Energy bomb in skincare – What to do if our skin is tired, exhausted?

What are antioxidants and how are they related to free radicals?

Antioxidants can be very different, but they all have one thing in common: they can slow down the oxidation process in your body. These "warrior" compounds react with free radicals produced in the living organism, reducing or neutralising their harmful effects (ageing, mutation).
Some antioxidants are also produced by your body (endogenous antioxidants), so you don't need to worry about their intake (glutathione, melatonin, uric acid). On the other hand, there are compounds (exogenous antioxidants) that your body obtains from various micronutrients: vitamins A, C and E (a favourite trio for those obsessed with eternal youth), bioflavonoids, beta-carotene, zinc, selenium, magnesium.

Why are free radicals bad for your skin?

Free radicals can be imagined as a host of aggressive, highly reactive oxygen molecules that are chemically reactive. If they cannot bind (they are unstable), they start to damage cells, proteins or DNA by stealing atoms from them. They are also called cell poisons because of their tissue damaging activity.
The formation of free radicals is linked to normal metabolic processes; after all, they are by-products of your own cellular metabolism. But this process is also "favoured" by a number of external factors: smoking, ultraviolet and radioactive radiation, excessive alcohol consumption, stress (work, social, etc.), chemicals, environmental pollution.
If the balance between the oxidation processes in the body and the antioxidants that prevent them is tipped in favour of the former, we are talking about oxidative stress, which is the main cause of premature ageing of the skin.

What happens when your skin is out of balance?

Regardless of our age, we may feel that our skin is tired, dull, has lost its freshness and elasticity. In this case you can be almost certain that your skin has been exposed to too much oxidative stress and its ability to be defender is reduced, which is damaging in many ways.

And you may experience the following symptoms on your facial skin:

• inflammation develops,
• becomes flabby, wrinkled and loses elasticity, as cellular regeneration mechanisms slow down, producing less healthy skin cells over time,
• and the risk of developing skin cancer is increased.

Why are antioxidants added to cosmetic products?

Antioxidants (free radical scavengers) protect your skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, slowing down cell damage. It is very important to eat foods rich in natural antioxidants and choose cosmetics high in antioxidant ingredients. These serums or creams support healthy skin function and contain antioxidant extracts that help to bind free radicals that come from environmental damage (e.g. vitamins A, C and E, ferulic acid, resveratrol, niacinamide, green tea).

What kind of ingredients to look for?

A real winner in skin renewal is the powerful anti-oxidant and anti-ageing ingredient Vitamin A, which is essential for healthy and balanced skin. Another "everlasting favourite" antioxidant is vitamin C. It is usually combined with other antioxidant ingredients such as ferulic acid (helps keep pH low for better absorption) and vitamin E + phloretin: helps stabilise vitamin C (alpha ascorbic acid) and increases its effectiveness. It's worth getting Solanie's top-quality Vitamin C serum, which is highly concentrated, making it the perfect choice for boosting skin immunity, building collagen fibres responsible for skin elasticity and fading pigmentation spots.

If there's one more trendy antioxidant ingredient to mention, niacinamide is the perfect choice - it's vitamin B3 - which not only combats the signs of ageing, but is also a great help for problematic skin. Plant stem cell agents (apple stem cell, argan plant stem cell) are also popular, which protect and vitalise the stem cells found in the dermis and basal layer, thus helping to renew and firm the skin.