June 2004
Dear Paula,
I'm so confused. It seems every time I read a fashion magazine, talk to a cosmetics salesperson, or watch an infomercial (I know, I need to stop doing this), there is always some special, super-potent, best-of-the-best, most stable antioxidant being touted. I'm concerned that I may be missing out on an important ingredient that can help my skin. Vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin E, green tea, grape, vitamin A, the list seems endless. Do you know which one is the best?

Cindy, Chicago, IL

Dear Cindy,
To put your mind at ease, there isn't a best antioxidant ingredient for skin (or any one best ingredient for skin in any category); there are just lots and lots of good options. I wish there was only one super-duper antioxidant because that would really simplify matters for consumers and truly be best for skin, but it just doesn't exist. The research on antioxidants is extensive; a simple medical journal search brings up thousands and thousands of studies. Type "antioxidant" into Google's search page and you get over 1 million hits. Talk about overload! Despite this abundance of information, it is only recently that researchers have learned to reliably measure antioxidant activity in skin. Just because an ingredient is a potent antioxidant doesn't mean it can be absorbed into skin and stay active.

All of the antioxidants you mentioned are excellent options, with vitamins C and E having the greatest amount of research showing their benefit. However, there are many other contenders with potent antioxidant properties, including beta-glucan, selenium, superoxide dismutase, astaxanthin, glutathione, curcumin, turmeric, andrographolide, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, raspberry extract, soy extract, beta-carotene, and resveratrol. Sometime in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later, we will know what the best antioxidant for skin is, but for now the research is too new for anyone to suggest we are even close to knowing which one it is. Your best bet is to look for skin-care products that are loaded with antioxidants, the more the merrier, and higher up on the ingredient list is almost always a good sign (Sources: Free Radical Biology and Medicine, March 2000, pages 871-879; Toxicology in Vitro, October-December 2003, pages 609-613; Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, November 2003, pages 663-669; and Journal of Cosmetic Science, November-December 2003, pages 589-598).