Ingredient glossary / Antioxidant
Astaxanthin
On the label: Astaxanthin · Antioxidant
What it is
A red-orange carotenoid from algae (the colour of salmon and flamingos); a fat-soluble antioxidant.
Antioxidants: Antioxidants slow oxidation in the formula (keeping oils from going rancid) and, for some, on the skin.
Wikidata: Chemical compound often used to color trout to look like salmon. Q413740 →
In the research
389 PubMed papers mention it with skin, cosmetics or hair; the three most recent:
- Sustainable Valorization of Farmed Atlantic Salmon Processing By-Products: Supercritical CO(2) Extraction of Lipid Fraction and pH-Shift Recovery of Proteins from the Residual Mate · Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 2026
- Microalgal Astaxanthin: From Metabolic Regulation to Industrial Biomanufacturing for a Sustainable Bioeconomy · Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2026
- Metabolic Engineering of Yarrowia lipolyticafor Efficient De Novo Synthesis of Astaxanthin Glucosides via Enhanced UDP-Glucose Supply · Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2026
A paper is a paper, not a verdict: titles are listed so you can read them, and a study on cells or mice says little about a cream on a face.
Other antioxidants
Dew & Balm describes ingredients from the public record and makes no claim about what a product will do for you. Statements about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA. If a product causes a reaction, stop using it; a reaction that spreads or affects breathing is a call to a doctor or 911.