An essential component of the Bend Beauty Skin Climate story is free radical stress. Understanding how this occurs and contributes to poor Skin Climate will allow us to dive deeper into this concept. 

Two commonly used terms related to skin health are free radicals and anti-oxidants. We see and hear these words everywhere – particularly when it comes to skincare products – but do we really know what these terms and their impacts are?

Free Radicals

Simply put, free radicals are atoms that have become unstable. Now, let’s get into some chemistry. Atoms are surrounded by shells (layers) of electrons. When one shell is full, electrons begin building the next outer layer. However, when there are not enough electrons around an atom, the atom will attempt to bond with a neighbouring atom to share electrons. This is an unstable atom or free radical. When this process continues, it causes oxidative stress which affects the skin by accelerating the effects of skin aging (wrinkles, age spots, and skin laxity).

What Causes Free Radicals?   

We know free radicals are bad, so how do we avoid them? Many external factors contribute to free radicals such as pollution, UV exposure, smoking, alcohol, and poor nutrition. Our bodies also naturally produce free radicals, so we are not able to eliminate their occurrence entirely.

Antioxidants   

Now that we know what free radicals are and where they come from, let’s look at how we can combat them. Anti-oxidants are molecules that donate electrons to free radicals to return them to stability. Anti-oxidants are able to contribute these electrons without becoming unstable themselves, thus creating an excellent method to reduce potential damage. Anti-oxidants are found in a variety of foods (berries, citrus fruits, green tea, and argan oil), but can also be found in topical products and supplements. Bend Beauty Renew + Protect as well as Marine Collagen + Co-Factors contain these essential anti-oxidants to fight free radical damage, optimizing skin climate.