Sourced from the algae Hematococcus pluvialis, astaxanthin is responsible for the pink or red coloring of flamingos, salmon, shrimp and other crustaceans. The antioxidant was first described by naturalists in the 1890s and isolated and characterized by German chemists in the 1930s, with a plethora of studies since published on its potential benefits for brain, liver and ocular health.
“Astaxanthin possesses a double whammy of benefits in regard to matrix health,” Dr. Mark Miller, a biomedical researcher and president of Kaiviti Consulting, told NutraIngredients. “Its potency as a free radical scavenger is unmatched in nature.”
Indeed, astaxanthin has emerged as a potential anti-aging solution due to its ability to neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), thereby lowering oxidative damage.
Beyond its potential healthy-aging properties, research suggests it could have cosmetic benefits, too. The most researched aesthetic benefits focus the antioxidant’s ability to support healthy skin.
History of astaxanthin
In 1988, AstaReal pioneered large scale cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis, becoming the world’s leading producer and innovator of natural astaxanthin, and went on to launch the first human nutritional astaxanthin supplement in 1995.
Over the years, science around the ingredient has continued to build, and it was listed as one of the top compounds in human skin health research on the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology ranking.
“Astaxanthin provides a proven scientific approach to comprehensive healthy aging and beauty from within,” Dr. Karen Hecht, vice president of science at AstaReal, told NutraIngredients. “It safeguards the skin’s top layer from environmental factors, aids in preserving hyaluronic acid and elastin, supports collagen production and protects skin cells from oxidative damage and can be used as a synergistic enhancement to other collagen-boosting ingredients.”
Dr. Miller says the antioxidant can provide a variety of benefits, from targeting fine lines and wrinkles to reducing the appearance of hyperpigmentation.
“Astaxanthin is lipophilic, which is ideal for concentrating in the outer layers of skin, keeping the disruptive forces of UV radiation at its initial target,” he explained.
“It also limits the activation of melanocytes, the cells that make the pigment, melanin. As a result, it suppresses the generation of age spots, or areas of hyperpigmentation. Other clinical research in skin health reflects improved hydration, elasticity, and visibly fewer fine lines and wrinkles.”
Can astaxanthin reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines?
Two studies published in the journal Acta Biochimica Polonica have explored astaxanthin’s ability to improve fine lines and wrinkles.
The first study involved 36 male participants who were randomized into two groups. One received 6 mg of astaxanthin for six weeks and the other a placebo.
By the end of the study, those in astaxanthin group saw improvements in the appearance of crow’s feet, skin elasticity and transepidermal water loss. Moisture content and sebum oil level at the cheek zone also showed strong tendencies for improvement.
The second study was an open-label non-controlled study involving 30 healthy female subjects who were given one capsule of astaxanthin twice a day in addition to a twice-daily topical application.
After eight weeks, participants in the intervention arm showed improvements in skin surface (reduced appearance of crow’s feet), age spot size, elasticity, skin texture, corneocyte condition and moisture content at this layer.
“These results may suggest that astaxanthin derived from H. pluvialis can improve skin condition in all layers such as corneocyte layer, epidermis, basal layer and dermis by combining both oral supplementation and topical treatment, and oral supplementation of astaxanthin can improve the skin condition in not only women but also men,” wrote the authors from AstaReals’ parent company Fuji Chemical Industry, Japan.
Astaxanthin for skin elasticity and moisture
Beyond wrinkles and fine lines, skin aging manifests as degradation of elasticity, age spots and moisture content.
To investigate whether astaxanthin could mitigate these signs of skin damage and aging, researchers for AstaReal in Toyama, Japan, recruited 65 healthy female participants for a 16-week clinical study.
Participants consumed either a daily 6 mg or 12 mg dose of astaxanthin or a placebo. The study took place between August and December, a period during which exposure to strong UV radiation is followed by a decrease in humidity, resulting in a decline in skin barrier function and increased skin dryness.
At week 16, the researchers reported significant worsening of skin moisture content and deep wrinkles in the placebo group, while the astaxanthin-supplemented groups remained unchanged. Skin elasticity improvements were also observed in the high-dose group compared to placebo, suggesting a protective effect.
“Long-term astaxanthin supplementation may prophylactically inhibit skin deterioration induced over time by environmental damage and consequently [slow] the skin aging process via its anti-inflammatory effect,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.
Does astaxanthin offer UV protection?
While evidence suggests that astaxanthin can protect the skin from environmental factors, researchers have also begun to look at whether it could protect the skin from sun damage inflicted by ultraviolet light.
Astaxanthin supplementation has been shown to protect the skin from UV-induced skin deterioration in a 10-week study double-blind placebo-controlled study involving 23 healthy participants. Using a Solar Stimulator, the researchers exposed the participants’ back skin to UV-B then analyzed for UV-induced changes.
Astaxanthin appeared to increase the Minimal Erythema Dose (MED) and attenuate the UV-induced decrease of skin moisture. Its ability to increase the MED meant the participants’ skin was less sensitive to UV damage, suggesting it may protect skin from harmful UV rays.
The researchers from Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Research Laboratories in Kanagawa, Japan, also assessed for subjective skin conditions using the visual analogue scale.
“Subjective skin conditions for ‘improvement of rough skin’ and ‘texture’ in non-irradiated areas were significantly improved by astaxanthin,” they wrote in Nutrients. “Astaxanthin seems protective against UV-induced skin deterioration and helps maintain healthy skin in healthy people.”
Another study published in the European Journal of Biomedical Research found that the addition of astaxanthin to sunscreen inhibited the increase in sunburn cells in rats, indicating a potentially protective effect.
“Sunscreen is not an antioxidant, which means it can still cause the impact of free radicals,” wrote the researchers from Udayana University, Indonesia. “Sunscreen also has protection limits. For example, SPF 30 has 97% protection, which means that there is still 3% radiation entering the skin so there is still a small portion that can cause free radicals.”
Can astaxanthin promote tanning?
More recently, astaxanthin has also been incorporated in products to promote tanning, however, Dr. Miller said it is more likely to have the opposite effect.
“The goal of tanning is to promote melanin formation, the pigment for skin color,” he explained. “Astaxanthin limits the activation of melanocytes and would limit tanning—and its cadre of negative effects on skin health—rather than promoting a tan.”
Susan Hamrahi, scientific communications specialist at AstaReal agrees that astaxanthin is unlikely to have tanning properties, adding that the strong pigment may contribute to skin color changes at high doses.
“Astaxanthin does not stimulate melanin synthesis and thus does not induce tanning,” she said. “However, some carotenoids have contributed a yellow hue to skin as a result of supplementation at higher doses.”
“Visual changes in skin tone resulting from carotenoid deposition have been documented with β-carotene and lycopene supplementation,” she added. “However, these effects are not melanogenic and do not involve activation of the melanocortin-1 receptor pathway, which governs UV-induced tanning. While β-carotene and lycopene are known to cause visible skin tone changes, no clinical or observational data currently supports a similar effect with astaxanthin.”
Natural or synthetic?
Dr. Miller says that astaxanthin’s ability to limit activation of melanocytes is beneficial for the skin, particularly for those with hyperpigmentation or age spots, but highlighted the efficacy of natural astaxanthin supplements.
“Some [astaxanthin supplements] come from other sources like yeast or petrochemicals, but these do not possess the same stereochemistry and do not work the same as natural astaxanthin,” he explained. “Natural is a straight molecule with two polar ends and an aliphatic chain that separates them.”
“The structure is perfect for anchoring in membranes with the aliphatic chain in the lipid part of membranes where it captures pileup peroxides, or rancid lipids, and negates these free radicals without forming any other free radicals. This is a unique action that separates astaxanthin from other free radical scavengers and membrane function protectors.”