Astawhat?

February 12, 2018

One of the great things about creating totally natural based skin care products is that sometimes the combination of ingredients creates great colors.  Take our Vivid Blue Ink Oil and Ink Salve. These products are a beautiful blue-green color. This is from the blend of natural materials, including blue tansy and astaxanthin.  Or our Vitamin C Retinol Intensive, which is a beautiful yellow/gold color. These colors are simply from the natural ingredients we love and use, including Astaxanthin.

Power-Packed Microalgae

Astaxanthin. The crazy strong anti-oxidant that most people have never heard of. I learned about astaxanthin about 5 years ago through my research as the Director of Operations of the private label skin care lab. Once I learned about it, I started putting it in every single skin care product I use, and I started taking it daily in supplement form. My focus is always about reducing inflammation and hydrating from the inside and the outside, and astaxanthin can help with that.

Astaxanthin is a microalgae. It is a 100% natural material and not derived from animals. It is a very popular food for sea life such as shrimp, lobster, and salmon and it does contribute to their red/orange color. Astaxanthin is BRIGHT RED in color and will turn skin care products a yellow/orange color when used. If you ever purchase a skin care product that says it has astaxanthin in it and the product is white or clear, you need to question that.

Skin Benefits of Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is such a powerful anti-oxidant. It is said that it is 10-100 times more powerful than other plant materials like beta-carotene and lycopene.

Astaxanthin, when applied topically and when taken internally, can help protect the body naturally from sun exposure. I remember one vendor telling me at one point that astaxanthin is the sunscreen you wear from the inside!

Astaxanthin is said to be 6000 times more powerful than vitamin c, 550 times more powerful than vitamin e, and 40 times more powerful than beta-carotene at fighting free radicals. This means that products that incorporate astaxanthin will work better at creating healthier skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and at brightening dull skin.

Taking astaxanthin in supplement form and applying it topically has been proven to show a reduction in the signs of aging. An 8-week study was done on 30 women and within those 8 weeks they showed a visible reduction in crow’s feet, age spots, elasticity, skin texture, and moisture content. We purposely include astaxanthin in our skincare to give your skin the best fighting chance at being healthier, more radiant and firmer!