For your skin
A "universal antioxidant" that protects both the oily and watery parts of your skin. It's unique because it can recycle your Vitamin C and E, making them last longer. It also prevents "sugar-sag" (glycation) and reduces fine lines.
Want the science? Keep reading ↓Mechanism of action
Potent universal antioxidant (both lipid- and water-soluble) that recycles other antioxidants like Vitamin C and E. It inhibits the activation of NF-kB, reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines, and prevents the glycation of collagen fibers (AGEs) that causes skin stiffness and yellowing.
Why we tier this moderate
2 cited papers across 2 countries. The mechanism is well-described and there's at least one controlled trial in the literature, but we tier this Moderate rather than Strong to stay honest about how many specific papers we cite directly.
Cited research
Lee WJ et al., Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidative Effects of Alpha Lipoic Acid on Cultured Human Sebocytes, Annals of Dermatology 2019
Beitner H, Randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind study on the clinical efficacy of a cream containing 5% alpha-lipoic acid related to photoageing of facial skin, British Journal of Dermatology 2003;149(4):841-9
Sources: 10 clinical journals and regulatory databases across the US, EU, Korea, Japan, and China. Every entry points to a specific document. See methodology for the full list and what each outcome label means.