When talking about beauty and skin health, the term “free radicals” comes up often, and usually without an explanation or a discussion about what they are, and why they are so harmful.

Background

When delving into the problem of free radicals, a person has to do a bit of recall from high school chemistry class when the teacher was discussing the way that atoms work, and how they form molecules. Atoms consist of a nucleus, neutrons, protons and electrons. The number of protons in the atom’s nucleus determines the number of electrons surrounding the atom. Protons are positively charged particles, and electrons are negatively charged particles. Electrons are what orbit an atom, and bond together atoms to form molecules. They surround the atom in one or more “shells”, the first of which is full when there are 2 electrons, the second full when there are 8, and so on. Atoms often make their outer share stable by sharing electrons in a molecule.

What are Free Radicals?

Free radicals are formed when a weak bond in a molecule splits leaving an odd, unpaired electron. These electrons (free radicals) are highly unstable, and try to capture electrons from other compounds to gain stability. They “attack” the nearest stable molecule. When this molecule is attacked, it becomes unstable causing a chain reaction of free radicals, finally resulting in the disruption of the living cell. Some free radicals can be handled by your body naturally, but many environmental factors cause an increase in free radicals that can cause damage. Free radical damage accumulates with age.

What Can be Done About them?

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