Antioxidants and the Skin

Abstract

Skin is the largest and outmost organ of the body acting as a biological barrier to offer thermal insulation, prevent water loss, and protect the internal organs from the external environment and foreign substances. It is approximately 1.8 to 2 square meters, less than 2 mm thick and composed of several layers. The outmost layer, the epidermis, is further divided into stratum corneum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, and stratum basale. Located at the interface between body and environment, the stratum corneum (SC), is composed of corneocytes embedded into lipidic lamellae and directly exposed to a prooxidative environment, including air pollutants, UV solar light, chemical oxidants, and microorganisms. To counteract oxidative injury of structural lipids and proteins, human skin is equipped with a network of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems. This book consisting of 9 Chapters and V Appendices, reports an overview of information on the skin antioxidants and their use in the cosmetic field, including the techniques necessary for controlling and measuring their effectiveness, when used in antioxidant treatments.