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28.08.2025

How to use astaxanthin to keep your skin young

The carotenoid astaxanthin may help prevent the decline in skin elasticity and moisture as we age. The recommended dose is 4-6 milligrams per day, according to a 2021 meta-study.

Study
Chinese researchers from the Central South University of Forestry and Technology tracked nine placebo-controlled, randomized trials in which healthy subjects with aging skin were given astaxanthin supplements. These were often gel capsules containing oil in which astaxanthin was dissolved.

Doses ranged from 2 to 12 milligrams of astaxanthin per day. The trials lasted from two weeks to a year.

The astaxanthin was usually derived from the algae Haematococcus pluvialis. Incidentally, astaxanthin is a carotenoid that, with a bit of poetic license, can be described as a variation on beta-carotene.

Results
Astaxanthin supplementation had no convincing effect on wrinkle depth. However, supplementation did have a moderate to significant effect on skin elasticity and moisture.

These last two effects are cosmetically and clinically relevant. The dosages at which astaxanthin improved these two parameters were 4-6 milligrams per day. The added value of even higher doses was often unclear.

In some trials, the effect was visible after just 4 weeks of supplementation. However, the optimal effects were only visible after 8-12 weeks.

Click on the figure below for a larger version.

Conclusion
"The reliability and strength of the evidence were limited by small sample sizes, imperfect study design, method of data extraction and potential conflicts of interests", the researchers write.

"More large-scale and robust randomized controlled trials, as well as usages of objective dermatological assessments are required to confirm the mechanisms."

More coming soon.

Source:
Nutrients. 2021 Aug 24;13(9):2917.

More:
This combination of astaxanthin and collagen keeps your skin young 17.11.2020
Astaxanthin, an anti-wrinkle supplement 03.11.2020

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