Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10, formally ubiquinone, occurs naturally in human cells, where it takes part in energy metabolism. For skincare it is produced by fermentation. On skin, its antioxidant action is what matters — it helps limit the oxidative effect of free radicals produced by sun, pollution and ordinary daily life.

It is an oil-soluble, fairly large molecule of a deep orange colour. That has two practical consequences. First, it belongs in the oil phase; in a water serum there would be nowhere for it to sit. Second, it colours the formula — the yellow-to-orange tone of the day serum is neither a fault nor added colourant, but the Q10 itself.

Antioxidants also work better in company than alone. They share the labour: while one catches a free radical, another can return it to its working form. That is why Q10 is almost always combined — most often with vitamin E, which complements it.

In the No4. Daily Superfood Moisture Serum, coenzyme Q10 sits at one per cent, accompanied by natural vitamin E, a pomegranate CO₂ extract and rare oils of guava, prickly pear, Kakadu plum, cacay, black raspberry and cucumber. The day serum is the final step of morning care: it seals in the moisture of the previous layers and adds antioxidant company for the hours the skin spends outdoors.

Antioxidants are often sold as a substitute for sun protection, which they are not. They work elsewhere and differently: sun protection filters the radiation out, an antioxidant helps with what happens in the skin afterwards. They belong side by side, not instead of one another. If someone picks a single thing from their morning routine, it should be sun protection — and coenzyme Q10 should be the second, not the first.