Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Advanced Questions Antioxidants for the stabilization of UV filters

  • Antioxidants for the stabilization of UV filters

    Posted by Rafacasti on April 26, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    A friend of mine asked me about the action of these componentes in this context and now I’m thinking if there’s a difference between their use in organic filters and in inorganic filters. Does anyone have any experience to share? My questions are:

    1 - Does this stabilization refer to the formulation or the skin? I mean, the objective here is to stabilize the filters (in the formulation) or increase the product’s duration/effectiveness (on the skin)?

    2 - Do all antioxidants act in this way or just a fewer of them? Can someone give me examples?

    3 - There’s a difference in the mechanism of action of antioxidants in organic and inorganic filters?

    4 - Do they have a role as boosters in the preservation of the system? Maybe a synergic contribution to chelating agents and/or preservatives, idk?

    Sorry for so many questions. I’m really trying to understand this topic better so I’m reading some articles about it (I accept recomendations as well).

    Thank you in advance!

    Rafacasti replied 2 years, 7 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • ketchito

    Member
    April 27, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    @Rafacasti Antioxidants work stabilizing mostly organic UV filters, to expand its shelf life. Organic UV filters due to their nature tend to be prone to oxidation. Inorganic filters tend to be more stable, especially the coated ones. Now, antioxidant is a broad term, and there are different compounds that work in specific ways, being the most specialized, the high energy state quenchers. 

  • Rafacasti

    Member
    April 28, 2022 at 11:43 am

    ketchito said:

    @Rafacasti Antioxidants work stabilizing mostly organic UV filters, to expand its shelf life. Organic UV filters due to their nature tend to be prone to oxidation. Inorganic filters tend to be more stable, especially the coated ones. Now, antioxidant is a broad term, and there are different compounds that work in specific ways, being the most specialized, the high energy state quenchers. 

    Thank you @ketchito!

    Do they also improve the skin protection against UV rays or this is a job just for the filters?

    ( I think I should used the term “photostability” of the formulation earlier in my questions :sweat_smile: )

  • ketchito

    Member
    April 28, 2022 at 1:04 pm

    @Rafacasti As far as I know, antioxidants once deposited on the skin, help preventing the formation of reactive oxygen species, a type of free radicals, being a secondary aid to skin protection…but only if they didn’t oxidize yet. 

  • Rafacasti

    Member
    April 28, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    ketchito said:

    @Rafacasti As far as I know, antioxidants once deposited on the skin, help preventing the formation of reactive oxygen species, a type of free radicals, being a secondary aid to skin protection…but only if they didn’t oxidize yet. 

    Thank you for the confirmation!  :)

    I found some interesting studies on this emphasizing the synergy between filters and some types of antioxidants and I think I ended up running into a confusion of concepts. Thank you for your help! I’m leaving the references below, in case you may be interested or someone bumps into this topic in the future (:

    1. Hubner, A., Sobreira, F., Vetore Neto, A., Pinto, C. A. S. de O., Dario, M. F., Díaz, I. E. C., … Bacchi, E. M. (2019). The Synergistic Behavior of Antioxidant Phenolic Compounds Obtained from Winemaking Waste’s Valorization, Increased the Efficacy of a Sunscreen System. Antioxidants, 8(11), 530. doi:10.3390/antiox8110530 

    2. Lorigo, M., & Cairrao, E. (2019). Antioxidants as stabilizers of UV filters: an example for the UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate. Biomedical Dermatology, 3(1). doi:10.1186/s41702-019-0048-9 

    3. Samper, M. D., Fages, E., Fenollar, O., Boronat, T., & Balart, R. (2012). The potential of flavonoids as natural antioxidants and UV light stabilizers for polypropylene. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 129(4), 1707–1716. doi:10.1002/app.38871

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