Ageing is unavoidable for all of us, but how exactly does the skin age as we get older?
AGE 20 TO 30
During these years, skin is generally in good condition because skin cells are still regenerating at a fast rate and acne problems from teenage years are subsiding. If you start to feed the skin now you can prevent the skin from aging later on. By looking after your skin at this age you can keep your skin looking younger for many years to come.
AGE 30 TO 40
Your skin will now be changing slowly. A late night/ heavy night will show on your face. You may be seeing a few fine lines around the eyes (especially if you have had some sun exposure in you teens and 20’s). You may also have more redness or uneven colour tone. Your skin may not feel as soft or be as even.
AROUND 40 +
By now you may think you have aged over night and are starting to see a big difference in photos of yourself ten years ago and now. Your collagen is a lot less abundant thus causing the skin to decrease in structure. The GAG’S which are mainly made of hylronic acid starts to show the skin as less plump and full. Hormonal changes can make the skin much thinner and wrinkles formed in previous years will deepen. To lose weight at this age can increase wrinkles so before you engage in a weight loss programme seek advice about what it will do to your skin.
LOSS OF VOLUME
The loss of volume caused by age results in an elongated face, hollows in the temple, cheeks and jaw appear, caused by fat loss under the skin. Folds appear around the nose and mouth; also the jaw line and lips becomes less well defined.
The key to growing old gracefully is through good living and awareness of your environment. While many of the changes that come with aging skin can’t be avoided, some can definitely be minimized. First, it helps to have a basic understanding what happens to the skin as it goes through the aging process.
The skin ages in two key ways: intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic Aging
Is genetically predetermined – you can’t avoid it. Eventually, skin gets thinner, dryer and less elastic. This happens because we produce less collagen over time. This drop in collagen production also causes skin to sag and unable to bounce back with weight loss or gain.
The reason skin gets dryer and thinner over time is because the dermis (deep layers of the skin) loses its ability to hold or attract water. On top of this, age causes a marked decrease in the sweat glands and the sebaceous glands (oil producing). Oils, water and sweat are the elements of moist, plump skin. Although the extent of these changes varies from person to person, skin aging usually first becomes apparent in your 30s.
Extrinsic Aging
Extrinsic aging is directly related to exposure to toxins and environmental elements. As you might have guessed, the sun is one of the biggest culprits behind extrinsic aging. It basically intensifies the intrinsic aging process, causing you to look older that your true age. Sun-related aging, called “photo aging” causes fine lines, wrinkles, age spots (due to pigment changes), enlarged pores, broken capillaries and rough, uneven skin tone and texture.
Your lifestyle is another factor in extrinsic aging. For example, sun damage, cigarette smoking not only speeds up the breakdown of collagen and elastin, it causes the formation of skin-killing free radicals. Further, it makes it harder for the skin to repair itself. Poor eating habits will also catch up with you – a colourful, well-balanced diet is rich in the antioxidants and anti-inflammatories vital for a healthy complexion.
The skin starts to age more rapidly, as the skin cells die faster than the body can produce new ones; also the quality and quantity of collagen is reduced. The cellular structure of the skin changes as the connective tissue and the elastic fibres that help keep the skin supple begin to deteriorate. The support (the dermis) underneath the epidermis (surface skin) loses its firmness, as new cells do not replace old cells fast enough.
Due to the scientific knowledge available in the Skin Care Industry
- We have in our hands the most advanced Skin Care, Skin Nutrition and Advance Salon Treatments
- We can increase your fibroblasts thus increasing collagen production.
- We can feed your epidermis to fatten up your aging and thinning cells
- We can increase health cellular turn over.
- We can increase GAG’S thus plumbing up the fluid in your skin.
- We can remove redness with our skin pigmentation treatments.
- We can stimulate cells in the dermis to improve the quality of your skin.
- We can make your skin look younger thus making you look better.
- We have clever cameras to take pictures of skin, this can show us how much sun you have been exposed to, we can see the level of redness and pigmentation. All these things help us in advising you. Seek advice and they can talk to you and show you how your skin is aging and how it can be helped.
IF WE CAN’T STOP THE CLOCK, HOW CAN WE LOOK YOUNGER?
It’s much easier than you think. Evolutionary biologist Dr Bernhard Fink investigated perception of both facial age and attractiveness solely on the basis of facial skin colour distribution leaving out the question of lines and wrinkles. Research sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, found that not only wrinkles but also facial discolorations were extremely significant for others in assessing age and facial attractiveness and so should be an important target for anti-ageing skincare. Other studies had already shown that together evenly textured and evenly toned skin is makes us become more attractive.
Below is a list of skin care and treatments that we use at our clinic and why:
· Environ Skin Care & Environ Treatments will improve your skin colour, increase your skin hydration and give the skin an overall look of well-being. Environ increases the amount of Vitamin A into the cells and if you are aging prematurely your skin, within a year, will look younger.
· LED light treatment will increase cell renewal and plump up the skin.
· IPL Light treatment will mop up any excess colour from pigmentation or to much redness.
· Supplements play an important part of skin health (the organs take the important stuff, the skin is the last place that gets the good stuff). The important supplements are Anti-oxidants Omega 3 and 6 and lots of water.
· The Derma /Medical Roller will increase the collagen and stop the land slide. We have seen fantastic changes in skins with this treatment. It is one of the most effective anti-aging treatments available with very little reaction and is not over expensive for the effect it has on the skin. If you are looking for an Anti-Aging treatment combine this with Environ and Led and you will start to look more youthful.
· Botox and Fillers, as I said before, although Botox and fillers will remove a line it will not take years off you, but it will relax the face. Be very careful not to overdo it, over doing botox and fillers can lead to the face looking ‘plastic.’ Expression lines should not be entirely removed as it’s a basic part of expressing emotion, without these lines you are at risk of looking plastic and expressionless.