What Is CoQ10? Antioxidant Skincare Benefits
CoQ10 is the ingredient in our name that most people skim past, which is a shame, because it's doing real work.
What CoQ10 Does for Skin
CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10, listed as Ubiquinone) is a naturally occurring antioxidant your body produces to support cellular energy. Natural CoQ10 production slows down with age, around the same time skin starts showing more visible signs of oxidative stress: dullness, fine lines, loss of firmness.
Applied topically, CoQ10 is a well-studied antioxidant that helps defend against the kind of daily environmental damage that accumulates into visible signs of ageing over time.
Why We Use It
Most antioxidant serums lean on one or two familiar actives. We formulate CoQ10 into an oil-based elixir because it is oil-soluble and works naturally alongside other oil-phase ingredients, including Vitamin E and botanical oils. This allows it to complement the other antioxidants in the formula, including Vitamin C, rather than simply duplicating what they already do.
Where You'll Find It
CoQ10 is the hero ingredient in the Vitamin C Antioxidant Elixir with CoQ10. It's literally in the name for a reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can CoQ10 be used with other antioxidants?
Yes, CoQ10 is designed to complement Vitamin C and Vitamin E rather than replace them, which is why our Antioxidant Elixir formulates all three together.
How often should I use a CoQ10 serum?
Most people use it morning and/or night, as part of a regular routine, applied after cleansing and before moisturiser.
Are there other antioxidants worth knowing about?
Yes. Our guide to astaxanthin in skincare covers another antioxidant that gets a lot of attention, and what the research does and does not show.
Is there an ageing-focused ingredient that works differently?
Our guide to adenosine in skincare covers a small molecule studied for smoothing the look of fine lines.
The Bottom Line
CoQ10 is a useful antioxidant addition to a skincare routine, particularly when combined with complementary ingredients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
