The health of our skin is one of the primary determining factors for looking older. We’ve all seen that person who’s skin makes them look much older than they really are. What causes that?
It is important to understand that your skin ages the most during periods of highest metabolism. Ironically, the time when your skin has the highest metabolism, and therefore the most aging, is during our youth. However, it is never too late! There are benefits to treating your skin regardless of your age.
There are a number of causes for skin aging. But here are the 4 with the most scientific evidence
1) Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress is an important component of aging all over our body. Inside and out. When it comes to the skin, most of the oxidative damage comes from sun exposure which creates free radicals. In fact, the sun accounts for 85% of these free radicals in the skin.
But don’t forget about toxins. They account for the other 15% of damaging free radicals in your skin. Ultraviolet light (UV) comes in 2 forms and UVA penetrates deeper and causes more oxidative damage.
We can counteract these free radicals with antioxidants. Did know that there are actually a couple of different types of topical antioxidants: hydrophilic and lipophilic. We need both!
- Hydrophilic antioxidants (Vitamin C is an example) targets the fluid and spaces in between cells
- Lipophilic antioxidants (Vitamin A for example) targets the cell membranes
Taking oral antioxidants is good for your overall health but topical antioxidants are needed in order to address the skin health. You NEED a topical antioxidant for your skin!
When we decrease oxidative damage we see an increase in the health and appearance of the skin. Counteract those free radicals and oxidative damage with:
- Pro-Heal Serum Advance+
- Super Serum Advance+
2) Inflammation
We simply can’t talk about aging or free radical damage without talking about inflammation. Inflammation is caused by a number of mechanisms and improving those mechanisms can improve the inflammation as well. Free radicals can certainly cause inflammation. Excess inflammation can lead to scarring.
Options for decreasing skin inflammation are:
- Pro-Heal Serum Advance+
- Extreme Protect SPF 30
- Hydra-Cool Serum
3) Glycation
Glycation is simply the process of these glucose molecules attaching to proteins. Proteins throughout the body are glycated based on the level of glucose in the blood or tissues.
Glycation is responsible for a lot of damage incurred in diabetic patients such as cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, neuropathy (nerve damage), and nephropathy (kidney damage). But this same process also damages the skin.
This is a major problem for diabetics but it can be a problem for non-diabetics as well. Collagen is the protein in the skin and it gets glycated as well. Glycated collagen increases wrinkles.
Addressing glycation involves a comprehensive and integrated approach. Skin care products for specifically addressing the glycation of collagen in the skin are:
- Youth Complex
- Super Serum Advance+
- Youth Serum
4) DNA Damage
Many people think of the damage to our skin from sun exposure as the effect on our DNA. One of the problems with UV exposure is the formation of dimers in the genetic material called TT dimers (Thymine-Thymine dimers). There are a number of mechanisms for DNA damage and we need to try to protect our skin from all of them.
Obviously, reducing sun exposure can help with this process. At the same time, sun exposure can be beneficial to our overall health so we have to take that into consideration as well. It is about balance. If you can’t avoid the sun then consider:
- Extreme Protect SPF 30
- Protective Moisturizer SPF 15
So what do we do about it?
A comprehensive skin care plan should adequately address each of the 4 most common causes of skin aging. Additionally, we should approach our skin health comprehensively and not just from a series of topical solutions we put on our skin.
Revolution Health & Wellness Clinic caries these skin care products and we can definitely help your skin. We carry these products because we believe that there are no greater skin care products available and you definitely deserve the best.
