But astaxanthin might not even need to be ingested in order to protect you from the sun. In 2001, Arakane performed a study on hairless mice to explore whether or not astaxanthin offered topical benefits.
The mice were exposed to UVB radiation for 18 weeks to simulate photo-aged skin. The mice that had astaxanthin applied to their skin demonstrated reduced wrinkles when compared to the control group, as well as younger-appearing collagen. In fact, the collagen of the astaxanthin mice looked as if it had never been exposed to radiation.
Researchers concluded that astaxanthin "can significantly prevent UV-induced collagen degradation, wrinkles, lipid peroxidation, sunburn, phototoxicity and photoallergy."
The same study also discovered that topical astaxanthin can act as an effective "skin whitening agent," which is a tremendously popular trend in Asia. Astaxanthin was found to reduce melanin by 40 percent, greatly reducing freckles and age spots.