Free Radicals Bounce Off of Us

We drink alot of green tea in our office, its a great source of antioxidants. With all the media exposure to antioxidants and super foods, we feel its the least we can do. We also eat alot of McDonald's, but hey, no one is perfect. There's alot of buzz in the press about antioxidants, and some food and diet companies have composed fairly successful marketing campaigns around them. But what exactly are they, and how do they work?

THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW: We're going back to high school chemistry class for just a second. Remember atomic anatomy? Everything is made of atoms, and atoms are made of protons and electrons. The number of protons and electrons in an atom is supposed to be equal. Free radicals are atoms that have unpaired electrons. Free radicals can cause skin cancer, photo-aging, discolorations in the skin. An easy way to think of this is to picture an apple. Cut it in half, and the inside will quickly begin to turn brown. The same thing is happening to your skin, just on a much less dramatic level.

Antioxidants fight free radicals. The two most common antioxidants are Vitamin C and Vitamin E. You may have them in your One-a-day, but that's not really what we're talking about.

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: Just like us, you can pretty much limit the amount of free radical damage... make them "bounce off of you", and no, its not the cup of green tea that's doing it. Its topical antioxidants that when applied to the skin, help not only fight free radical damage, but repair previous damage as well. Let's talk about them:

Vitamin C & E: These antioxidants work by donating their electrons to the free radicals, thus neutralizing the problem. Vitamin C is a super-antioxidant, as it also stimulates collagen production and Vitamin E. Our favorite product: SkinMedica's Vitamin C&E complex, its an all in one punch that only needs to be applied once daily.

Vitamin A (Retinol): Vitamin A (in all of its various forms) is a powerful weapon in the fight against dermal damage. Vitamin A assists your body in ridding itself of dead and damaged cells; "chemical exfoliation" (as opposed to the sandpaper method). It also assists in collagen production, and even further, it helps by binding growth factors (the things that make your skin new again) to cells. Now, we all remember the kid with acne in high school that had to go to the dermatologist and got put on Retin-A. He looked like a tomato. There's been som remarkable leaps and bounds in this technology, no tomatoes required. Our favorite product: SkinMedica's Retinol Complex. Applied once in the evening, this time released formula does its strongest work while you sleep, and when you're not exposed to the sun. Its gentle, and as long as its used at night, it generally does not cause irritation.

Moisturizers: Some moisturizers advertise antioxidants, and may in fact contain minimal amounts. Generally, they will include green tea, kinetin, some form of Vitamin C, etc., etc. But, the FDA has decreed than any products of this type that are sold OTC may not contain more than 3% active ingredient. We didn't lose hope, we found a product that works: SkinMedica's Dermal Repair Cream (are you seeing a pattern?). Dermal Repair cream not only moisturizes, but also contains high levels of Vitamins C and E, Vitamin B-5 (used to bind moisture to surface layers of skin), Hyaluronic Acid (which naturally occurs in the body and produces that "plump" look in the skin) and other powerful ingredients.

So, there you have it in a nutshell, our secrets to making free radicals bounce off of us. Simple, right?