CoEnzyme Q10 often nicknamed CoQ10 or even referred to as ubiquinone is a highly effective antioxidant naturally created by the human body. It’s unique among other biologically created antioxidants – it’s the only fat soluble antioxidant your body’s able to self-create. Present within almost every living human cell, CoEnzyme Q10 is essential to everyday respiration, essential to energy (ATP) production and essential to life. Cells requiring significant levels of daily energy e.g. heart and lungs, hold very high concentrations of CoEnzyme Q10, cells with lower energy demands have lower concentrations.
Levels of CoEnzyme Q10 notably decline with age and are said to be one of the best measures of biological youth. Averagely levels begin to fall at 30 years of age, a fall that is accompanied by decreased collagen synthesis, decreased skin resiliency and decreased skin health.
THE BIOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF OPTIMAL COENZYME Q10 LEVELS
CoQ10 is a relatively newly discovered antioxidant. For the little amount of time it’s been studied, several protective qualities have been discovered. CoEnzyme Q10 is noted in research as an;
- Antioxidant, reducing free-radical damage.
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Collagen promoter.
- Sun damage protectant and corrector.
- Lightening and brightening agent.
- Anti-ager acting to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Most notably CoEnzyme Q10 not only helps to hinder ageing processes but can also help to reverse them. Restoring your skin’s levels of CoQ10 is the very first step. Unlike many other anti-ageing actives with molecular weights too large to be absorbed deeply by skin, CoEnzyme Q10 is a relatively small molecule, making it an ideal candidate for topical re-application.
HOW COENZYME Q10 PROTECTS YOUR SKIN AGAINST SUN DAMAGE
UV light is responsible for over 80% of skin ageing un-determined by your DNA. Referred to as the biggest extrinsic ageing factor, controlling sun damage is the most effective way to proactively anti-age your skin.
Exposure to UV light initiates a cascade of reactions that place stress into your skin. UV light releases damaging free radicals and promotes oxidation (the process that turns an apple’s flesh brown). These reactions result in the damage and hardening of important structural skin proteins such as collagen and elastin. It’s predominantly these proteins that help your skin to stay voluminous and to resist fine lines and wrinkles.
Resisting the stress extrinsic ageing factors cause reduces your skin’s supply of ingredients that help it to maintain youthful qualitites. Specifically the oxidation process that exposure to sunlight initiates, is accompanied by a 70% reduction in enzymes specially created by skin to resist it. Studies show that application of CoEnzyme Q10 can help restore these levels to within 20% of normal, to aid and speed the cellular repair required after UV exposure.
COENZYME Q10 AS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
Inflammation is extremely ageing to your skin. Commonly thought of as a bruise or inflamed graze, inflammation is actually much more common at lower, sometimes invisible to the naked eye levels.
Factors that can cause low levels of persistent inflammation include exposure to sunlight, air borne impurities, pollution, stress, heat and more. Extreme inflammation can be seen when catching a sun burn, low levels of inflammation may be seen as small areas of redness or even patches of dry flaky skin.
Inflammation is your body’s natural response to harm. In small amounts it’s needed and necessary, in large quantities it’s damaging and harmful.
Topical application of CoEnzyme Q10 helps to block the biological pathways that cause inflammation. Studies show skin’s healing processes are speeded when treated with CoQ10 versus when treated without. In CoEnzyme Q10 treatment groups inflammation is lowered, healing time is reduced and collagen production is increased.
HOW COENZYME Q10 HELPS BOOST YOUR SKIN’S COLLAGEN LEVELS
Collagen is an extremely important structural protein. It’s found abundantly throughout the human body and in concentrated quantities within fibrous tissues such as skin. Together with elastin, collagen forms a pliable structure that allows your skin to smoothly and uniformly create a resilient barrier against ageing stressors.
When collagen is young and healthy, your skin is plumped and wrinkle free. When collagen is aged and stressed, your skin is laxing and wrinkle full.
As skin ages, collagen levels fall and existing collagen becomes hardened and rigid. These changes track with the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. Re-boosting your skin’s collagen levels helps to prevent and reverse these most common signs of ageing.
Skin healing studies show that topical application of CoEnzyme Q10 boosts collagen production. As skin ages peroxide levels increase – a tell-tale sign of oxidative damage to structural skin proteins such as collagen. With topical application of CoEnzyme Q10 peroxide levels are reduced, an effect that continues to be maintained for a significant amount of time after treatment ends. This shows that not only does CoEnzyme Q10 act as an antioxidant, it can also reverse the ageing cascades that result in collagen degradation.
COENZYME Q10 AS AN ANTI-OXIDANT
One of the most researched functions of CoEnzyme Q10 is as an anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants are vital ingredients to your skin’s health. They provide skin with the tools it needs to resist ageing. Every day, skin guards against an attack of environmental stressors and these occurrences cause your skin’s natural anti-oxidant levels to fall. Applying antioxidants to your skin helps to replenish and restore your skin’s defence system.
CoEnzyme Q10 performs this function very efficiently within skin. The outer most layers of skin are almost solely oil/fat based. These layers provides a waterproof protection locking hydration into skin and keeping irritating impurities out. CoEnzyme Q10 is the only oil soluble vitamin naturally created in the human body – for these reasons it’s very effective at helping to prevent skin damage.
The antioxidant effects of CoEnzyme Q10 are enhanced when combined with complimentary anti-oxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C or carotenoids. When combined their antioxidant action is not just combined, it’s excelled. In these situations 1+1 does not equal 2. 1+1 equals significantly more than their sum.
Enhanced antioxidant protection helps to defend your skin against oxidative damage caused by UV light, pollution impurities, airborne particulates and more.
UVA light is responsible for long term damage to skins collagen and elastin networks. UVA rays are lower energy than UVB light, but are able to penetrate skin to a much deeper level. At these levels, collagen and elastin are abundant. UVA light triggers several chemical processes of which some results in the expression of collagenase, a type of enzyme that destroys collagen. Studies show that topical application of CoEnzyme Q10 is able to significantly supress this process, helping to prevent oxidative damage. The same studies show that CoQ10 application is also associated with a reduction in wrinkle depth. A benefit most likely caused by the ability of CoEnzyme Q10 to not only protect but also to boost collagen production.
HOW COENZYME Q10 HELPS LIGHTEN AND BRIGHTEN YOUR SKIN
As skin ages, skin tone can become patchy and pigmented. Age spots form and minor skin injures can leave areas of markedly significant hyperpigmentation. These changes in skin tone are caused by an un-even creation of melanin, the same pigment responsible for tanning.
CoEnzyme Q10 can inhibit the processes that cause uneven skin tone through its action as a tyrosinase inhibitor. Tyrosinase is an enzyme your body requires to create melanin, when tyrosinase is otherwise engaged, uneven skin tone and areas of hyperpigmentation are resolved.
The processes of lightening and brightening skin tone with active tyrosinase inhibitors like CoEnzyme Q10 is most visible after 4 weeks of treatment. Skin cells are in a constant state of flux with an average turnover rate of 30 days. This rate naturally increases with age, meaning melanin deposits already distributed within your skin, need to be exfoliated away before the lightening and brightening effects of actives such as CoEnzyme Q10 can be seen.
HOW TO INTEGRATE COENZYME Q10 INTO YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE
As with all active skincare ingredients, concentration is key. Much of the research completed into the anti-ageing benefits of CoEnzyme Q10 use the active in quantities of 1% or greater. When skincare contains solely CoEnzyme Q10 as an anti-ageing, antioxidant, the most appropriate level to use would be 1% or greater. When using CoEnzyme Q10 aside complimentary antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, slightly lower concentrations will provide the same key benefits.
Skincare containing CoEnzyme Q10 can be used both morning and night.
After morning use, the benefits will be focused on anti-ageing, anti-oxidant defence.
During evening use, the actives benefits will be focused on repair and ageing reversal.
