MANILA, Phillippines ? Aging skin is a concern for most, if not all, of your clients. How do you define aging skin and what works to reduce its effects?
There are over 300 theories on skin aging. At least a dozen of them explain why cells decline. Inflammation and free radical damage have been pinpointed as the main culprits in the aging process.
No matter what the cause of aging is, I like to first look at the three types I classify as: intrinsic aging, environmental aging and hormonal aging.
Intrinsic aging
Intrinsic aging is a natural process?the type that occurs whether or not you were exposed to the sun, pollution, stress, alcohol or other aging elements. Even if you lived in a cave, your skin and your cells would experience intrinsic aging.
Genetics play a key role in this type. If your parents and grandparents aged well, chances are, with a healthy lifestyle, you will, too.
At about age 25, the skin begins to show signs of intrinsic aging. These subtle changes include:
Reduction in skin firmness as collagen fibers begin to lose their resiliency and become thicker and brittle. Collagen fibers decrease by about 1 percent each year starting at this age.
Reduction in skin elasticity as elastin fibers become loose and break easily. There are also fewer of them.
There is a decrease in the water-holding molecules surrounding the collagen and elastin that keep them pliable and moist.
Environmental aging
I introduced the concept of environmental aging in 1992. At that time, the link between environmental factors and skin aging was rarely discussed.
While the ultraviolet rays from the sun are a direct cause of skin aging, they are not the only cause. Environmental aging is the only form we can prevent. Stress, nutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption, exposure to pollution and the sun are all factors we can have control over.
Environmental aging can add years to the appearance of the skin, while taking years off the average life span. After over 30 years of observing my patients? lifestyles, I firmly believe environmental aging is unnecessary aging.
In addition to the depleted collagen and elastin tissue in intrinsic aging, environmental-aging changes include:
Uneven skin tone called hyperpigmentation (excess pigment) and hypopigmentation (lack of pigment). The pigment-producing cells become 20 percent less dense every 10 years. At the same time, there is an increase in melanin production in small areas, which leads to darker age spots and lighter areas or white spots.
Increased redness due to thinner skin and increased blood vessels. Blood vessels carry nutrients and remove cellular waste from the skin. As they age, they diminish while the remaining become thicker and tend to twist and break.
There is a decrease in the water-holding molecules that surround the collagen and elastin, plus developing skin cells and the statum corneum cells.
Hormonal aging
To layer on to the natural/intrinsic factors and controllable/environmental factors, the skin also ages as hormones fluctuate.
The most notorious of all hormones is estrogen. As women age, estrogen levels decline, showing a direct effect on the skin.
In addition to the factors above, hormonal aging factors include:
Even more thinning of the skin as collagen and elastin fibers shrink.
Increased facial hair and acne breakouts as estrogen levels decline and androgen hormones increase.
Extreme water loss in the cells and tissue.
New anti-ager
No matter what the cause of aging, the depletion of water in the cells and the tissue is the common denominator. This leads to my discovery that water is the anti-aging ingredient of the 21st century.
But, it?s not the water you drink; it?s the water you keep. This is what I call the water principle.
When it comes to reaping the health benefits of water, it?s not the quantity we consume but the quality of our cell?s ability to utilize this essential component that counts.
Without adequate water supply, the skin cells disintegrate; structures supporting the skin become stiff and lose flexibility; and skin layers become thin and flat.
