Premature aging - should you be concerned?
What is premature aging?
Well its exactly what it sounds like really- sunspots, fine lines, wrinkles, loss of firmness or thinning of the skin, before your time. Even if this is not a big concern for you right now, protecting yourself against premature aging should be!
Premature aging is a result of your skin being exposed to stressors that essential destroy the building blocks and your foundation for maintaining youthful skin. These stressors are known as free radicals, and unless you live your life in a bubble you will be encountering them daily!
Examples of free radical exposure:
- Sun exposure
- Smoking
- Pollution
- Medications
- Eating processed foods
- A diet high in sugar
- Alcohol
- Stress
With our skin constantly being exposed to environmental stress, we then see signs of free radical damage taking place. The good news is we can fight off free radical damage with antioxidants. But when we don’t have this antioxidant protection, free radicals are free to do as they please and cause as much cell damage as they like. This is what we call oxidative stress. When oxidative stress occurs, free radicals can cause premature aging and even break down essential proteins in the skin. This is when visible signs of aging become apparent on the skin.
Think about when you cut open an apple. When the flesh of the apple is exposed to the elements, it begins to oxidise and over time it then starts to deteriorate. This is basically the same process that’s happening with your skin when oxidative stress occurs. But it doesn’t just stop there…
Lipid peroxidation is a compounded and untreated form of oxidative stress. This results in cell damage due to the cell membranes becoming compromised and loss of cell membrane integrity results in even more damage to the structure of the skin. After lipid peroxidation has taken place, damage to the cell membrane (the outermost layer of the cell) leaves the mitochondria (the life force of the cell) more susceptible to permanent damage. Left untreated, death of the cell is unfortunately inevitable. We want to avoid damage to the mitochondria at all costs!
How do we protect against premature aging?
Antioxidants!!!
What are antioxidants?
Well if they are not already, they should be your new best friend. Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit this oxidation, therefore inhibiting free radicals from attacking your precious healthy skin cells.
Some of my personal favourite antioxidants for treating premature aging are…
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B
- Co-Enzyme Q10
- Green Tea
Antioxidants should be prescribed in your homecare routine to suit your skin's needs and used daily to protect against free radicals and to repair any damage.
A broad-spectrum sunscreen should be worn daily. This will protect you against both UVA (aging rays) and UVB (burning rays).
LED, IPL and Skin Needling can re-energise, treat the signs of premature aging and promote healthy youthful skin, without the use of ablative and invasive treatments.
Who's ready to introduce antioxidants into their life?
(everyone raise your hand!!)
Book in for a Skin Chat now xx