Most skincare products and oral supplements use the ubiquinone form of CoQ10 because it is an inexpensive antioxidant to produce in large quantities. The body can use this form, but it needs large amounts to really be effective. Ubiquinone, once ingested or absorbed into the skin, must be converted to the ubiquinol form to be directly utilized by the cells, hence why large amounts of the ubiquinone form are needed because only a fraction of it is actually converted to the usable ubiquinone form.

In our products, we use the more bioavailable version of Coenzyme Q10, ubiquinol, which is eight times more potent than ubiquinone because of the lack of conversion loss seen with ubiquinone. It is more easily absorbed by the body and is already in a form that can be directly utilized by the cells. In this ideal form it is used both directly as a cofactor in cellular energy production and indirectly as a very effective antioxidant for protecting mitochondrial structures from free radical damage during the metabolic process. Ensuring that the mitochondria keep producing energy at a youthful rate is absolutely essential to maintaining the health of your skin, as aged skin is marked by a dramatically decreased energy production rate.

It is also important to note that there is a synthetic form of CoQ10 called idebenone that is used in a variety of skincare products claiming to be a more potent form of CoQ10 due to an elongated molecular structure that enhances its electron transport chain abilities. Unfortunately, many of the claims that this compound is better than traditional forms of CoQ10 as a skin rejuvenator are speculation. It can technically replace ubiquinol in the process of cellular energy, but it is a synthetic compound that is not native to the body and the ramifications of using this ingredient may not be known for years. Though the majority of people who use skincare products containing idebenone do not have adverse effects, there are still widespread reports of allergic reactions in a significant number of people (enough to seriously question the safety of this ingredient in the mass market). With ubiquinol being proven as safe and effective in both oral supplements and when applied topically it seems unwise to risk using a synthetic compound to mimic what nature has already provided.