An antioxidant compound that is used in dye and has shown promise in treating Alzheimer’s disease has now shown potential in reversing skin aging in human skin.

The compound is called methylene blue and is a very potent antioxidant. It was able to repair damaged skin cells, lower the rate of cell death, increase the rate of cell division, reduce reactive oxygen species, and reduce markers of cellular senescence in skin from both middle-aged donors and elderly.

Methylene blue was also tested on artificial skin, which reacts like regular skin, and found that it retained more water and increased in thickness and did not cause irritation.