Antioxidant Astaxanthin Can Ease Wrinkles In 6 Weeks According To Research*

When discussing supplements, one of the most common questions to crop up is some version of: What does it do? quickly followed by How long does it take to work? 

The latter is especially prevalent with skin care supplements: Your skin is outward-facing, after all, so effects tend to be more visible and perhaps easier to pinpoint than other targeted results.*

Still, it can be difficult to know what to expect—we inherently know that skin care is not immediate, but when can you start to see those purported benefits? 

A quick refresher on astaxanthin: A member of the carotenoid family, astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant that comes from microalgae—when fish (salmon, shrimp, crab, etc.) eat this algae, the astaxanthin is what gives them a peachy pigment.

Just take a look at this comprehensive review on astaxanthin for skin health1: The data summary elucidates numerous astaxanthin clinical research studies for skin health outcomes.* For example, in one randomized controlled trial with 46 healthy female participants—researchers found that those who took astaxanthin capsules for six weeks had significantly decreased wrinkle parameters compared to participants who took a placebo pill.*

Another randomized controlled trial studied 65 healthy females and found that participants who took astaxanthin supplements had reduced wrinkles2 after 16 weeks compared to the control group.* Finally, when 30 healthy females took astaxanthin capsules and applied a topical astaxanthin solution for eight weeks, their age spots decreased in size3, not to mention they reported an increase in skin elasticity and enhanced skin texture too.* 

First things first: Continue to look for astaxanthin in creams and topicals—it's a potent carotenoid that helps assist skin renewal from multiple angles, so it deserves a spot in your beauty cabinet. But considering all the data on how the phytochemical supports skin from the inside out, you might want to think about consuming astaxanthin, too, with smart supplements.* 

mindbodygreen's best skin+, for example, contains natural astaxanthin extract at a potent dose of 6 milligrams to reflect the latest data on skin health (like the studies we mentioned above!) and to leverage its wrinkle-fighting power.* Specifically, we use the premium AstaReal®, a natural astaxanthin extract sustainably derived from green algae (Haematococcus pluvialis), aka H. pluvialis, which is freshwater green algae that produce natural astaxanthin.

Everyone's skin is different, and so not everybody reacts to ingredients in identical ways—this is true for all skin care, supplements, topicals, what have you.