Saturday, May 19, 2012
There are lots of anti-aging skin products on the market today, many of which are developed to help maintain the youthful look of skin. Among the most sought after of these products, however, actually slow down the skin's aging process.
The visible signs of aging skin begin gradually, starting in your 20s. As you age, skin cell division and the production of the proteins, collagen and elastin which maintain skin elasticity, slow down. Wrinkles then start to form as a result of your skin's slowed ability to replace old, worn out cells.
Two types of aging affect your skin, internal aging and external aging. Internal aging is the natural consequence of inherited genes. On the other hand, external aging is the result of interaction with the environment. One example of this is skin being over-exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This can hinder collagen production and in turn can cause photo-aging. Although sun damage can be gradual, over time it results in fine wrinkles.
Gravity, sleep positions, smoking, and diet are some other factors in external aging. Gravity causes eyelids to sag, jowls to form, and earlobes to elongate over time. Years of sleeping on your stomach or on your side with your face pressed against your pillow can contribute to permanent creases forming on your cheeks, chin, and forehead. Fine wrinkles form over years of smoking because the nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels in the skin which in turn prevents the blood from delivering oxygen and nutrients to the skin. To the same degree that a healthy diet can promote healthy, youthful skin, a poor diet can be detrimental to it.
Cutting out the behaviors that promote external aging is of course the first step. But you don't have to stop there. Many people start using anti-aging skin products. Ideally, these products, whether in the form of creams, serums, gels, or powders, should help restore the lost, youthful properties of the skin.
As it ages, skin doesn't produce sebum at the levels it did in its youth. Sebum is an oily substance produced by the skin's sebaceous glands which helps lubricate and moisturize the skin. A good anti-aging skin product will help regain or compensate for this slowed-down sebum production and help retain moisture, kill harmful bacteria, and repair damage from the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Lots of products contain what they consider a "magic ingredient" that they swear will make the difference in your skin. But after sifting through these claims, there's one particular ingredient you may want to look for in a skin care product - vitamin C. Whether it's listed as "vitamin C" in the ingredients or is called by one of its derivatives like "ascorbic acid 2-phosphate", "L-ascorbic acid", or "ascorbyl palmitate", vitamin C is loaded with plenty of benefits for your skin.
Vitamin C is essential to the production of collagen, and even applying it topically can help increase the production. Consequently, if vitamin C is an ingredient in a skin product, it plays a part in helping skin retain its youthful firmness and health. Moreover, vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are molecules that protect cells from being damaged by other molecules called 'free radicals', unstable molecules that contribute to tissue damage and aging.
There's no getting around it - your skin is going to age right along with you. Nevertheless, if you're looking for ways to help your skin be a little age-defying, you'll find plenty of skin products on the market to help you out. And if you're looking for all the help you can get from a product, it may be worth looking for one that contains vitamin C.
The visible signs of aging skin begin gradually, starting in your 20s. As you age, skin cell division and the production of the proteins, collagen and elastin which maintain skin elasticity, slow down. Wrinkles then start to form as a result of your skin's slowed ability to replace old, worn out cells.
Two types of aging affect your skin, internal aging and external aging. Internal aging is the natural consequence of inherited genes. On the other hand, external aging is the result of interaction with the environment. One example of this is skin being over-exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This can hinder collagen production and in turn can cause photo-aging. Although sun damage can be gradual, over time it results in fine wrinkles.
Gravity, sleep positions, smoking, and diet are some other factors in external aging. Gravity causes eyelids to sag, jowls to form, and earlobes to elongate over time. Years of sleeping on your stomach or on your side with your face pressed against your pillow can contribute to permanent creases forming on your cheeks, chin, and forehead. Fine wrinkles form over years of smoking because the nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels in the skin which in turn prevents the blood from delivering oxygen and nutrients to the skin. To the same degree that a healthy diet can promote healthy, youthful skin, a poor diet can be detrimental to it.
Cutting out the behaviors that promote external aging is of course the first step. But you don't have to stop there. Many people start using anti-aging skin products. Ideally, these products, whether in the form of creams, serums, gels, or powders, should help restore the lost, youthful properties of the skin.
As it ages, skin doesn't produce sebum at the levels it did in its youth. Sebum is an oily substance produced by the skin's sebaceous glands which helps lubricate and moisturize the skin. A good anti-aging skin product will help regain or compensate for this slowed-down sebum production and help retain moisture, kill harmful bacteria, and repair damage from the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Lots of products contain what they consider a "magic ingredient" that they swear will make the difference in your skin. But after sifting through these claims, there's one particular ingredient you may want to look for in a skin care product - vitamin C. Whether it's listed as "vitamin C" in the ingredients or is called by one of its derivatives like "ascorbic acid 2-phosphate", "L-ascorbic acid", or "ascorbyl palmitate", vitamin C is loaded with plenty of benefits for your skin.
Vitamin C is essential to the production of collagen, and even applying it topically can help increase the production. Consequently, if vitamin C is an ingredient in a skin product, it plays a part in helping skin retain its youthful firmness and health. Moreover, vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are molecules that protect cells from being damaged by other molecules called 'free radicals', unstable molecules that contribute to tissue damage and aging.
There's no getting around it - your skin is going to age right along with you. Nevertheless, if you're looking for ways to help your skin be a little age-defying, you'll find plenty of skin products on the market to help you out. And if you're looking for all the help you can get from a product, it may be worth looking for one that contains vitamin C.
About the Author:
Laura Jace McGilley writes about topics relating to effective skincare. Go see her latest website on Obagi C where she shares some of her research on various products that are part of the Obagi skincare system.