A step away from radiant skin: The power of Antioxidants
Hello there!
Today,
we are here to gain some knowledge about how free radicals in our skin cells
attack our bodies and the defensive mechanisms that we can follow to protect
ourselves from these dangers by making the right choice with antioxidant
ingredients.
In
order to evaluate the effects, let’s first examine what free radicals are.
Free
radicals are highly chemically reactive molecules due to the presence of uneven
amount of negatively charged subatomic particles or, simply, electrons. When a
molecule loses electron, an making uneven amounts of electrons, we refer to it
as an "unpaired” electron. It makes that electron unstable, and an unstable
electron can be pictured as an angry electron which is ready to steal another
electron from the surrounding molecule to stabilize itself. This causes a
domino-like chain reaction of unstable chemical compounds. Yes, I hear you,
all this is basic science, but isn’t skin care all about that ‘science’?
Free
radicals are simply a consequence of numerical chemical interactions in our
bodies, which results in low levels of intercellular oxidative stress. Due to
this oxidative stress in the domino reaction, more free radicals are produced
frequently and quickly than the body can eliminate them. In fact, free radicals
are generated during the domino reaction through oxidative stress.
What do free radicals do to our body?
The
oxidative stress caused by various chemical reactions can damage the skin’s
vital components, resulting in accelerating signs of aging, wrinkles or age
spots, dark under eyes, dull skin, dry skin, and decreasing in elasticity.
Cigarette
smoking, UV exposure, pollutants, and foreign substances can trigger the
increase in oxidative stress. Moreover, when intrinsic antioxidant capacities
are reduced, such as during aging, an imbalance between pro- and antioxidant
systems further accentuates these hallmarks of cellular aging.
Inflammaging
The
idea of the inflammaging theory is very prominent and was developed in 2000 by
Claudio Franceshi who described this condition as our body slowly accumulating
damaged cells and molecules over time as we age, and eventually the
accumulation can lead to unwanted inflammation in the body. So, in this case,
free radicals are both the cause and result of inflammation. This inflammation
is the reason for our aging and age-related concerns. The vicious cycle of
damage from free radicals causing inflammation, and inflammation resulting in
more free radicals, causing more inflammation is very difficult on our skin.
Effective solutions
Now,
since there is an ongoing buzz around free radicals and their effects on our
body, there is constant need to measure the result on the biological processes.
This need has opened ways for many techniques to harness biological functions
for use in the fight against premature skin aging and promotion of healthy and
youthful skin. Current industry is focused on developing active ingredients
that can provide increased cell protection, longer cellular lifespan, and
improved barrier function.
There
are few topical solutions that work their magic by triggering cellular
detoxification processes, which can help reduce the reactive oxygen species
(ROS) and lipid peroxidation. These terms may sound a little overwhelming, so
without any further delay, let’s look into each of these solutions in detail to
find out how they could help us maintain the beauty of our skin.
Cellular detoxification
Have you heard of autophagy before? It sounds fancy, right? This word is given for the biological process that does some cleaning within the cells by identifying toxins and damaged bits and then gets rid of them. This damage is regulated for proper survival and functioning of our skin cells. Well, an unhealthy autophagy is the result of UV radiation exposure, stress, pollution, free radicals and inflammation. An unhealthy autophagy state means accelerated dermal inflammation, spiked aging, reduced dermal integrity, degraded collagen levels, and rise of melanin production.
A reduction in autophagy results in piling up of
cellular damage, increase in inflammation, degrading cellular metabolism, and
aging at cellular level. But there is still a hack: cellular detoxification can
be manipulated, thanks to the topical application of certain ingredients, which
have demonstrated to trigger autophagy in dermal fibroblasts. The activation of
biological detoxification process can help counteract age-related decline in
skin cell function and maintain skin homeostasis that results in a healthier
and stronger skin.
Attenuate excessive ROS
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)
are a group of free radicals and reactive molecules. Now, why are ROS harmful?
Well, these oxygen free radicals attack biological molecules such as proteins,
cascade lipid peroxidation and DNA causing an irreversible damage. Amongst all
free radicals, the ones containing oxygen are considered as the most
destructive because of the presence of numerous unpaired and high energy
electrons.
A combination of both internal and external factors can disrupt skin homeostasis which stimulates high levels of ROS that amplifies DNA mutation, protein oxidation, and collage degradation. ROS produced by mitochondria can be quite risky and play an important role in triggering the aging process, compared to environmental factors. But, there’s good news. By reducing excessive ROS levels, we can help maintain a balance within the skin cells to combat age-related decline in our skin cell function. Research suggest that certain ingredients have the ability to scavenge unnecessary ROS levels.
Reducing lipid peroxidation
MDA Lipid Peroxidation Assay is a tool used to help us
measure quantitatively and determine the oxidative stress. MDA, an abbreviation
of malondialdephyde, is used as a biomarker to indicate oxidative stress and
lipid peroxidation (breaking down of lipids).
When MDA levels increase, it signals a rise in lipid
peroxidation and oxidative stress within the cell. It is like a red flag
telling us that cellular damage is on the rise. But, through these MDA assays,
we can certainly understand and assess some raw materials to attenuate lipid
peroxidation in cultured epidermal keratinocytes. When MDA levels decrease, it indicates a decrease in
lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced cellular damage. It is basically
acting like a shield against oxidative stress and cellular damage to mitigate
the signs of cellular aging.
Well, this concludes our understanding of free
radicals, and the negative impact they cause on our skin can help us establish
and incorporate effective skin care regimens that are rich in antioxidant
features. To have a visual understanding of this topic, tune in
to Active Concepts YouTube channel.
See you again with another topic based around skin science, as you know it by now -- we’d love to share our knowledge.