Free Radicals

A crucial factor on your skin and health in general is a term that we may heard million times but probably don't know what it really means: Free radicals.

Everything in the Universe is made up of matter, matter is made up of atoms. In the center of the atom is the nucleus, which consists of positively charged protons and neutrons, that do not have a charge at all. Surrounding the nucleus in circles and at a greater distance are the electrons that carry a negative charge. For an atom to be stable it must have the same amount of protons and electrons.

Free radicals are essentially atoms, (very often oxygen atoms) that lack at least one electron and in their search for another electron to solve the imbalance, they alter other atoms and that triggers a chain reaction that usually results in the destruction of thousands of molecules.

It is normal for our bodies to produce an enormous number of free radicals on our normal biological processes, we have ways of handling them. The issue starts when free radicals cause uncontrolled oxidation. A frequent example is when we have an infection and the body over-responds, our white blood cells produce an excessive amount of free radicals  to try to destroy the intruder. This causes an overspill of free radicals which then makes the person feel ill. Free radicals distort a cell’s capacity to reproduce itself accurately. They damage DNA, weaken cell membranes, fracture elastic fibers, change biochemical compounds within the body and can even kill the cells outright.

What we all have been heard is that free radicals are linked to premature ageing and wrinkling. Now we know why, by damaging the collagen and elastin, causing the skin to become less resilient and more wrinkled. Damage to the DNA of keratinocytes is responsible for pigmented sun spots when melanin production is altered. Melanin is the pigment that colours the skin and is an extremely powerful free radical “soldier”. which means that darker skins have got better natural antioxidant protection than lighter skins.


Just a few more interesting facts:

 One puff of cigarette smoke is reputed to hold over 3 trillion free radicals.

A person who does much strenuous exercise has more free radicals in their body than somebody who is inactive. So beware of excessive exercise without adequate replacement of your free radical brigade. That does not mean that we are encouraging you to be in a lethargic state, just keep the “balance concept”  in your everyday life.