CoQ10 Skin & Hair Benefits: Whitening to Acne

When it comes to the ingredients that help to firm skin and fight off the signs of ageing, there isn’t a category that does it better than antioxidants! There are so many of these amazing ingredients out there and Coenzyme Q10 is just one of them. The benefits of Coenzyme Q10 for skin are amazing, thanks to its powerful antioxidant ability - here’s our guide to everything you need to know about Coenzyme Q10!

What is Coenzyme Q10?

Coenzyme Q10 is a skincare ingredient that’s been around for a long time - it’s not the latest skincare ingredient to pop up, but there’s a good reason why it’s considered a staple antioxidant in the skincare world!

But what is Coenzyme Q10, anyway? This antioxidant molecule is naturally found in our bodies and has a crucial role to play. Within cells, CoQ10 is important to energy production - it’s critical to keeping our bodies healthy and functioning properly!

CoQ10 works as an antioxidant in our bodies and on our skin, making it one of the best anti-ageing skincare ingredients that you can reach for. However, finding skincare with this superstar ingredient also means you’ve got to know what other names it’s known by. You might already be using it and not even know! Coenzyme Q10 goes by a few different names - CoQ10 and Ubiquinone.

Sisley Night Cream with Collagen and Woodmallow
This night cream uses the power of Coenzyme Q10 with Collagen for an ultra-powerful anti-ageing overnight moisturiser.

Coenzyme Q10 or Ubiquinone: What’s the Difference?

There’s good news - Coenzyme Q10 is exactly the same thing as ubiquinone, so if you’re using skincare that has either of those on the label, then you’re using the exact same, powerful antioxidant to nourish your skin. The reason CoQ10 is also called Ubiquinone is that it’s the ‘ubiquitous quinone’ - almost all beings including bacteria need this antioxidant to survive! 

Ubiquinone benefits you from the inside, but also features in skincare products because of the unique benefits it brings to your skin, too.

What Are the Skincare Benefits of Coenzyme Q10?

The reason that CoQ10 is such a favourite skincare ingredient is because it’s an amazing all-rounder - the uses for Coenzyme Q10 in skin include anti-ageing as well as brightening skin tone and overall supporting healthy, radiant skin. Here are our favourite ubiquinone benefits for your skin - if you think you need any of these, it’s probably time to add a Coenzyme Q10 skincare product to your beauty routine!

Supports Healthy Collagen Levels in Skin

As an antioxidant, Coenzyme Q10 is able to influence your skin’s collagen levels in a few different ways. Firstly, CoQ10 is able to support your skin’s natural collagen production processes - by ensuring your skin is producing enough collagen, CoQ10 can help your skin feel firmer and younger. This process also fills out fine lines and wrinkles, making them look less noticeable for a youthful glow.

But that’s not the only way CoQ10 impacts your collagen levels! This powerful antioxidant also works to prevent your skin’s existing collagen stores from degrading in the first place, helping your skin stay younger-looking for longer!

Shields Skin from Environmental Aggressors

It’s no secret that the number one benefit to adding an antioxidant product to your beauty routine is for their ability to protect your skin from free radicals, harmful molecules that kick start oxidative stress in skin that leads to collagen loss and dullness. 

Like all other antioxidants, CoenzymeQ10 is great for shielding skin from environmental stressors such as pollution, UV light, and even cigarette smoke to minimise their harmful impact on your skin. Most people underestimate how much this matters in the long run, but it makes a huge difference to your skin - that’s why antioxidants like CoQ10 are some of the best beginner anti-ageing skincare ingredients to use!

Fades Hyperpigmentation for Even Skin Tone

The uses for Coenzyme Q10 include brightening hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone - something that makes it a beauty favourite worldwide. Uneven skin tone and dark spots left behind by acne are caused by a little too much melanin synthesis - melanin being the pigment in our skin, hair and eyes that’s responsible for all of our different skin tones, hair colour, and eye colour! 

Coenzyme Q10 is able to interrupt an important bit of the excess melanin production process - that’s why it’s classified as a Tyrosinase inhibitor. Tyrosinase is an enzyme that’s crucial to melanogenesis, aka the melanin creation process in skin. Blocking Tyrosinase from starting melanin production doesn’t necessarily make your skin all over pale, by the way - it just helps to stop overproduction in certain spots, like post-acne marks or melasma.

Declaré Men’s VitaMineral Q10 Multi-Vitamin Cream 
Men’s skin doesn’t have to miss out on the benefits of Coenzyme Q10 either! This men’s moisturiser fortifies skin against the signs of ageing with Coenzyme Q10 and a blend of essential vitamins for skin.

Softens the Signs of Sun Damage

Sun-damaged skin can often seem like it’s already past the point of no return - but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Most of the signs of sun damage are directly linked to collagen synthesis or hyperpigmentation - and we know that Coenzyme Q10 improves both of these! Extra collagen synthesis helps to make up for any lost volume in skin caused by sun damage, while at the same time, Coenzyme Q10 is able to improve uneven skin tone caused by overexposure to ultraviolet rays. 

Now that you know all the benefits of Coenzyme Q10 for your skin, will you add this supercharged antioxidant to your beauty routine? 

If you’re still trying to create a skincare routine in the first place, try our skincare quiz. You’ll get a tailored beauty routine that matches your skin type and skin concerns!

Products Mentioned:

• Sisley Night Cream with Collagen and Woodmallow
• Declaré Q10 Firming Cream
• Declaré Men’s VitaMineral Q10 Multi-Vitamin Cream