What are Antioxidants
What are Antioxidants, and why are they good for skin and hair?
More and more, we keep hearing about antioxidants in our skin care products, but what does that really mean? Firstly, it will benefit us to know exactly what an antioxidant is. Antioxidants are molecules that inhibit the oxidization (the loss of oxygen when two molecules interact). Understanding how these work to benefit your skin is important. Antioxidants significantly slow and prevent the oxidation process caused by free radicals. In other words, antioxidants are there to protect and repair our bodies from free radicals. Free radicals are unbalanced molecules that eventually cause the skin to become inflamed and damage our skin cells. Some factors that cause this are cigarettes, the sun, alcohol, pollution in the air, and stress.
New research is emerging which is linking antioxidants along with vitamins both used internally and topically to reduce signs of aging. It shows that these help to minimize lines, protect against sun damage and also improve the appearance of the skin. Some common antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, Selenium, Beta carotene, Alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, retinoic acid, flavonoids, and Vitamin B – to name a few.
Selenium, Vitamin C and Vitamin E protect your skin against damage from the sun. These antioxidants can actually help to reduce discoloration and signs of aging like wrinkles. These three work by increasing the speed of the skin’s repair system while preventing further damage to the skin.
Coenzyme Q10 is actually found in our bodies and helps the cells to grow while protecting the cells from cancer. As we age our levels of Coenzyme Q10 drop resulting in our skin aging.
Many of these properties of antioxidants can directly help us when delivering your clients healthy, shiny hair. Organic Color Systems maximizes the use of antioxidants in our hair color formula by using natural ingredients derived from orange extract Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and minerals to nourish the scalp, as well as the hair. 732.846.4700