There are so many beauty terms that it can make your head spin. Confused as to what it all means? Our Glam Glossary will help you sort it all out.  Follow Allison each week in her quest to decode popular beauty terms, from Alpha Hydroxy Acids to Zinc Oxide.

Free Radicals

Fight free radicals with antioxidant-rich skin treatments

What are they? Free radicals are the by-products of oxygen during normal cellular metabolism. The result is unstable oxygen molecules – instead of having two electrons, they have only one, and must seek out a mate. They steal electrons from proteins and cell membranes and result in damaged tissue.

Free radicals are also thought to alter a cell’s genetic makeup and might therefore be a major cause of cancer. They are produced by every-day human metabolism but can be significantly increased by smoking, alcohol, obesity, stress and exposure to heavy sun or radiation.

How do you deal? Antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E, green tea, lipoic acid) come to the rescue!  They counteract the process of free radicals by binding to them and repairing cell damage. Antioxidants usually do this naturally, but if the level of free radicals has significantly increased, there are antioxidant products, like creams, ointments and vitamin supplements, that are available for battle. Topical antioxidant products can also help to reduce sun damage.

Photo Credit: Philosophy, Dr. Brandt