Antioxidant skin care has seen a surge in popularity, especially since consumers have taken a greater interest in active botanicals and natural alternatives. Society has become more mindful of the environment and more concerned about the safety of the ingredients in the products they use.

The Good satisfies every criteria on your list. Our natural, sustainable antioxidant face serum is proven to deliver meaningful benefits to the appearance and overall health of your skin. These benefits can partially be attributed to The Good’s extremely high antioxidant content. 

What is an Antioxidant?

Antioxidants are naturally occurring compounds that prevent oxidative stress. Some chemical reactions within the body and free-floating chemicals in the air damage the cells they come into contact with. They damage cells from the inside of the body, as well as the cells on the outside of the body.

Antioxidants work by sparing their electrons. Free radicals are also known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Any free radical looking to damage a cell will steal the electrons from an antioxidant. As free-radical scavengers, antioxidants protect your healthy cells by acting as a buffer as they sacrifice themselves at no cost to your health. 

Incorporate Antioxidants To Your Diet 

The best source of antioxidants are plant-based foods, especially vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables. Commonly referred to as ‘superfoods,’ try to include the following into your diet:

Vitamin A: Dairy products, eggs, and liver

Vitamin C: Fruits and vegetables like berries, strawberries, oranges, and pink grapefruit

Vitamin E: Nuts like peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts, lentils, and seeds, sunflower seeds, vegetable oils, avocado, pumpkin, and leafy green vegetables

Beta Carotene: Fruits and vegetables like mangoes, apricots, peas, spinach, and carrots

Lutein: Leafy vegetables like kale, kiwi, broccoli, brussels sprouts, papaya, cantaloupe, corn, and oranges 

Lycopene: Red and pink fruits like tomatoes and watermelon

Selenium: Rice, wheat, wheat germ, legumes, and whole grains

Resveratrol: Red and white wine, berries, peanuts, and grapes

Artichokes are also a great source of fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. You can also include foods like sweet potatoes, poultry, cocoa, dark chocolate, grapes, spices, herbs, and red wine. In addition, opt for antioxidant supplements to help reach your daily nutritional goals when food is not enough.

However, it is important to note that you must always consume foods in moderation. A high intake of beta carotene has been linked to an increased risk of lung conditions among smokers. 

The Benefits of Antioxidants in Skincare

Fresh air is necessary for quality health. Unfortunately, most of us don’t live out near the mountains or in a sprawling meadow. In fact, many of us live around traffic and factories. There are emissions in the air and chemicals floating all around us. 

These chemicals come into contact with your skin. When they reach the surface, they can damage the healthy cells resting on top. This premature damage or death of skin cells can leave skin looking damaged or feeling dry, exacerbating the natural signs of aging. 

Topically applied antioxidants encourage free radicals to take the electrons they’re seeking from the antioxidants. They come into contact with the antioxidants before they come into contact with your skin, as the antioxidants create a barrier. 

The More, The Healthier

Antioxidants are highly beneficial in skincare. The term is also loosely regulated. Any skin care product that contains antioxidant ingredients is technically an antioxidant skincare product. The packaging never states how many antioxidants are contained in each jar, tube, or bottle of the product. 

Minimal antioxidants mean minimal antioxidant power. If you want thorough protection, you need a wealth of antioxidants. The higher the antioxidant content of your skincare, the greater the chances you’ll receive sufficient protection from the antioxidants.

Brands aren’t required to test how many antioxidant parts per million are in their product, but Caldera + Lab wanted to. We needed to know precisely how beneficial our skincare products could be. 

In a first-of-its-kind study, we determined that there are over 3.4 million antioxidant units in a single drop of The Good. A single application is several drops, boasting up to (or over) 20 million antioxidant units per application.

We believe in the potential benefits of antioxidants, and we also believe people should know what they’re putting on their faces. We’re confident that our high antioxidant content will outshine the antioxidant content of other skincare products, although we cannot know for sure. No one else has conducted the same unique test and published the results.

How Does a Serum Work?

Our cleanser, serum, and moisturizer all contain antioxidants. Most people are familiar with how a cleanser works, and moisturizer is well understood as a skincare product. Serums are a little bit different.

Serums are thin, highly-concentrated skincare products with beneficial active ingredients. Small particle sizes and a watery texture make it easy for your skin to drink up serums, delivering benefits to the deeper layer of your skin.

Serums can hydrate the skin and deliver benefits from below the surface, fortifying it from the inside out. Serums do most of the heavy lifting in conjunction with your skincare routine, with their efforts supported by a thorough cleanse before application and the application of moisturizer afterward.

Cleansing your skin removes debris from the surface, allowing a clear pathway for the serum to be absorbed by the skin. Moisturizer is applied on top, sealing in your serum and creating a barrier between your skin and free radicals that may be lurking in the air around you. 

What’s in the Good?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when selecting a skincare serum. You want the benefits of antioxidants, but you likely have multiple skincare concerns you’d like to address. 

This makes the process of choosing a serum somewhat convoluted. Why would you want to select between antioxidant protection, deep hydration, toned skin, and improvement in the appearance of fine lines? 

In an ideal scenario, you’d be able to experience all of the benefits from a single product. It’s more environmentally friendly to purchase a single product that meets all of your needs than it is to line your bathroom counter with dozens of bottles of products you’re constantly rotating. 

This is the problem that The Good is designed to solve. The Good is packed with clinically proven botanicals that address the majority of skincare concerns simultaneously, all while providing antioxidant protection. 

Hydrating Ingredients

Some of the most essential ingredients to help naturally hydrate skin from within while providing a boost of antioxidant-rich vitamins include:

• Sunflower seed oil
• Meadowfoam seed oil
• Apricot kernel oil
• Jojoba oil
• Fireweed
• Echinacea
  
  

Ingredients To Promote Even Skintone and the Reduction of Dark Spots

Ingredients that nourish the skin and work to restore balance includes:

• Prickly pear oil
• Frankincense
• Seabuckthorn
• Red raspberry
• Nettle

In addition, Alfalfa and yarrow act as skin nutrients that can work to reduce the appearance of dark spots and promote an even skin tone. 

Reducing the Appearance of Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Ingredients like Huang Qi, CoEnzyme Q10, echinacea, and spilanthes extract help to promote healing within your skin. When the skin is healthy and well-moisturized, aging signs like fine lines and wrinkles are less noticeable. 

We Studied the Effects of The Good

Once we found our dream team of ingredients, we needed to be sure they all played well together. That’s why we conducted an extensive clinical trial of our skincare serum. We recruited 53 participants and observed the effects of The Good over a period of 60 days. 

We chose a diverse swatch of participants of different ethnicities, skin types, skin tones, and ages. A serum is only worth its weight if it works for everyone. At the end of our trial, an average of 96% of participants reported healthier-looking skin. 

In fact, 91% of participants said their skin appeared smoother and was less dry. 89% of participants felt their skin was more radiant, 87% saw a visible reduction of the appearance of fine lines, and 85% experienced a more even skin tone.

Anecdotal evidence wasn’t enough. We wanted to be sure that imaging techniques were able to confirm these results. We used expert clinical grading and instrumental assessment to determine that the effects were clinically measurable. 

Try the Good

Skincare companies can make claims about antioxidants and benefits all day long, but not many of them have gone to the same lengths Caldera + Lab has to assure our serum is really capable of delivering. Use The Good in conjunction with The Clean Slate cleanser and The Base Layer moisturizer for the full effect.

Sources:

Understanding antioxidants | Harvard Health

Air pollution and the skin | Frontiers in Environmental Science

How Active Ingredients Act on Skin | Northwestern Medicine