Why it’s important to include antioxidants in your skincare routine – our exposure to UV, ozone and pollution accelerates the natural ageing process:
Pollution has become a widespread and global epidemic. The World Health Organization considers air pollution to be a carcinogen, and has recently published a report revealing pollution claimed a staggering seven million lives worldwide in 2012. Several epidemiological studies across the globe have revealed pollution causes a wide range of damage, ranging from decreased life expectancy, to deadly diseases and visible, premature aging.
The potential for skin damage rapidly accelerates, as pollution levels surge and interact with other environmental aggressors like UV radiation, to create an even more noxious byproduct – ground level ozone.
“Ozone is one of the most toxic and constant forms of pollution,” shares Prof. Valacchi. “Ozone and UV together depletes skin’s protective antioxidants three times more than ozone alone. Our latest research proves that ozone pollution accelerates the natural aging process by creating free radicals, which impair healthy skin cell function, and activating NF-kB, an inflammatory pathway associated with several skin pathologies. The impact of ozone-induced damage is significantly prevented with antioxidants.”
