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Antioxidants have long been hailed as a wonder cure for aging skin. But what exactly are they and what is that they do? Let's see.

An antioxidant is basically a molecule that can slow down or prevent the oxidation of another molecule. In molecular terms, the oxidation of molecules refers to a chemical reaction by which the electrons of that molecule are transferred to an oxidizing agent. The process produces free radicals that, in turn, lead to a cell-damaging, chain reaction.

Antioxidants deter these chain reactions by being oxidized themselves.

Skin can also be affected by free radicals. Actually, aging has been linked to the creation of free radicals. How can this be?

One of the main producers of free radicals are UV rays. In the case of skin, the chain reactions destroy skin cells and an lead to a number of skin problems such as wrinkles, dry skin and age spots. Luckily, antioxidants help skin regain its health.

Antioxidants and Skin Care

There are basically two kinds of antioxidants for skin: those you ingest and those you apply directly to your skin. The first kind depends on your diet while the second kind is basically topical antioxidants for skin.

Let's begin with the first type. What you eat plays a very important part in how much antioxidants you receive. The following list contains some of the best sources for antioxidants:

*Vitamin A or Beta Carotene.

*Vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid.

*Vitamin E.

Beta-carotene helps protect dark green, yellow and orange vegetables from solar radiation. It is believed that it does the same for the human body. Tomatoes, cantaloupes, peaches, apricots, carrots, squash and sweet potatoes have a high concentration of beta-carotene.

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant as well as fulfilling other roles in the body. The best sources of Vitamin C are citrus fruits, strawberries, green peppers, broccoli, raw cabbage and leafy, green vegetables.

Vitamin E is known for protecting lipid structures such as cell membranes. The skin has a high unsaturated fatty acid content which makes Vitamin E an ideal component for it. Nuts, seeds, whole grains, leafy, green vegetables and fish products are all good sources of Vitamin E.

Topical solutions and creams are the second type of antioxidants. All of the vitamins mentioned above can be added to topical products to help eliminate free radicals on the skin. Another substance that has recently been included in topical creams due to its excellent antioxidant properties is snail serum.

Snail serum is derived from the common brown snail, Helix aspersa. Because human skin and snail serum contain the same basic elements, the latter is the perfect addition to any antioxidant cream.