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About antioxidants and idebenone

What is an antioxidant?

Antioxidants are substances that protect the cells in your body. Environmental stressors like UV light, air pollution, ozone, cigarette smoke, and even oxygen create damaging by-products — called free radicals — during normal cellular metabolism. Antioxidants scavenge these free radicals and bind to them before they cause damage.

How do free radicals damage skin?

There are three different types of free radical reactions caused by oxidative stress. Primary free radicals (reactive oxygen species) are unstable molecules created as a result of exposure to environmental assaults. Secondary free radicals (reactive carbonyl species) are formed as a result of exposure to primary free radicals and tend to damage the protective lipids of the skin. There is also free radical activity that happens within the surface skin cells themselves. Not all antioxidants have the same protective capabilities. Most antioxidants shield from one type of free radical, and a few of the more potent antioxidant ingredients can attack both primary and secondary free radical damage.

Why is antioxidant protection so important?

Skin has its own antioxidant defenses against daily free radical attacks from sun exposure, pollution, smoke, poor diet and stress. But constant environmental aggression can overwhelm the skin’s ability to fight free radical damage. Lines and wrinkles appear. Uneven pigmentation develops. Skin loses its natural firmness and elasticity. Sun damage mars the complexion. Applying a topical antioxidant, along with a high SPF product, can help protect skin from this damage caused by free radical activity.

Revolutionary Idebenone

Idebenone is an extraordinary antioxidant, first recognized in the medical field for its protective, restorative and corrective capabilities. Now in exclusive PREVAGE® formulas, it has been proven as the only* topical antioxidant that can act on all three levels of free radical assaults, working deep within the surface layers of the skin to restore skin cells. It helps prevent further damage and supports skin’s natural repair mechanisms to help address past damage, and provides the most effective and highest level of antioxidant protection available.*

The discovery and the research

Idebenone is a fine orange powder, originally developed by a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company in 1986. Research scientists in Germany discovered the compound’s potency in preventing cell damage and skin aging, leading to its successful use as a treatment option for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. In the early nineties a group of German scientists researched Idebenone’s ability as an antioxidant when topically applied to skin. In comparing the size of Idebenone to coenzyme Q10, Idebenone is approximately 60% smaller. Because of its small size, Idebenone has a more potent protective and revitalizing effect.

The EPF® Rating

Not all antioxidants are alike, as they vary in potency and their ability to combat free radical stressors. EPF® or Environmental Protection Factor™ is the first ever protocol to rate the protective efficacy against oxidative stress of various topical antioxidants. Idebenone received an EPF® rating of 95 out of 100, higher than the other common antioxidants tested including alpha lipoic acid, kinetin, vitamin C, vitamin E and coenzyme Q10.

Source: Pharma Cosmetix Research L.L.C.

To read more about the EPF test, click here

EPF® and Environmental Protection Factor are certification marks and trademarks owned by Pharma Cosmetix Research, L.L.C.

The Proof

As the clinical and consumer tests prove, PREVAGE® Anti-aging Formulas with Idebenone are an effective way to fight the visible signs of skin aging.