New results: Q10 and creatine

Beiersdorf introduced the first Nivea skin care product containing the active ingredient Q10 onto the mass market 20 years ago.  

This then kicked off an exceptional success story. 

How does Q10 work?

Facilitated by Q10, hydrogen molecules are converted with oxygen to water and to high-energy ATP in a kind of controlled oxyhydrogen reaction. 

It’s a biochemical pathway that takes place in all body cells, including skin cells. 

The more imperfectly or incompletely this occurs, the more free radicals can be generated as by-products. Unfortunately, this also occurs physiologically during the ageing process – as a metabolic imbalance as it were. Moreover, UV irradiation, smoking and alcohol abuse can also promote the formation of free radicals. These molecules massively damage cells and the surrounding tissue, making our skin age and develop wrinkles. Thus, it is favourable to minimise the free radical overload in order to let skin appear young and stay vital for a longer time.

Exerting this dual function, Q10 can promote proper energy production as a central part of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and it is also able to scavenge free radicals. As a result, essential energy-dependent processes in skin cells can be supported, ranging from cell regeneration in the epidermis to matrix synthesis in the dermis. 

When we are young, all cells are provided with sufficient energy because enough Q10 is produced by the body itself. Unfortunately, both the body’s own Q10 production and the bioavailability of Q10 decrease with age. In addition, skin cells’ metabolic resistance decreases over time, too. The better we are able to positively modulate this process, the longer we can gently and effectively strengthen the natural functions of skin. Also, it is widely believed that only skin that possesses sufficient energy levels is perceived as vital skin.