Have you ever wondered what goes on with a sunburn?

Typically, you are outside (like on the beach) exposed to the sun, but the sunburn may not appear until hours later. What gives? Actually, a “sunburn” is a chemical reaction in your skin cells that requires a little bit of time to manifest itself.

Have you ever heard of “oxidation?” This is the reaction that happens to an avocado when it is cut in half. If you leave it on the countertop, within minutes, the vibrant green of the avocado begins to turn brown and, eventually, black. Oxidation is also the rust that “grows” on bikes when left in the rain or the “black spots” that begin to show on ripe bananas.

Similarly, a sunburn reaction is another form of oxidation, complete with the pain, redness, and discoloration.

This time, the reactants are proteins found in the deeper layered skin cells that are usually available to protect the skin from bacteria, fungus, and viruses. These proteins are called “Reactive OXIDATIVE Species, also known as ROS. When activated by energy from the sun, pollutants, stress, or even hormones—ROS become highly negatively charged particles inside the skin cells. Because of their negative attraction, they seek and are attracted to positively charged cell walls, the nucleus, and other parts of the cell where they bind and destroy these components.

The delayed reaction of a sunburn produces pain, swelling, redness, and sometimes a fever. Later ramifications from this damage can include premature skin cell death (peeling), burns, increased pigmentation, age spots, wrinkling of the skin, and even mutation of cells into cancer cells.

Shielding the skin from potential damage from sunburn requires consistent, proactive planning. The effects of over-exposure are cumulative over the course of years. Some of these effects may not be seen for decades. Most of us understand the need to place sunblock on our skin before spending a day at the beach. Given the wealth of evidence and information, we are starting to appreciate that when it comes to caring for one’s skin health, the sun is truly not our friend.

Sunblocks are usually some form of “occludent” that serves to block out damaging sun rays. They are ranked using an SPF (sun protection factor). Generally, the most effective sunblocks have an SPF factor of 40-50.

Less understood is the SPF that is associated with skin, having the proper nutrient elements in their deeper layers to prevent the oxidative reaction of the ROS.

One of the most important nutrients is ACTIVE forms of Vitamin C.

Humans do not produce vitamin C. We derive our Vitamin C from plants. Virtually all plants produce Vitamin C, as it serves as a protective antioxidant as the plant is exposed to the sun, collecting needed energy through photosynthesis. Without this, plants would “bake” as they sit all day in the sun.

Therefore, humans must either consume Vitamin C through food, a supplement intake or use a topical cream containing Vitamin C. Since most of the ingested Vitamin C fails to reach the skin, the method of choice in providing the skin with efficacious Vitamin C is by topical application.

Revisiting the “chemical reaction of oxidation” of the skin or the sunburn reaction, effective Vitamin C must reach the deeper layers of the skin as a positively charged free radical. Active Vitamin C, which is a positive-charged free radical, is attracted to the negatively charged, free radical ROS. The result is the ROS becomes neutralized and can no longer damage skin cells. Essentially, the antioxidant binds to the oxidant to render it neutral.

Although this mechanism for skin protection is different from sunscreen lotions, it does carry an SPF value of around 15. It is always recommended that if one intends to spend the day in the sun, it is best to consider using both an efficacious Vitamin C serum plus an occludent sunscreen for maximum shielding from sun damage.

One of the critical elements to Vitamin C topicals involves the need to preserve the efficacious Vitamin C while in the product container.

Because viable, unstable Vitamin C is necessary to neutralize the ROS in the deeper skin layers, an effective product must be preserved in the product’s container, be able to cross the skin barrier to be delivered to the deeper layers of the skin, and then become the positively charged free radical that can effectively neutralize the ROS.

This is a daunting order for skincare formulators and something that many products cannot deliver. One of the leading skincare formulators of our time, Dr. Ron DiSalvo, overcame these obstacles when he designed his Comprehensive OrangeDaily Vitamin C Skin Care System. Each of his 7 products contains a highly effective form of Vitamin C.

By using the products as a daily system: Daily Cleanser, Toner, 10% Vitamin C serum, and Moisturizer as the core 4 products to deliver Vitamin C to the skin, DiSalvo allowed enough activated vitamin C to build a reservoir effect in the skin. Furthermore, he was able to preserve the Vitamin C for up to 4 years in the product container by encapsulating it in dimethicone—a silicone product that not only preserves the active Vitamin C but also helps in the transport of the product to the deeper layers of the skin.

Because the OrangeDaily system of products is made in the USA, formulated under stringent standards and sourced with the best ingredients, sunbathers can be confident that they are providing themselves with the best skin antioxidants.

Anyone planning to be in the sun during summers should consider that sunblock coupled with an OrangeDaily Vitamin C supplement is a better option for keeping their skin away from the damaging effects of the sun.

If you would like to read more about Skin Health, the following blogs may be a great read:

• Factors in the cause of skin damage in which we speak about environmental aggressors
• The clinical objectives of OrangeDaily detailing the benefits of the OrangeDaily system

Healthy Skin is Beautiful Skin!

Stay tuned for our Next Blog – Chasing the Unicorn!

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