ANTI-AGING PRODUCTS

Intrinsic aging, also known as chronological or natural aging, is largely driven by genetics. The visible signs appear most commonly as dry skin, wrinkles, loss of firmness, and increased pore size. With age, the skin’s oil glands produce less oil and necessary fats, resulting in dehydration, lines, and more vulnerable skin. Simultaneously, skin naturally loses collagen and elastin, causing wrinkles, laxity, and enlarged pores. Furthermore, years of constant facial expressions such as smiling, laughing, frowning, and squinting, also contribute to wrinkles around the mouth, eyes, and forehead.

Extrinsic aging or environmental and atmospheric aging is due to external factors like UV, pollution, smoking, sleep deprivation, stress, alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition that ultimately cause skin to prematurely age. While there are many external factors that contribute to skin aging, research has shown UV and pollution to be primary causes. Both of these atmospheric factors create free radicals that “eat away” at skin’s collagen and elastin, and reduce healthy cell turnover, resulting in skin roughness, wrinkling, and sagging. Persistent or constant exposure to the sun’s rays also affects skin’s natural production of melanin causing discoloration, most commonly found on the face, neck, chest, arms, and hands.

Regardless of the cause of skin aging, it is never too early to start incorporating anti-aging products into your skin care routine. Prevention and protection are the two essential steps of the best anti-aging skin care regimen. Using a topical  vitamin C antioxidant  and  sunscreen  every morning helps prevent and protect skin from direct UV damage as well as damaging free radicals that cause premature skin aging. Anti-aging skin care products can also be incorporated into your routine to help improve the appearance of existing signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, skin discoloration, dehydration, loss of elasticity, and more. For optimal effectiveness, a SkinCeuticals skin care professional can create a customized anti-aging regimen based on your skin’s needs and your goals. To find a professional near you,  click here.

When shopping for anti-aging products, it is best to look for ingredients and formulations that are backed by evidence-based science and clinical studies to support their claims, meaning the claims are made on the final formula and the studies are performed on human subjects vs. in-vitro (cell cultures or reconstructed skin). This helps sift through the hype and ensure that anti-aging benefits have been proven. Many ingredients may have powerful claims or supporters behind them, but it does not mean these ingredients have been proven effective when used on live skin, or even in your formula. With that said, some ingredients have been researched more than others and are backed by years of real life research. Vitamin C is one of the most effective and extensively studied antioxidants available in skin care today, it is favored by skin care professionals for its preventative and anti-aging benefits on skin. However, there are many different forms of vitamin C. For optimal free-radical protection, look for pure ascorbic acid (l-ascorbic acid) on the ingredient label. In addition to neutralizing free radicals and preventing premature aging, l-ascorbic acid has anti-aging benefits that include improving the appearance of wrinkles and loss of firmness. Additional antioxidants that also provide prevention against premature aging and anti-aging benefits are  ferulic acid, vitamin E (in its alpha-tocopherol form),  phloretin, and  resveratrol.

Retinol  is the essential anti-aging ingredient. It is a form of vitamin A, a retinoic acid, and has decades of research and proof behind its efficacy on sign of aging, such as fine lines and discoloration. Similar to vitamin C, there are many forms of retinol. For maximum anti-aging results, always look for”retinol” on a product’s list of ingredients. Other derivatives such as retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, and retinaldehyde are not as effective.

While effective skin care is the basis of any anti-aging regimen, advances in aesthetic procedures and treatments offer the ability to powerfully transform skin’s appearance, in the form of lasers, chemical peels, injectables, like neurotoxins and soft tissue fillers, and more. We recommend consulting with a SkinCeuticals  skin care professional  who can create a customized treatment plan according to your needs, goals, and budget.

At SkinCeuticals, we believe prevention is the best anti-aging correction. Prevention is key for delaying the appearance of visible signs of aging. Studies have shown that those who start a consistent sun protection routine early have less premature aging. To keep skin looking its best is to ward off the damage caused by environmental aggressors like UV rays and pollution. Using a SkinCeuticals vitamin C  daytime antioxidant  and sunscreen will ward off premature aging caused by environmental aggressors such as UV rays and pollution.