Astaxanthin Is About To Transform Men's Skincare

Astaxanthin: nature’s ultimate antioxidant that's 6000X more powerful than vitamin C and should be in your skincare routine

Astaxanthin is about to have a huge impact on how you care for your skin. When you consider that the sun causes 90% of the signs of aging, the transformative potential of this recently explored anti-aging active botanical is nothing short of amazing. 

The science is clear: Astaxanthin reverses the signs of aging from sun damage at the cellular level. 

 

What is Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is the brilliant red carotenoid (organic pigment) that is produced in large concentrations by microalgae called Haematococcus pluvialis. Salmon, shellfish, and even flamingos get their reddish pink color from eating so much of this microalgae. Because this algae is often exposed to drought and extreme levels of UV radiation, the algae produces astaxanthin as a survival mechanism. In fact, so much astaxanthin is produced that the entire cellular structure of the algae turns bright red. This powerful antioxidant serves as a natural barrier that enables the algae to survive in drought conditions for months and even years and still recover its suppleness.

The benefits of astaxanthin extend to humans as well, clinical trials have shown it has tremendous health benefits for the whole body. The key is in natural astaxanthin's unique molecular structure, and its ability to penetrate beyond the cell membrane to protect the cell from both the inside and out. Unlike other antioxidants, it can encompass the whole cell and behaves like a force field to protect it from environmental stressors like UV radiation and pollutants.

 

Natural Astaxanthin: The Superhero of Antioxidants

When you spend time in the Sun or your skin is exposed to damaging pollution or extreme temperatures, the damage is referred to as oxidative stress. This oxidative stress is responsible for all sorts of mayhem from wrinkles and inflammation to cancer which is why combatting this damage is so important. That's where antioxidants come in. These helpful molecules stop the damage in its tracks but not all antioxidants are made equal. Recent studies have found that natural astaxanthin is a significantly more powerful antioxidant than resveratrol, CoQ10, vitamin C, and vitamin E. That's why astaxanthin can be a powerful tool to help protect your skin from aging and the damaging UV rays of the sun.

 

What Astaxanthin Does For Your Skin?

In terms of its power to heal and restore your skin to a more youthful look and glow, natural astaxanthin stands alone.

Astaxanthin has been shown to:

reduce & prevent further inflammation eleviate redness and blotchiness brighten overall complexion reduce wrinkle depth making skin smoother reduce age spot size

increase elasticity and firmness moisturize and keep skin hydrated reduce and repair damage after sunburn protect against UV rays repair DNA damage

One study found just how powerful Astaxanthin is. For 8 weeks subjects used a daily dose of astaxanthin both orally and topically. After this time, they found improved skin texture and elasticity, reduced age spot size, minimized crow’s feet, and so much more. Top dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, MD, has written about the outstanding antiaging properties of astaxanthin and its unique role in protecting skin cells, stating how effectively "it provides wrinkle reduction and reduces hyperpigmentation (better known as age spots).” On the Oprah Winfrey show, he extolled that, "Astaxanthin is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that gives you that beautiful, healthy glow.” 

Astaxanthin is also effective against inflammation, reducing DNA oxidative damage and naturally enhancing the immune response to further reduce damage. Dr. Susan Smith Jones, PhD, Author, and Holistic Health Educator says, "Astaxanthin is a powerhouse of antioxidant support for the human body. Research has shown that it can block inflammatory Cox-2 enzymes, which is essential for promoting joint health and Science has proven it is an effective supplement for joint and skin health."

Keep in mind that these fantastic claims aren’t being made by overzealous marketing agencies. They’re the conclusion from numerous studies (some included in this post) made by biologists, chemists and clinical scientists who have confirmed natural astaxanthin’s unrivaled antioxidant and health properties. 

Another study even discussed astaxanthin's "potential to provide total protection against all the UVR related skin problems starting from the acute effects of sunburn, pigmentation, erythema to chronic effects of inflammation, photoaging and skin cancer.” 

Does this mean you can forget about your daily sunscreen? No, at the moment sun screen is currently the best protection we have against photoaging and UV radiation but the results from these studies are certainly promising.

 

Nature is Not Easily Imitated – Avoid Synthetic Astaxanthin

There is a big, big difference however, between natural Astaxanthin and its distant cousin, synthetic Astaxanthin (which is produced from petrochemicals). Despite the synthetic version being described as a “nature identical" or “nature equivalent,” synthetic astaxanthin has little restorative properties for the skin. It is lacking the rich cocktail of beta-carotene, lutein and canthaxanthin which enhance the effect of astaxanthin and makes it far more effective as an antioxidant and cell energizer. 

 

More Studies Confirm Natural Astaxanthin’s Effectiveness

Below are more peer-reviewed journal articles that highlight natural astaxanthin’s power to reverse sun damage and the signs of aging naturally:

• Researchers chose Natural Astaxanthin from a variety of antioxidants to study the repair of oxidative stress-induced skin damage. This study compared the effects of Natural Astaxanthin with doxycycline (a common antibiotic) and found that Astaxanthin is a better alternative for collagen maintenance  and production (Chou et al., 2016).
• In a recent study, Astaxanthin successfully inhibited damage from both UVA and UVB and suppressed the secretion of “wrinkle-inducing cytokines” (Nakajima et al., 2016).
• Hyper-pigmentation can be a big problem as we age, especially when it manifests as age spots. In a model of skin pigmentation done in Japan, Astaxanthin was found to almost completely inhibit this pigmentation (Nakajima et al., 2012).
• Astaxanthin was found to prevent UV-induced skin damage and inhibit melanin production (Hama et al., 2012).
• Finally, a fascinating study in mice showed that eye drops with Astaxanthin prevented UV damage to the eyes (Lennikov et al., 2012).

 

If you’ve read this far, you know why natural astaxanthin is one of our hero ingredients in our Face Serum, our top-selling, anti-aging moisturizer. RHINO MUD is an all-natural, balm-based skincare line for guys. It’s made to last all day, in any condition, and goes on fast and clean. Of course, RHINO MUD contains ZERO alcohols, synthetics, sulfates, petrochemicals, parabens, or other toxic ingredients that are used in the vast majority of skincare products. 

RHINO MUD with natural astaxanthin... It’s naturally good for your manhide.