Question: Everyone seems to be talking
about the wondrous benefits of antioxidants. Are they good for
the skin? Do acne treatments typically have antioxidants?
Answer:
If you guessed that antioxidants are compounds that work against
oxidants, you’d be correct. But, what are oxidants –
and what’s the benefit of working against them?
Oxidants
are chemical entities that ‘oxidize’ other chemical
entities. If you’re scientifically oriented and would like
to know the technical side of what that means, Wikipedia
has a great discussion of what that means. But, for our purposes
here, let’s look at it in a broader, less technical way.
In
many ways, you can think of oxidants as agents that promote the
breaking down other compounds or structures. When a nail gets
rusty, that’s because of oxidation. When clothing breaks
down because the bleach was too strong, that’s oxidation.
When an explosive blows up, it’s often from oxidation.
That
same effect occurs at the cellular level. When oxidizing agents
are present, cells and their internal structures can be damaged.
In many ways, the aging process is defined by the accumulation
of oxidant damage to cells. The oxidants causing the damage can
come from a variety of sources ranging from pollutants in the
environment to internal processes like inflammation.
But,
don’t think that the oxidant effect is all bad. The body,
in fact, uses oxidation as a normal part of its function. For
example, a key part of the body’s defense from bacteria
and other invaders is to destroy them by using oxidizing agents.
The body’s inflammatory processes can also make use of oxidizing
compounds. The key is where and how the oxidant effect is taking
place.
Because
of the damage that oxidants can cause, there are defense mechanisms
present in the body. They take the form of chemical processes
that neutralize the oxidants, prevent their damage and repair
it when it has occurred. Vitamins such as E and C are key parts
of this protection, as are a wide range of other nutrients. And,
as such, they are known as ‘antioxidants’ –
because of their ‘anti’ function in the face of ‘oxidants’.
That’s what antioxidants are. It’s what they do.
So,
with that understanding in hand, we can look at how oxidants and
antioxidants relate to the skin and to acne. To answer your question,
yes antioxidants are good for the skin. As we noted, the aging
process in many ways comes down to the accumulation of the destructive
effects of oxidation. Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise
that there is good evidence that the appropriate use of antioxidants
can help slow some of the effects of aging on the skin.
Also,
since one of the effects of inflammation is the increase in oxidant
stress on the surrounding area, those things that cause inflammation
in the skin can contribute to damage via their oxidizing effects.
Acne is a good example of an inflammatory process in the skin.
UV damage can also stimulate some inflammatory response, and this
may in turn contribute to oxidant damage.
So,
in answer to your second question, yes antioxidants can be helpful
for skin with acne. That’s not to say that antioxidants
can cure acne – just that the antioxidants can be helpful
in restoring the normal skin environment.
Which
brings us to one of the conundrums faced by formulators creating
an acne treatment product. Benzoyl peroxide is a great medication
for treating acne. But, it is specifically an oxidant. That’s
how it works its effect – through the oxidizing damage done
to the bacteria that cause acne. But if you put an oxidant into
the product along with an antioxidant, you end up neutralizing
both items. Sort of like mixing hot water with cold water –
you end up with neither.
So,
generally speaking, in acne treatments that use benzoyl peroxide,
you won’t find antioxidants present. You don’t want
them present if they’re going to prevent the benzoyl peroxide
from working. So, it’s also probably a bad idea to put an
antioxidant product over the acne treatment as well.
The
approach taken by AcneRecovery actually captures both the benefits
of benzoyl peroxide and antioxidants. How? By using them at different
times of the day. The benzoyl peroxide (Treatment Lotion) is used
at night without being inhibited by antioxidants (though irritation
is minimized by its time-release formulation as well as its adjustability).
Then, come morning, the daytime Repair Lotion has no benzoyl peroxide
(using salicylic acid instead), so has multiple antioxidants present
in the formulation.
If
you have a question that you haven't been able to find an answer
to on this site, please send your question about acne to Dr.
Wilkinson.
