Skin is protected from the harmful effects of free radicals by the presence of an\nendogenous antioxidant system. However, when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation,\nthere is an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants, leading to oxidative stress and\nphotoaging of the skin. It has been described that free radicals and other reactive species\ncan cause severe damage to cells and cell components of the skin, which results in skin\naging and cancer. To prevent these actions on skin, the use of topical antioxidant\nsupplementation is a strategy used in the cosmetics industry and these antioxidants act on\nquenching free radicals. There are many studies that demonstrated the antioxidant activity\nof many phytochemicals or bioactive compounds by free radical scavenging. However,\nmany bioactive substances are unstable when exposed to light or lose activity during\nstorage. The potential sensitivity of these substances to light exposure is of importance in\ncosmetic formulations applied to skin because photo-degradation might occur, reducing\ntheir activity. One strategy to reduce this effect on the skin is the preparation of different\ntypes of nanomaterials that allow the encapsulation of the antioxidant substances. Another\nproblem related to some antioxidants is their inefficient percutaneous penetration, which\nlimits the amount of the active ingredient able to reach the site of action in viable\nepidermis and dermis. In this sense, the encapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles could\nenhance the permeation of these substances. Nanocarriers offers several advantages over\nconventional passive delivery, such as increased surface area, higher solubility, improved\nstability, controlled release, reduced skin irritancy, and protection from degradation. The\ndifferent nanocarrier systems used in cosmetics include nanolipid delivery systems such as\nsolid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), nanoemulsions (NEs), nanoparticles (NP) suspension, and polymer NPs, among others. In this review, we\npresent the different types of nanomaterials used in cosmetic formulations to obtain the\nbest effect of antioxidants applied onto the skin.
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