We all know antioxidants are good for us – they're one of the main reasons we eat fruit, along with vitamins and minerals. You'll hear people praising antioxidants as a crucial part of their skincare routine as well.
Sadly, most people don’t know just how important they really are – or what they even do! In reality, antioxidants are actually one of the three main steps of any well-aging routine.
So let’s break it down, no science degree required. 👇
What is well-aging?
Well-aging is all about using gentle ways to prevent damage before it happens, instead of trying to repair it afterwards with harsh active ingredients and treatments. This seen as a less stressful approach that often gives better results over time.
Anti-aging is typically started after the age of 25, when collagen production first starts slowing down. Since well-aging is about gentle prevention, it can be started any time. Well-aging techniques have always been at the heart of Korean skincare philosophy – and Smuuti.
The 3 pillars of well-aging
The three best well-aging practices are:
- Sun protection
- Antioxidants
- Gentle actives
Sun protection should be the first step on your skincare journey to prevent skin damage, that causes signs of aging over time. Antioxidants work in a slightly different way, but still preventing skin damage.
What do antioxidants do?
Antioxidants help protect the skin from environmental stressors like UV rays, pollution and even oxygen, which all cause oxidation on the skin. Oxidation causes skin cell damage, which is the main cause of premature aging.
Sunscreen works to prevent most of the UV rays from reaching the skin, while antioxidants help neutralize the damage that still gets through.
Both are important and boost each other, but since pollution and oxygen are prevalent all year round, antioxidants become even more important in the darker seasons.
What are the best antioxidants?
The best antioxidants are those part of our skin’s own antioxidant network – meaning, the ones your skin already knows and loves!
These are Vitamins C and E as well as Coenzyme Q10 and Glutathione. That’s why we picked Vitamin C and Glutathione as the main ingredients of our Strawberry Boost line! Strawberry Extract also naturally has loads of Vitamin C, even more than oranges.
Vitamin C also supports the third part of well-aging, gentle actives. We use a gentle derivative of Vitamin C together with Strawberry Extract for gentle radiance-boosting and damage prevention.
Vitamin B3, Niacinamide, was added for both its brightening and antioxidant properties. Studies also show that Niacinamide is able to boost the effect of Vitamin C, which makes it the perfect final touch!