As we all become more "woke" it seems increasingly important for us to accept the fact that we should age gracefully, and pay much less attention to flawlessness we see strutting the red carpets.
Let's be real though, there is still that part of us that would love to hold on to the youth in our faces and skin we've learned to love over the years! With that said, there are some things we can't do anything about, and other things we can help! This is where "anti-aging" skincare comes in.
The term anti-aging refers to a slowing down of time, rather than a time-freeze. Yet, what we really want to know is what exactly are these products helping with, and how are they doing it.
There are 4 major events that happen as we age: loss of collagen, elastin, superficial fat, and believe it or not - bone loss. There is another type of aging, which is known as "intrinsic aging" which is due to environmental and lifestyle factors, but this will be a topic for another post in the future. For now, let's briefly cover 6 ingredients that are believed to slow down the aging factors mentioned above.
Retinols/Retinoids: Basically it's hands-down a miracle anti-wrinkle ingredient used in creams and is designed to improve skin cell turnover, stimulate collagen production, and improve hyperpigmentation as well as acne. Essentially it's your skins MVP!
Glycolic Acid: A much-loved member of the alpha-hydroxy family, this is an acid that is safe to use on most skin types, including pregnant and breastfeeding moms. It's proven to be effective on mild acne, improve skin cell turn over, and best of all it helps to exfoliate stubborn old dead skin cells that have overstayed their welcome. Glycolic acid will help improve skin texture while bringing back that glow you've been missing.
Salicylic Acid: An old standby that we've mostly all used at one time or another. As a part of the beta-hydroxy family, it is relied upon to help fight acne. This ingredient is known as folliculotropic. In other words, "hair-loving". This acid is drawn to the hair follicle where pimples and zits like to make their entrance. By eliminating dirt, grime, and stubborn old skin cells it greatly improves inflammation, while improving skin tone, and it also has the ability to help improve collagen production.
Azelaic Acid: A naturally occurring acid found in grains such as barley & rye. This wonderful ingredient helps prevent clogged pores, and pimples. It has wonderful brightening properties, which is why it's one of the key ingredients found in our superstar peel Cosmelan which is incredible at dealing with melasma (hormone-related hyperpigmentation). Not only is this acid great for brightening, but it's also an effective antioxidant which means it will help with free-radical skin damage. So less lines and wrinkles!
Niacinamide: As a form of vitamin B-3 it's been seen to help reduce inflammation, help minimize the appearance of large pores, regulates oil, helps shield your skin from harmful UV rays, while also protecting you from free-radicals.
EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor): Growth factors are signals that tell your skin cells to behave like young, vibrant, healthy cells. EGF naturally occurs in our skin cells. Like most things in life with age they become less effective, by age 29 there is a sharp decrease. Which is why we need them delivered via our cosmetics. products like EGF DNA from Le Mieux deliver improvement in: lines and wrinkles, hydration, even pigmentation, skin elasticity, and collagen. All the while enhancing the skin barrier, meaning that it will help you hold on your skin moisture better.
Well, that was quite a bit of info wasn't it? Remember that you can always reach out, and ask any questions about the topics discussed here. At the end of the day we're all here to learn a little more.
Until next time,
Veronyka