We cannot preserve youth forever, but it is entirely possible to delay the onset of old age by several decades. To start anti-aging treatment, it is not necessary to wait for the first wrinkles to appear; on the contrary, it is better to take preventive measures in advance. Let's figure out where to start, what to pay attention to and what results to aim for.
How does skin age?
The aging process affects every cell in the body and the skin is no exception. This process is influenced by both internal and external factors. The first group includes genetics, ethnicity, and hormonal levels – things that are impossible or very difficult to change. The second is stress, exposure to air and ultraviolet pollution, smoking, nutrition, lack of sleep and movement and various diseases. These factors can be controlled. It is possible to at least partially neutralize the negative effects by providing quality skin care.
With age, many processes on which the condition of the skin depends slow down; for example, cells do not renew themselves as quickly as in youth. Blood circulation deteriorates, and therefore cellular nutrition. Hydration levels decrease due to a lack of hyaluronic acid and less collagen and elastin are produced. The skin becomes thinner, drier and less elastic and wrinkles appear.
External factors make the situation worse. Thus, following exposure to ultraviolet rays, the structure of the skin changes, it becomes thinner and less elastic. Smoking slows down the regeneration of the epidermis and impairs blood circulation, which leads to a disruption of cellular nutrition. Air pollution causes the appearance of age spots and wrinkles.
The good news is that a healthy lifestyle prolongs youth. Eating foods rich in antioxidants, quality sleep and moderate physical activity will help maintain your beauty for a long time.
Prevention or treatment?
It is believed that skin begins to age from the age of 28. In practice, everything is individual: some discover the signs of age earlier, others later, depending on genetic characteristics, state of health, lifestyle and the influence of external factors. In any case, you should not postpone taking care of yourself until the moment the reflection in the mirror stops pleasing you. Prevention is always more effective and more affordable than treatment, so you should take care of prolonging your youth in advance. The further you go, the more powerful the means you will have to use, but to prevent aging, it is enough to take care of your skin and protect it from negative effects.
When selecting cosmetic products, you should focus not on the brand, but on the recommendations of a cosmetologist given after an in-person examination. All people are different, the aging process also occurs differently and an individual approach is needed to correct it. The doctor will determine the appropriate means that correspond not to the schedule, but to the biological age.
The main characteristics of anti-aging care
- Soft effect. It's time to ditch the harsh scrubs and harsh products that dry out your skin. Mature skin is sensitive and does not recover well after traumatic procedures. She needs delicate and gentle care;
- Skin protection required. The sun is the skin's number one enemy. It is not for nothing that there is a special term "photoaging" for the changes that occur on the skin under the influence of ultraviolet rays. With age, it becomes more and more difficult for the skin to resist their effects. Creams with SPF will help with this. It is also necessary to protect the skin from the effects of free radicals;
- Intense hydration. The immediate cause of the deterioration of tone and the appearance of wrinkles is the lack of hydration. Anti-aging treatments are based on deep hydration;
- Stimulation of collagen production. In adulthood, collagen, responsible for skin elasticity, is synthesized more slowly and is destroyed more quickly than in adulthood. This means that additional stimulation of the formation of its own protein compounds is necessary to increase the turgor of the epidermis;
- Not just cream. A thin layer of moisturizer may not be enough. Anti-aging care also involves intensive nutrition of the skin, the use of exfoliants, masks and serums. The need for professional procedures is also increasing every year;
- Regularity. Young skin will forgive its owner such small sins as unwashed cosmetics at night or irregular care. Adult women must take care of their face, neck and décolleté constantly, day after day, year after year. Only in this case can you count on a noticeable effect.
Doctor's comment:There is no need to complicate the skin care process in your thoughts, start small, with proper home care! If you suffer from dermatological diseases, then you need to consult a dermatologist! Because even high-quality home care will not be able to get you out of the acute process. First, treatment in the context of cosmoceutical care, and then everything else.
Is it possible to do without a beautician?
Aesthetic medicine and cosmetology have not yet made the dream of eternal youth a reality, but they have brought us much closer to achieving it. Injection and hardware cosmetology procedures allow you to rejuvenate from the inside and naturally restore the skin. However, it would be a mistake to think that it is enough to take a course in a cosmetology clinic once a year, and the rest of the time to neglect taking care of your face and body. Professional care must be complemented by home care – constant and daily. This approach allows you to obtain optimal results and postpone old age by several years.
To preserve youth, cosmetic procedures are very desirable and anti-aging care at home is absolutely necessary. It is best to combine the two.
Anti-aging care at home
And now it's time to consider in detail what anti-aging skin care should consist of. What steps does it consist of, what tools should be used and how to use them correctly.
It should be emphasized once again that the age at which one should start approaching facial care from the point of view of rejuvenation is determined individually. It is difficult to independently assess the condition of your skin and detect changes over time, so it is better to consult a beautician to develop an individual youth preservation plan.
Cleaning
It is necessary to constantly fight against age-related changes and it is better to choose even routine personal care products that have a rejuvenating effect. To avoid discoloration, it is recommended to use the gentlest, most delicate cleansers possible. They must easily remove remnants of makeup, sebum and impurities, but without drying out or injuring the skin.
When choosing a cleanser, you should focus on the condition of your skin. If after washing you feel a feeling of tightness or discomfort, you should look for another option with a higher content of moisturizing components. The appearance of an oily sheen also indicates, oddly enough, a lack of moisture. In case of irritation and redness, you should pay attention to hypoallergenic products.
Even if your skin is prone to breakouts, you should not choose harsh drying products. It is better to give preference to cosmetics with an anti-inflammatory effect.
Morning and evening cleansing are two completely different procedures. In the first case, it is enough to eliminate the skin secretions and the remains of night cream. Foam can easily cope with this task, and in some cases it is enough to use only tonic. In the evening, you should also eliminate the remains of sunscreen, cosmetics and air pollution. In such a situation, makeup remover lotions, creams and oils will come in handy. Additionally, you should use a pore cleansing mask 1-2 times a week.
You need to clean not only your face, but also your neck and décolleté. These areas are very sensitive to aging and therefore require special attention.
Toning
This stage of care is underestimated by many and totally futile. Using a tonic restores water and acid balance, prepares the face for application of cream and protects it from aggressive influences. In addition, residual contaminants that the cleansing lotion or foam could not treat are eliminated.
The tonic is selected depending on the skin type and used after washing (or other cleansing) morning and evening. In both cases the same appropriate agent can be used.
Hydration
Hydration is perhaps the most important thing in anti-aging skincare. Mature skin always needs hydration and, therefore, moisturizing products and professional care.
The hyaluronic acid molecule has an impressive size and cannot penetrate the epidermal barrier to penetrate deeper layers of the skin. Injections have therefore been and remain the most effective way to use it. However, scientists have learned to process the molecule so that it penetrates the dermis better. Thanks to these developments, the effectiveness of modern external products based on hyaluronic acid has significantly increased.
Another well-known hydrant is urea. Don't be put off by its unappetizing name: the substance effectively saturates the skin with moisture while stimulating cell renewal. These products work well for dry, dehydrated, rough and rough skin. To maintain the level of hydration and improve the complexion, creams with a low urea content are sufficient. More concentrated products are used to smooth rough calluses on the feet.
Glycerin is another popular ingredient. Due to its hygroscopicity, it attracts and binds water molecules like hyaluronic acid. In terms of moisturizing properties, trihydric alcohol (glycerin) is inferior to hyaluronic acid, but it contains smaller molecules that easily penetrate the skin. This component is included in most budget moisturizers with anti-aging effect. At the same time, concentrated glycerin can have the opposite effect, drawing moisture from the epidermis, which is why most manufacturers combine trihydric alcohol with other skin moisturizers.
Doctor's comment:I would like to emphasize that we choose urea products in case of hyperkeratosis, for example, in case of rough skin, psoriasis, ichthyosis. Urea helps exfoliate flakes and other components of the products moisturize and nourish.
Nutrition
Unlike other organs, the skin can be nourished not only in the traditional way - through blood - but also by absorbing substances applied to its surface. It's not just moisture, but also all kinds of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and lipids. They fill nutritional deficiencies in the skin, improve the structure of the epidermis, saturate it with useful ingredients and strengthen the protective lipid layer.
If earlier cosmetic products were confidently divided into moisturizing and nourishing, now this line is erased: the same cream can saturate the skin with moisture and nutrients. As a rule, modern creams, serums and masks combine both types of effects.
To nourish the skin, you need above all fats and fat-soluble substances. Do not underestimate their importance for the preservation of youth. With age, the skin needs more and more lipids. Even girls who complained of excessive oil secretion in their youth find that their skin becomes drier as the years go by. The fatty film on the surface of the skin becomes thinner and can no longer protect the epidermis from negative environmental influences.
A lipid deficiency leads to:
- Increasing sensitivity;
- Slow down the exfoliation of dead cells;
- Reduced humidity levels;
- Premature wilting.
It is believed that the skin absorbs nutrients better at night, so it is recommended to apply nourishing products in the evening, at night.
Doctor's comment:Our skin is covered with a hydro-lipid coat, it is a very important structure which ensures the normal functioning of our skin! If its integrity is violated, the skin becomes fragile, dry, dehydrated, it does not resist aggressive environmental factors and the balance of the skin microflora is disrupted. We become defenseless and lose our resistance to various skin diseases.
protection
The skin protects the internal organs from negative environmental influences. It comes into contact with polluted air, ultraviolet rays, aggressive substances, low or high temperatures. This effect does not go unnoticed: the condition of the skin worsens. To avoid premature aging, make sure to protect your skin throughout your life.
First of all, it is necessary to protect the skin from exposure to the sun. And you need to do it every time you go out during the day, not just when you're getting ready for the beach. The cream is applied for 20 to 30 minutes until it comes out in a generous layer; if necessary, it must be renewed. In addition, it is necessary to select these products according to your phototype: the whiter the skin, the higher the protection index should be. If you do not follow these rules, using sunscreen will not provide the expected benefits.
Sun cosmetic products protect the skin not only from burns, but also from aging. Longwave radiation (UVA) penetrates deep layers of the skin and destroys cells. These rays damage the epidermis even on cloudy days, so it is recommended to use products with SPF all year round.
Daily use of protective creams will protect against skin photoaging - pigmentation, sagging, wrinkles, dehydration. But you have to choose the means carefully. The best option would be pharmaceutical cosmeceutical products.
High-quality day creams usually contain sun protection ingredients. If you must combine moisturizers with Sanskrin, first apply a moisturizer to the face and neck, then once fully absorbed, a protective cream.
UV rays are not the only factor responsible for skin aging. To prolong youth, it is also necessary to protect the epidermis from the effects of free radicals, molecules which damage cells and destroy collagen. For this purpose, antioxidants are used to neutralize the effects of the "aggressors".
They can be:
- Vitamins A, C, P and E;
- Alpha lipoic acid;
- Amino acids;
- Coenzyme Q10;
- Isoflavones;
- Tannins;
- Beta-glucan.
These components can be contained in the cream in various combinations. Antioxidants are a recognized means of preventing aging, so it is recommended to start using creams containing such ingredients even before the first signs of age-related changes appear.
Doctor's comment:It is important to know that various antioxidants act only in certain combinations and their absorption occurs strictly according to the needs of the body. Cosmoceutical products are already presented in the right combinations. It is important to determine your skin type and needs, a dermatologist or cosmetologist can help you.
Special care
In addition to routine skin care, "special purpose" procedures are also necessary. This category includes both anti-aging courses in cosmetology clinics and the use of masks and peels at home.
Mature skin needs to exfoliate dead cells much more than young skin, because natural renewal processes slow down with age. Therefore, peelings, which girls use only occasionally in their youth, become a necessity for adult women. Gentle exfoliants should be used 2 to 3 times per week.
It is important to use products designed for mature skin. They should be soft, without scratchy particles or irritating ingredients.
When we talk about skin care, it's impossible not to mention masks. They generally contain the same ingredients as creams, but in higher concentrations, so masks are intended for intensive care. They can be used regularly, gradually improving the condition of the skin, or as an express treatment if you need to put your face in order before an event.
Masks can be produced in the form of a cream, gel, self-diluting powder and a finished piece of fabric soaked in healing compounds. This latter variety is most often used to refresh the skin in an emergency.
The purpose of masks may also be different. For mature skin, nourishing, moisturizing, toning, firming and lightening products are best suited. It is better to choose a specific mask in conjunction with a cosmetologist.
Doctor's comment:Pay attention to alginate masks, they are sold for home use, and there are also professional ones. They have unique properties and are suitable for all skin types. Their healing properties are explained by the fact that they are made from brown algae. They have a very pronounced lymphatic drainage effect and constitute a powerful anti-aging prevention.
From theory to practice: choosing your cosmetics
A general understanding of ingredients useful for rejuvenation will help you choose personal care products.
Day cream to prolong youth
The main tasks of a day cream are to moisturize and protect the skin. Hyaluronic acid and other hydrating components help achieve the first goal. In addition, the day cream should improve the quality of the skin, making it more resistant to the negative effects of free radicals, aggressive molecules that cause aging. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E are used for this purpose.
Vitamin C is usually called the vitamin of youth, and this is no coincidence: ascorbic acid stimulates the production of collagen by fibroocytes and destroys melanin, thereby eliminating unnecessary pigmentation.
When choosing a cream, you should give preference to so-called cosmeceutical products, that is to say cosmetics sold in pharmacies. These varieties differ from mass creams in their high content of active substances and. therefore, greater efficiency. And the best results can be achieved by combining the use of the cream with cosmetic procedures, for example, mesotherapy and biorevitalization.
Anti-aging night cream
Nighttime is the best time to nourish the skin. Even though modern night creams don't necessarily have a heavy, greasy texture, they still contain lipids and fat-soluble substances. These may include fatty acids, shea or wheat germ butter, cholesterol and other ingredients. Also contains moisturizing components.
The task of these products is to restore the skin and stimulate the production of substances necessary to improve its structure - hyaluronic acid, collagen, elastin.
When nourishing the skin, it is important not to overdo it - not to overload it with lipids. This effect is possible if you choose the wrong night cream: the skin acquires an oily shine, pores become clogged, comedones and rashes appear. Such phenomena indicate that the night cream is incorrectly chosen or used incorrectly.
It is important to remember that thick and oily products are primarily intended for dehydrated, rough and flaky skin. In other cases, it is better to choose lighter and more melting textures. In addition, the cream must correspond to your skin type and your age: for anti-aging care, it is better to use cosmetics labeled anti-aging.
As for usage, the main mistake here is too much application. The night cream should be applied in a thin layer to slightly damp skin after applying the toner. After 15 minutes, you can blot the excess not absorbed by the epidermis with a towel.
Remember that products should be applied not only to the face, but also to the neck and décolleté!
Doctor's comment: Modern high-quality creams purchased at the pharmacy eliminate the need to use a tonic. It is important to choose your night cream carefully and apply it half an hour before going to bed. Subtly, avoiding contact with the eyes. Light tapping.
Serums, peels and masks: the secret weapon in the fight for youth
When choosing "special purpose" products, you should pay attention to the following parameters:
- Active substances in the composition;
- Their focus;
- Potential allergens and irritants.
As with the choice of creams, you should favor serums and masks with antioxidant, hydrating and nourishing ingredients. But the presence of an SPF is no longer necessary: the day cream will take care of sun protection.
Anti-aging serums may contain retinol, vitamin C, ceramides, peptides, collagen and acids. Masks also often contain various oils that soften the upper layer of the epidermis. Modern effective peels rarely do without the addition of acids.
In addition to masks and peels, it is worth acquiring anti-aging serums. These are very concentrated products, and a few drops are enough for the transformation. As a rule, serums are not greasy, they are instantly absorbed and significantly rejuvenate the skin. This is not surprising: after all, they contain shock doses of vitamins, amino acids, microelements, peptides and other substances that moisturize, nourish, brighten and tone the skin.
When choosing such products, you should focus not so much on your skin type, but on the problems that need to be solved. Is there any pigmentation? Serums that even out skin tone will come to the rescue. The oval of the face "swims"? This means that you should choose the option with a lifting effect. Increased dryness of the epidermis? The problem will be solved faster if, in addition to regular cream, you use serum with hyaluronic acid.
Individual approach
Choosing anti-aging cosmetics for yourself is not as easy as it seems. The ideal option is to entrust this choice to a beautician. An experienced doctor will easily identify "weak spots" that require maximum attention and help you choose appropriate remedies.
It is much more difficult to detect the signs of aging yourself: we get used to our own appearance and cannot keep up with changes over time. The result is incorrect selection of anti-aging products and, as a result, ineffective prevention and treatment of skin aging. So it's better to spend an hour consulting a doctor to immediately select exactly the products your skin needs.
And, of course, the best complement to routine home care will be professional cosmetic procedures in the clinic. We'll tell you about it next time.