Younger skin with Coenzyme Q10?

Kim Hee-Seon for DHC Korea

Image credit: Kim Hee-Seon for DHC Korea advertisement

Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 is well known as an anti-aging agent and often used as a food supplement. Increasingly, there are more skin care products in the market with Coenzyme Q10, promising to give us younger looking skin.

From what I’ve gathered, Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like substance present in every cell of the body and improves both the rate as well as efficiency of energy production in the cells. It has been said that Coenzyme Q10 has the ability to reduce cancer tumors and minimize stroke consequences. In addition, it is also a powerful fat-soluble antioxidant that helps prevent free-radical damage to the skin’s surface lipids.

Under perfect conditions, the body can produce as much CoQ10 as it needs. However, various factors, such as aging, stress and some medications, can impair that ability and lower the levels of CoQ10 in the body. As a result, CoQ10 concentrations in skin decline significantly in older people. The loss of this protective nutrient is a likely cause of the increased incidences of skin diseases and photoaging seen in aging adults.

Studies show that CoQ10 can effectively counteract free radical damage and provide significant protection against UVA-induced depletion of cell membrane. In other words, it will prevent damage to collagen and elastin production process and help you avoid wrinkles.

However, it is unclear at this stage whether these products are effective as unlike health benefits, only a few studies have shown reduction in fine wrinkles around the eyes while other studies show that application before sun exposure protects against sun damage. It is also unclear whether these products contain sufficient concentration of active Coenzyme Q10 as this antioxidant, just like vitamin C, can be inactivated by oxygen from the air.

Still, it does look like we will be seeing more products with Coenzyme Q10 promising to deliver anti-aging skin benefits as companies continue to push them out, and we continuing to buy them off the shelves in our quest for younger looking skin.