegas 3, 6, 7, and 9.

• My favorite antioxidant-packed tea: Daphnis & Chloe Greek Mountain Tea

• Oh wait, this one is also my favorite: La Ferme Saint-Sylvain Sage Herbal Infusion

  (Also, this infuser mug makes the brewing process for any infusion so much easier)

APPLY THE RAINBOW

• Ayla’s best-selling Vitamin C serums, both with ascorbic acid: Marie Veronique Vitamins C+E+Ferulic Serum and Luzern Labs Serum V15 (as I mentioned last week, you can use the Sea Serum with a Vitamin C serum if you’re a Vitamin C devotee…but you can also just use the Sea Serum on its own if you’re a minimalist)

• A power-packed favorite from Dr. Macrene that’s great for maximalists, and doctor-approved: Macrene Actives High Performance Face Serum

• And because I couldn’t possibly go without mentioning it since I love it so much and genuinely believe in it, the multi-dimensional antioxidant serum with hydrating, brightening, and firming benefits: Dara Kennedy Sea Serum

I have some thoughts on the next part of the skincare smorgasbord to explore, but I’m always open to ideas and questions. If you have any, feel free to write them in the comments!

PS Any topic discussed in this article is not intended as medical advice. If you have a medical concern, please check with your doctor.