Free radicals damage your skin on a daily basis, causing signs of ageing. But there is a way to fight back! Here we’ll tell you how free radicals damage your skin and how using antioxidant creams can help prevent this damage.
How do free radicals damage the skin?
Free radicals are reactive molecules that your body produces naturally. For example, a free radical might be formed when your body tries to break down toxins like those in cigarette smoke or air pollution.
Once produced, they react with your body in a destructive way, damaging it. For example, they might react with the structure of a protein in your body, causing it to change its shape, and so become worse at its job.
Your skin is rich in proteins, like collagen which keeps skin looking firm and young, or elastin which helps it stretch and not wrinkle. If you are exposed to a lot of free radicals, they can damage enough proteins for it to have a visible effect!
The DNA factor
Another way free radicals harm your skin is through damaging DNA. Instead of reacting with proteins, free radicals can also attack our cell’s DNA, causing irreversible mutations.
These mutations might kill the cell or just stop it being able to product proteins properly. In dangerous cases, they can cause cancer.
How to protect skin from free radical damage
Like free radicals, antioxidants are also naturally produced by the body. They neutralize free radicals by reacting with them before they can damage your proteins or DNA.
Avoiding factors that cause free radicals to form is always a good idea. These include: alcohol, tobacco, pollutants and fried foods. Helpfully, all these things are bad for your skin in other ways too, so cutting down on them will really improve your skin.
A great way we can protect the skin from the dangers of free radicals is to apply topical creams that are full of protective antioxidants. Active Block SPF 25 is the perfect cream for the job. The SPF of 25 blocks harmful UV radiation, while the antioxidant UVA and UVB filters defend against free radicals in the skin, neutralizing them before they can damage your body.
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