anti-aging treatments |
After you are 30 years old the skin loses both elastin and collagen fibres, the 2 main fibres responsible for the skin's structure, resulting in the skin loosing its elasticity and becoming thinner. Wrinkles form both with aging and also from movement of facial muscles. As well as this melanocytes, the cells responsible for the skin's pigmentation, become unevenly distributed leading to the formation of pigmentation spots. In Australia damage by the sun, or photo-aging, is also a major cause of facial lines and wrinkles. Anti-aging treatments aim at preventing and reversing these changes.
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maintaining good skin |
The following lifestyle changes have been shown to be effective in producing better quality skin:
·
Drink plenty of water
· Eat plenty of rooted fruits and vegetables
· Minimise red meat consumption
· Minimise alcohol ingestion
· Stop smoking
· Exercise regularly
· Ensure you sleep well
Apart from
improving these lifestyle factors you should also:
1) Avoid sun exposure
2) Wear protective clothing when outside
3) Use sunscreens - these should provide protection against both
UVA and UVB.
4) Consider taking antioxidants - vitamins A, C, and E are photoprotective
and help protect against the damage caused by the sun and other factors
5) Have a regular daily skin care program which contains:
· Skin exfoliants and stimulating agents, such as alpha
hydroxy acids and Retinol
· Protective agents, such as sunscreens and antioxidants
eg topical vitamin C
· Preventative agents, such as antioxidants eg topical
vitamin C and a lightening agent to help prevent brown spots appearing
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skin care program |
Skin care
programs involving the above agents often take 3-6 months before any
changes are noticeable. The treatment needs to be continued for any
improvement to be maintained, and it is essential to prevent further
damage by changing lifestyle factors, especially sun avoidance.
Be
careful in the selection of skin care products. Many products
marketed as containing substances have only very small amounts of the
active ingredient, and may not have the beneficial effects produced
by these substances in a more concentrated form. It may be possible
to buy a product containing a combination of these compounds, but this
should not be at the expense of having the compounds being too weak
to be effective.
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retinol (tretinoin) |
Retinol is a compound related to vitamin A, which reverses some of the effects of aging. It significantly increases the amount of collagen in the skin, and improves fine wrinkles and helps to lighten brown spots.
It may be used in combination with alpha hydroxy acids, and the combination is usually well tolerated and may have an addititional benefit. It should also be combined with a lightening agent (see below) for reduction of skin pigmentation (brown spots). If therapy is stopped then the skin returns to pretreatment condition 6 weeks later, and therefore continued use is required.
For those who are sensitive to taking Retinol, an alpha hydroxy acid may be substituted.
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alpha hydroxy acids |
AHAs enhance exfoliation, increasing cell turnover, smoothing the skin and helping to reduce pigmentation spots, and again are most effective when combined with hydroquinone.
The concentration of AHAs in cosmetics cannot exceed 10% and the pH of the cosmetic must be 3.5 or higher - these products only offer mild improvement for photodamage. A pH of 3.0 produces the most effective cell turnover, and doctor prescribed formulations contain medium strength concentrations which are more effective.
Note that both Retinol and AHAs increase sun sensitivity, and therefore sun avoidance and the use of a broad spectrum sunscreen is essential.
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topical vitamin C and E |
These antioxidants help to protect against the ultraviolet rays of the
sun by fighting oxygen free radicals in the skin (preventing collagen
breakdown, aging, and helping to protect against the development of
skin cancer). They also protect against damage from free radical formation
from environmental pollutants, smoking, and alcohol. Vitamin C stimulates
collagen production, and diminishes the appearance of fine lines and
wrinkles. There are some studies showing that the combination of Vitamin
C and E is more effective than either alone.
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lightening agents |
Skin pigmentation is caused by melanin, and sun exposure stimulates
the production of melanin by the skin, causing both a darkening in colour
and the appearance of darker "age" spots. There are a number
of treatments which decrease the production of melanin by stopping the
enzyme tyrosinase, which produces melanin, and these can be used in
combination with Retinol and AHAs to reduce pigmentation spots in the
skin.
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A lot of
commercially available suncreens only give protection against UVB (ultraviolet
B), which causes sunburn, but not against UVA (ultraviolet A), which
causes many of the changes of photoaging and skin cancer. A sunscreen
should contain protection against both UVA and UVB, and be a SPF (sun
protection factor) of 15 or greater. The SPF factor only tells the effectiveness
of the sunscreen against UVB. There
are some newer sunscreens containing micronised zinc oxide which are
colourless, rather than the old fashioned opaque versions. Zinc oxide
is the broadest spectrum sunscreen available, and protects against both
UVA and UVB.
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