Dermatologists say that paying extra for expensive vitamins in skin creams that promise to erase fine lines and prevent wrinkles will get you little more than an empty wallet. Antioxidants are known to prevent agents called free radicals from damaging cells in the body and the skin.Free radicals are a result of normal body processes, but they can also be created by exposure to various environmental factors such as smoking or ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and can speed up the aging process.
Burke says "There are three antioxidants that have been proven to decrease the effect of the sun on the skin and actually prevent further damage: selenium, vitamin E, and vitamin C." But the problem with applying antioxidants to the skin to fight aging is that they aren't very well absorbed or only have short-term effects. Recent animal studies have found that when selenium is taken orally or through the skin in the form of L-selenomethionine, it provided protection against both everyday and excessive UV damage.
