Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants found in the red, yellow and orange pigments of many fruits and vegetables.

Beta carotene is probably the most well-known, but there're over 600 of them.

One in particular accumulates in your skin to protect the membranes of your cells. All the carotenoids appear to have health benefits, but this one particular carotenoid has the special ability to be absorbed into the entire membrane of a cell. It also has the unique property of existing both inside and outside your cells.

That means this particular carotenoid is in place to protect your cell membranes from free radicals on both the inside and outside of your cells. Free radicals are also known as reactive oxidative species or ROS. ROS are responsible for damaging our tissues, making us weaker and older.

Other carotenoids and antioxidants can't protect cells from both the inside and outside. Beta carotene is only inside your cells, so it can't protect against ROS outside your cells.

Also, this particular carotenoid is stronger than its many cousins, including beta carotene and lutein. As an antioxidant, it's 6,000 times stronger than Vitamin C.

Which of Your Cells Suffer the Most Amount of Damage from the Environment?

Obviously, your skin is most vulnerable. Most of the cells of your body are inside the skin. Astaxanthin helps protect their membranes from ROS, but it's your skin that's constantly exposed to the atmosphere, pollution, smoke, excess heat and cold, UV radiation and more. 

Clearly, this constant barrage against your skin helps to wear it away, making it wrinkled, discolored - and looking older than its age.

Therefore, to protect your skin, the carotenoids tend to accumulate there - and astaxanthin is the most powerful.

That's why your skin cells actually prefer to accumulate astaxanthin in their membranes over other carotenoids, even beta carotene.

Other Benefits for Your Skin

Astaxanthin inhibits collagenases. Collagen is the main superstructural material of your skin, giving it firmness and elasticity. In collagenases, enzymes eat away at your collagen, making it weaker, so your skin sags and wrinkles, losing its elasticity. Astaxanthin slows or stops that.

It also inhibits the activity of matrix metalloproteinases. Matrix metalloproteinases also break down the strength and structure of your skin.

It lowers inflammation.

It might also protect your skin from UV light suppressing your immune system.

Besides protecting your skin from damage caused by ROS and environmental assaults, astaxanthin helps keep your skin from breaking down with time. That helps keep you looking young, smooth and glowing.

Where Does Astaxanthin Come From?

It's mainly made by the green microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis. This algae produces astaxanthin to protect its cell membranes from damage.

When you eat this microalgae, you get the same antioxidant benefits. 

Foods that Contain Astaxanthin

Various sea animals eat the microalgae, so astaxanthin accumulates within them. They includes krill, salmon, trout, crawfish and shrimp - even pink flamingos.

However, I cannot recommend eating those because, in addition to accumulating Haematococcus pluvialis, they also build up large amounts of the toxins which are - unfortunately - in our oceans.

I generally prefer to obtain nutrition from food, but not in this particular case.

The situation is similar to Omega-3 oils. It's much better to consume supplements that contain Omega-3 oils and astazanthin obtained directly from microalgae raised in a controlled environment with clean, unpolluted water.

In fact, one scientific article on astaxanthin recommends consumng astaxanthin along with sources of Omega-3 oils such as chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts or almonds.

Remember, the microalgae make astaxanthin. The shrimp and others have it only because they eat the microalgae. 

Cutting out the middle sea creature will help reduce overfishing of ocean animals.

Astaxanthin is fat soluble, and should be taken along with food.

Scientists have fed large amounts of it to rats - until their skin turned red or yellow. However, even at that large level, it caused no health problems.

If you take so much your skin changes color, though, you might want to scale back.

Astaxanthin Supplements

One study gave overweight subjects 5 mg per day of supplemental astaxanthin, and their levels of oxidative stress were lowered to that of people of normal weight.

Other studies back up the benefits I described - using from 4-12 mg of astaxanthin per day. However, there is no scientifically established dose.

Skin Creams

You can also find skin care products containing astaxanthin. 

I can't vouch for any one particular product, but I can't see how adding astaxanthin to your skin could hurt it.

But skin creams cannot penetrate your skin to a deep level.

It's probable, therefore, the most effective astaxanthin is what gets to your skin the old-fashioned way - from you eating and digesting it.

Plus, that also allows your entire body to receive the health benefits of consuming astazanthin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbFVwofB9LY

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3917265/

https://www.fujichemical.co.jp/english/newsletter/newsletter_nutra_0811.html

https://theenergyblueprint.com/astaxanthin-alex-leaf/

https://www.healthline.com/health/carotenoids

https://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2019/01/18/astaxanthin-secret-ingredient-to-skin.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3917265/