Should I be using sunscreen with antioxidants? Do antioxidants prevent sunburn or reverse sun damage?
If you have a question about the benefits of using antioxidant sun cream or after sun, you've come to the right place!
In this post, we explain how the antioxidant actives in our natural and organic sun care collection help protect skin from UV damage.
Key points:
- Sun exposure triggers free radical activity in the skin, which can cause damage
- Plant actives rich in antioxidants help neutralise free radicals
- You can counteract free radical damage by choosing a sunscreen enriched with powerful antioxidants such as Edelweiss and Green Tea
- All Green People sunscreens contain antioxidants, including our antioxidant Scent Free Sun Cream SPF30
- Using an after sun with antioxidants can further help to protect your skin from free radical activity
Why use sunscreen with antioxidants?
There’s more to Green People sunscreen than UV filters! As well as stopping harmful rays from damaging your skin, our natural and organic sunscreens are designed to also play a pivotal role in neutralising free radical damage.
How so? Well, when UV rays come into contact with your skin, they can create ‘free radicals’. These highly active molecules have the potential to create a chain reaction of skin inflammation and damage, leading to premature skin ageing and even serious skin health issues.
That’s where the antioxidants in your Green People sunscreens kick in. Found in a wide range of plants, including Rosemary, Green Tea, and Edelweiss, our antioxidant ingredients safely interact with and neutralise free radicals, protecting your skin and your radiance.
Antioxidant actives in sunscreen
Wondering which antioxidants we use to boost the protective power of your organic sunscreen?
Here are a few ways that we use antioxidants to boost the protective power of our natural and organic sun creams:
Organic Edelweiss
Found in the Alps, Edelweiss Extract has evolved to live in areas where UV light is intense and uses its powerful antioxidant properties to protect skin from photodamage, including free radical damage. Trials have shown that Edelweiss Extract contains high levels of antioxidants when exposed to free radical activity.
Organic Green Tea Extract
Green Tea Extract contains polyphenols that neutralise free radicals. It is also a rich source of Catechin antioxidants which act on free radicals created as a result of UV exposure.
Shop antioxidant sunscreen
Green People’s range of broad-spectrum antioxidant sunscreens for the whole family are all packed with protective antioxidants and skin-friendly ingredients.
Discover our top sellers:
Browse our full range of antioxidant sun creams or take our sun cream quiz to find the best one for you.
Looking for a tan-boosting antioxidant sunscreen?
Looking for an antioxidant sunscreen that supports your tan and protects your skin? Look no further than Edelweiss Sun Cream with Tan Accelerator SPF15.
As well as containing antioxidant-rich plant actives, this natural sunscreen also features Inositol. Derived from the Carob tree, it speeds up the tanning process by 25% and reduces tan fade by 50%!
Edelweiss Sun Cream with Tan Accelerator - SPF15 200ml
Enhance your tan naturally with this SPF15 + tan accelerator
£30.00
Antioxidant after sun
And it's not just our sun creams that use antioxidants, we enrich our after sun lotions with antioxidants, too!
Free radicals can linger on the skin after sun exposure, so we use the following antioxidants in our soothing, cooling after sun collection.
Organic Rosemary
Used in our Hydrating After Sun and Organic Children Aloe Vera Lotion & After Sun, Rosemary contains potent antioxidants called Terpenoids, which help inhibit free radicals' action. Rosemary also has natural anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal for sensitive, irritated skin.
Sequoia Extract
A key active in our Moisturising After Sun with Natural Insect Repellent, Sequoia reduces the formation of free radicals and strengthens internal antioxidant protection, especially the action of antioxidant enzymes.
Browse all antioxidant after sun lotions.
Astaxanthin: The sunscreen-boosting supplement
In addition to regularly applying sunscreen with antioxidants, you can further protect your skin from sun damage by taking Green People’s antioxidant-rich supplement, Age Defy+ Green Beauty with Astaxanthin.
This highly active, nutrient-dense supplement contains concentrated antioxidants, including Astaxanthin, which is 10 times stronger than beta-carotene and up to 500 times stronger than Vitamin E. Green Beauty also contains Seagreens®, Spirulina and Chlorella, all of which are antioxidant powerhouses in their own right.
Age Defy+ Green Beauty With Astaxanthin 60 Caps
Nurture a natural skin glow from within with our organic beauty supplement
£42.00
Research shows that Astaxanthin works as an internal sunscreen, protecting you from the sun’s harmful rays from within, whilst also fighting the signs of skin ageing.
Start taking Green Beauty capsules two weeks before your holiday and while you’re away. You can also incorporate them into your daily routine to keep your levels of protective antioxidants topped up all year round. Try emptying two capsules into a smoothie or juice to give it an extra superfood boost.
We hope you have found our guide to sunscreen antioxidants helpful, for more help finding the best natural sunscreen for your skin, head over to our sun care routine finder. You can also contact our friendly UK customer care team on 01403 740350 or @GreenPeopleUK.
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has over 30 years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry. A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped form the UK's first organic beauty standards, was voted the People’s Choice in the list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty and recognised with a lifetime achievement award at Natural & Organic Product Expo. A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over 10 years working in pharmaceuticals.
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