Every day, your skin faces UV rays, pollution and stress, just from living ordinary life. And without daily skincare protection, exposure to these elements can cause visible damage to your skin in the long run.

Enter Multi-Antioxidant Radiance Serum: a daily serum that combines antioxidant and protective technologies to combat environmental stressors (from factors like pollution and smog), which can make skin look dull and prematurely aged.

We’ve added this skin defence serum to The Ordinary’s antioxidant collection for users who want to brighten and protect their skin in one step.

Antioxidants are the safety squad of the skincare world. These molecules work to protect against the visible signs of free radical damage.

When levels of free radicals and antioxidants become imbalanced in your skin, this can lead to what is known as oxidative stress, where damage to the skin can occur. Oxidative stress can cause uncontrolled damage to the skin, which can result in visible signs of skin damage. Think uneven skin tone, dryness, redness, fine lines and wrinkles, and skin barrier disruption, resulting in flaky and dull skin.

Antioxidants shield skin by creating a protective effect that helps reduce the look of environmentally-induced skin concerns caused by environmental stressors. This is really key because free radicals can damage the skin's structural components like collagen and elastin, which can lead to loss of elasticity, firmness, and fine lines and wrinkles. Stress caused by these environmental factors can also contribute to this, in what has been referred to as ‘inflammaging’.

Adding antioxidants to your daily skincare regimen is super helpful for addressing the visible effects the environment can have on your skin.

Not sure where to start with antioxidants? We’ve got you covered.

Some of the best antioxidants for your skin are thankfully pretty common to find in various formulations. Let’s take a look at the most popular ones, and what their antioxidant skincare benefits are.

Vitamin C
We know you’ve heard of this one. Vitamin C is arguably the most popular antioxidant on this list. It’s a powerful vitamin that brightens skin, visibly evens skin tone, and promotes a radiant glow.

Vitamin E
Another member of the vitamin family, vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects skin’s lipid components from environmental stressors that can damage the skin barrier. It can also moisturize dry skin.

Resveratrol
Resveratrol falls into the polyphenol category of antioxidants. It’s derived from plant compounds, and can brighten skin, support skin’s natural collagen, and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Ferulic Acid
Ferulic Acid happens to be a polyphenol as well, but falls into a further subcategory called “phenolic acids.” It can help protect skin’s collagen.

We can’t say it enough: antioxidants have a ton of skincare benefits. Which one should you choose to add to your regimen? Here’s a cheat sheet.

Dry Skin

• Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F

Oily Skin

• Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%

Sensitive Skin

• EUK 134 0.1%
• Multi-Antioxidant Radiance Serum

Mature Skin

• Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%
• Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%

Looking for a one-step solution? Multi-Antioxidant Radiance Serum combats multiple concerns associated with environmental damage with 8 damage-fighting technologies, including a vitamin C derivative and ginseng.

Day or Night?

The best time to apply antioxidants might surprise you.

We often see antioxidants recommended for daytime, when our skin is most susceptible to environmental stressors like UV rays, pollution, or smog. But as we learn more about the relationship between skin and circadian rhythm, we’re seeing antioxidant skincare benefits from a different perspective.

It’s true: antioxidants are great in the A.M. They help skin protect itself against aggressors, and target visible signs of environmental damage, like signs of aging, dullness, and uneven skin tone. But there’s also a strong case for their use at night because the body’s natural clock, or circadian rhythm, has a huge effect on our skin.

Here’s why you need to try antioxidants at nighttime:

• Skin is more permeable while you sleep, making it an ideal time to absorb antioxidants. The effects of daytime skin stress also peak at night. This coincides with a nighttime spike in normal antioxidant activity that helps to reduce skin damage in the natural repair cycle as well.
• In fact, an antioxidant-rich nighttime regimen helps to build a reservoir of antioxidants to help protect the skin throughout the following day.

Multi-Antioxidant Radiance Serum combines a total of 8 technologies, including a derivative of vitamin C and ginseng, to achieve a multi-faceted approach to antioxidant protection suited to use both in the day and at night. When used in the day, the serum-textured formulation helps shield against the damaging effects of pollution, while providing lasting hydration and barrier support for enhanced skin resilience. When used at night, it continues to offer antioxidant protection while skin is in its resting and repair stages, working to boost radiance for skin that is visibly more radiant by morning.

Curious about how to layer your serums? Read our Layering Guide to learn how to combine and pair antioxidants in your skincare regimen to boost their benefits, whether it’s A.M. or P.M.

Our Most-Loved Antioxidant Matchups

The Ordinary carries a huge range of antioxidant-packed formulations. Here are our favourite product combos that are packed with skin benefits, and pair well with Multi-Antioxidant Radiance Serum:

• Glucoside Foaming Cleanser: Effectively cleanses and promotes skin radiance
• Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner: Boosts luminosity and supports a smoother appearance
• Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: Strengthens the skin barrier and provides lasting hydration

Antioxidants provide a protective effect to the skin, helping limit the visible signs of damage caused by environmental stressors, resulting in glowier, healthy-looking skin. Research also shows that skin renewal increases at nighttime, so applying antioxidants at night may help provide a protected environment for skin repair to take place.

Shop antioxidant formulations here.