ANTI-AGING SKIN CARE INGREDIENTS
Antioxidants
Vitamin A. Otherwise known as retinoids, vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is not present in the body. It is important not only to general health systems, but also for the skin, due to its role in the normal differentiation and proliferation of cells. Therefore, it must be added to the human diet for systemic health through the ingestion of fish liver oils, egg yolk, milk, liver and various vegetables. Also, vitamin A should be applied topically in order to perform its essential purposes. The sun depletes the skin of vitamin A, and this is one of the reasons those who expose their skin often to the sun age faster than those who do not. Every good skin care system has a vitamin A product due to its significance in preventing and healing sun damage. Vitamin A is the single most important ingredient to prevent, restore, normalize and help repair damaged skin. This should not be news to any in the skin care profession, because the efficacious effects of vitamin A are well known.
Because the body does not manufacture vitamin A, skin becomes deficient through time. For that reason, it is a very important and necessary ingredient in all quality anti-aging product lines.
Vitamin E. Although vitamin E is a highly effective antioxidant that protects collagen from destruction by UV rays, it is extremely sensitive to damage and inactivation when exposed to free radicals (molecules that attack and are damaging to cells). One of the important roles of its sister, vitamin C, is to reactivate it to its original form, enabling it to work against free radicals. Vitamins C and E are intertwined in their activity and are important teammates in protecting and treating the skin from sun damage.
Vitamin C. This antioxidant vitamin is important for protecting the oil structures of cells, preventing the deterioration of vitamin A, and is an effective unwanted skin pigment, preventing hyperpigmentation by slowing down the production of melanin (pigment). Vitamin C is a normal component in the skin, but is utilized first for other bodily functions and is not produced by the body, so there is not much left for the skin. It must be included in diet, in supplement, and in topical products for the skin.
Vitamin C is one of the most valuable ingredients in professional prevention and rejuvenation care due to its successful delivery into the skin has spurred on constant research. Vitamin C is a proven soldier in the fight against aging in skin care products.
Peptides. Ideal skin is healthy and strong, and its true skin (dermal matrix) quickly responds to treatment and healing. Peptides support these activities by stimulating the true skin matrix. The importance of peptides is right up there with vitamins A, C and E. Collagen is destroyed by age and a variety of environmental factors including sunlight, but is not completely replaced. One successful approach for minimizing wrinkles and giving your skin a more youthful appearance is to replace the collagen you have lost during the years. Certain peptides are released when collagen breaks down. Research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) show that these peptides signal your skin that it has lost collagen and needs to produce new collagen.
A natural problem with peptides is that, although their results are obvious, for the client who wants instant gratification the results are gradual but true. It is important that the client is fully educated, and to take before pictures, as well as follow-up pictures at the 90-day mark and later. As a result, smooth, young skin gradually becomes thin and wrinkled over time.
If you want to add peptides into your skin care without changing any other products, go with a serum.
Antioxidants are molecules that can safely terminate the oxidation chain reaction before cells are badly damaged. They neutralize free radicals turned loose by the sun’s UVA rays transforming them into nondamaging molecules. This activity is usually known as free radical scavenging by skin care professionals. Antioxidants help prevent tissue damage that could potentially lead to aging and disease. They are important for repairing sun damage and providing protection, but do not block UVB rays and, in and of themselves, don’t repair wrinkles. The best is actually not one single antioxidant, but rather products that contain a group of them, such as pomegranate, coffee berry, lycopene, grape extracts, idebenone and others. These have withstood both the test of time, as well as scrutiny by reputable medical journals and independent university research studies. Currently, the most important vitamin antioxidants in treatments are vitamins A, C, E, resveratrol and beta-carotene.
