Skin needs nutrition and protection from the inside and from the outside. I love to wear an antioxidant serum as my first protectant in the morning, underneath my sunscreen.
Vitamin C has been the go-to for most women for a couple of decades now, and for good reason. A solid vitamin C serum with a stable formulation of Vitamin C will soak up oxidants in the environment like UV rays and help to keep them from damaging our skin. It doubles up with your sunscreen to provide extra protection.
The brown spots we see on our faces after sun exposure are like rust on a nail that sits outside too long. Rust or brown spots are caused by free radical damage called oxidation, and an effective antioxidant will protect against that harm. When a molecule loses an electron due to a stressor such as sun damage or tissue damage from smoking, for instance, it is called a free radical and free radicals cause harm to parts of cells like the DNA, hence the brown spots and other injury. That’s why we need antioxidants in our diet and on our skin in order to stabilize these rogue molecules. (To read about the value of antioxidants in our diet, see my post on saturated fat and heart disease.)
Natural freckles are beautiful but we should prevent brown spots from the sun.
There are other antioxidant ingredients in skincare these days and resveratrol is fairly new to the game. It is the nutrient in red wine from the skin of red grapes, as well as peanuts and cranberries and a plant called knotweed. It’s been shown to be a powerful antioxidant when applied topically. In the test tube, resveratrol effectively soaks up free radicals and prevents oxidative damage.
As a supplement, the buzz has been around resveratrol’s suspected ability to slow or reverse aging. In clinical studies it increased the lifespans of yeast, worms, fruit flies, fish, and mice but it is not yet proven to have the same effects in humans. For skincare, its proven ability to fight free radicals is just one benefit. In addition, resveratrol has an affinity for estrogen protein receptors, and contributes to the stimulation of collagen types I and II production.
The Ordinary 3% Resveratrol formulation includes 3% Ferulic acid, in a propanediol base. Ferulic acid occurs naturally in leaves and seeds. It is an antioxidant and it serves to augment the activity of the resveratrol. Propanediol is an emollient, and enhances skin penetration, (and it also gets a pass from the Environmental Working Group for being free of environmental toxins.)
This is all great but how does the Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% feel on the skin? The texture is like a cross between a silicone (but it doesn’t contain any silicones) and an oil, so I thought it might be heavy but it’s not.
It feels warm when you rub it in but that dissipates quickly and it absorbs into the skin quickly as well, leaving it very well moisturized. I’ve found that even on dry windy days, my skin stays hydrated. In fact, because of the great absorption, I’ve switched to using this during the day as my go-to antioxidant, and using vitamin C in the evening instead. I find my vitamin C formula with Vitamin E to be a bit sticky and not as comfortable as the resveratrol. With the Ordinary resveratrol my skin feels soft and moist all day. I can’t see going without it now.
As far as price goes for the quality, The Ordinary is known to create very affordable, well-formulated products. The 3% strength is unusual in antioxidant skincare formulations that usually don’t exceed 1% and for the pricetag of around $8 US, I think it’s a bargain.
I’ve heard those with oily skin say it’s a bit heavy for them but it might be that they aren’t allowing enough time for it to soak in. You only need a couple of drops for the whole face. For me this is a find and I highly recommend giving The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% serum a try.
Wishing you glowing skin and great health…
Maria
Do you like products from The Ordinary? Share your favorites in the comments section below!
To read about other good skincare brands see my post about Mychelle and Mad Hippie.
