TOP 3 ANTI-AGING PRODUCTS FROM THE ORDINARY – RECOMMENDED BY DR. DRAY
Antioxidant based products are good to include to your skincare routine. Antioxidants when applied to the skin may help in reducing oxidated stress that is generated upon exposure to environmental stressors like pollution, ultraviolet radiation from the sun, tobacco smoke.
Sunscreen helps block out the ultraviolet radiation from the sun and protects the skin from damage, but it cannot protect the skin a 100% and free radicals are still generated. Therefore, the idea of incorporating an antioxidant-based product will help reduce some of the damage caused by those free radicals. In layman’s terms, these products would be good to use for anti-aging purposes and will help make your skin look smoother, healthier, and by default younger.
If you prefer a video format, then you can watch Dr. Dray’s original video on this.
There are several antioxidant-based products out there, but as Dr. Dray says, there is no need to spend a ton of money on these products. There are several affordable and effective products with antioxidants on them. The Ordinary as we all know, is famous for providing affordable products and using evidence-based ingredients in their formulation. The brand offers simple, no nonsense skincare products that are easily available.
Click here for TOP 10 Dr. Dray’s favorites from The Ordinary.
Dermatologist Dr. Dray makes it known that you do not need to use all the antioxidant-based products she recommends. Just pick one and that should be good enough. Dr. Dray recommends the following three antioxidant-based serums that according to her, are the best ones offered by The Ordinary. If I am to listen to anybody with reference to skincare, it will be a board-certified dermatologist, Like Dr. Dray, so keep reading to find out what her top 3 picks are!
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Looking for retinol recommendations by Dr. Dray? Click here!
Top 3 ANTI-AGING PRODUCTS BY THE ORDINARY
1. The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG
This product offered by The Ordinary is surprisingly not as talked about as some of the other products by the brand. You get two antioxidant ingredients with this anti-aging serum, Caffein and EGCG. Caffein is both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Caffein, therefore is not only useful for reducing wrinkles, fine lines, and skin cancer risk, but also helps in improving the appearance of dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
Caffein also reduces the chances of you developing hyperpigmentation, so it is a preventative measure as well. Caffein has also been known to reduce cellulite, dermatologist Dr. Dray recommends rubbing caffein in areas where you have cellulite to help reduce it. There is no miraculous product to help reduce cellulite, cellulite is extremely difficult to get rid of, but there is data that caffein applied to the skin can result in reducing the appearance of cellulite.
Caffein is also helpful for reducing redness, and the appearance of dark undereye circles. Again, like cellulite, dark undereye circles will most likely not disappear if they are hereditary. Be mindful of that before rubbing caffein all around your eyes.
The second antioxidant in this serum, is the EGCG, which dermatologist Dr. Dray calls a golden child. EGCG has anti-cancer properties, has been shown to improve the appearance of pores and minimizes oiliness.
How to use This Serum – Use a few drops of this product to clean skin in the morning. Make sure you use sunscreen over this product. Failing to use a sunscreen over an antioxidant will take your skin a few steps back instead of forward.
Click here for The best Elta MD Sunscreens recommended by Dr. Dray!
2. The Ordinary Euk 134 Serum 0.1%
This product has an enzyme that is naturally present in the skin that helps in converting damaging free radicals to oxygen in water. With age, and exposure to environmental stressors, the levels of this enzyme in our skin decline, and there is evidence that shows that applying this enzyme topically to the skin is greatly beneficial and can help quite a bit in reducing the burden of oxidative stress.
There is some data to support that this is a viable way to reduce oxidative stress in the skin.
How to use this Serum – Use a few drops of this product to clean skin in the morning and put sunscreen on top, just like the caffein based serum mentioned above. Dr. Dray highly recommends using sunscreen on top of any antioxidant-based product. Do not use any acids – alpha hydroxy acids or beta hydroxy acids, alongside this serum. Also, you should stay away from Vitamin C serum in the morning when you use this EUK 134 Serum.
If that is too many restrictions for you, just try one of the other antioxidant-based serums mentioned in this post.
3. The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid
This is another serum that offers two antioxidants – Resveratrol and Ferulic acid.
The former is great for people who suffer from sunspots, or hyperpigmentation. There is a lot of evidence that proves that this ingredient works. It is also anti-inflammatory, helps reduce redness and irritation of the skin. When applied to the skin, resveratrol fights off free radicals and boosts up the bodies own antioxidant pathways.
Ferulic acid is wonderful for reducing the burden of oxidative stress from the sun. It has natural sunscreen properties, but please do not use it as a sunscreen, it is not a substitute for SPF. It does, however, enhance the benefit of wearing sunscreen by pairing it with this product.
This serum helps people with melasma as well, resveratrol is quite well tolerated, ferulic acid might cause irritation so Dr. Dray recommends doing a patch test with this before putting it all over your face.
How to use This Serum – Use a few drops of this product to clean skin in the morning, allow it to absorb fully and then apply sunscreen on top of it. Make sure you use sunscreen over this product. As mentioned before, failing to use a sunscreen over an antioxidant will take your skin a few steps back instead of forward. Do not pair this product with The Ordinary Euk 134 serum.
Wrapping Up
Dr. Dray suggests it would be best to just buy one of these anti-aging serums. Test them first, and slowly incorporate it into your skincare routine. These serums can be used twice a day as well, but if you are just getting started with these serums, it would be best practice to use once a day first and if you find that your skin is tolerating it well, you can increase that to twice a day. Do not forget to apply a sunscreen on top of them during the day!
Including an antioxidant-based product is definitely worth considering, it can help with acne flare-ups, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, visible signs of photoaging and other inflammatory skin conditions.
Cheers to a calmer mind and skin!