Prevention and Treatment of Aging Skin with Topical Antioxidants

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some of the most effective, scientifically proven formulations to revitalize aging skin. There are two great advantages to applying an active formulation of topical antioxidants to the skin. First, the skin attains far higher levels of each antioxidant than can be achieved by only taking these supplements orally. For example, the level of vitamin C attained in the skin by topical application is 20–40 times the level achievable with oral vitamin C. With topical application, the concentration of vitamin E increases by a factor of 10.6 and selenium, by a factor of 1.7. While sunscreens are still mainstay for protecting skin from photodamage, they are not enough. Because most of us actually apply only about one-fourth of the amount of sunscreen needed to give the designated SPF. Frequent application is absolutely necessary even for “highly water-resistant” formulations because sunscreen is washed off not only by swimming and sweating, but also by imperceptible perspiration. Furthermore, while sunscreens reduce UV-induced erythema and the DNA damage of 8-OHdG and thymine dimer, they only block about 55 percent of the free radical production. This protection over time not only protects the skin by diminishing the ongoing free radical insult and inflammation, but also reverses the unattractive appearance of previous photodamage by directly enhancing collagen synthesis and elastic tissue repair.