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If
you believe the television advertisements for skin care
products, then, your answer would be a definite yes. These
TV commercials suggest that if you use this or that product
that you too can have a flawless and beautiful complexion
and, by subtle inference be happy.
But, is this reality or an illusion?
It's a combination of both a partial reality and illusions.
With the majority of skin products it is definitely an illusion
as most women over thirty would attest to. Many products
can certainly make your skin look better at the time of
application but the real test is when all the make up is
washed off.
Generally the fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes and sagging
of skin still remain! Having said that, there are however
a few natural products
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that will help with firming up the skin and reducing fine
lines and blemishes but you have to accept that there are
limitations to what they can do on their own. More about this
later in the article!
So, what is the answer... plastic surgery? Many people obviously
think that it is, given the booming cosmetic plastic surgery
industry. But is it? In my opinion definitely not! I have
met quite a number of people that have had plastic surgery
and I have not been impressed. I remember just a few years
ago meeting up with some old friends from St Louis for dinner
in Palm Beach Florida.
My friends who were in their late 70's brought along a friend
who would have been in her early 60's. It was apparent that
this friend had had a number of plastic surgery procedures
on her face and not all of them were successful. I remember
thinking at the time that she would have looked better without
them.
Of course that is not always the case. Some people get really
good results, but they are very much dependent upon the skill
of the surgeon. So, the risks are high.
So, what causes skin to age which results in sagging, wrinkles
and blemishes?
If you want to maintain clear, healthy, and firm skin into
old age you need to know this. So ... here is the brief version
... FREE RADICALS. That's it in a nutshell.
I am sure that you have heard about free radicals and you
may even know exactly what they are, but nonetheless I will
give you a quick briefing about them.
Even though free radicals age our bodies and skin they are
a natural and essential part of life. They are everywhere,
inside our body and out. They are more concentrated in the
cities or anywhere there is any form of environmental pollution.
Sunlight also creates free radicals.
It is possible to see the effect of them quite dramatically
when you cut an apple open and leave it exposed to the air.
The parts without the skin quickly go brown. This is because
it is being attacked by these free radicals. If they were
not there then nothing would decompose and the whole planet
would be a massive garbage dump.
So, what exactly are they? They are oxygen molecules that
have lost an electron through interaction with other molecules.
As with everything in nature an effort is made (in this case
the molecule) to heal itself!
There is only one way it can do this... and that is by stealing
an electron from another healthy molecule. So, it rushes around
like a thief until it can find one!
When it does and it steals the electron, what happens?
You guessed it... another free radical is created and in the
process cells where the 'thief' has entered are damaged.
There is no 'security system' that can shut free radicals
out.
They surround you, they enter your body with each breath you
take. The greater your intake of air the higher exposure that
you have to free radicals. Ever wondered why long distance
runners look older than their years, particularly their face?
They inhale more air than most other people and with it more
free radicals. They therefore age faster if they don't counteract
the effect of the free radicals. Everyone who exercises should
be aware of this. The good news is that this is not a problem
if the appropriate measures are taken... more info soon.
Anyway, back to your skin. It needs good healthy Collagen
(which is a protein). This Collagen gives your skin its suppleness
and tautness. However it is constantly bombarded with free
radicals that damage the cells by the cross linking of molecules.
When this occurs the collagen molecules can no longer smoothly
slide over one another. They instead become rough which impacts
directly on the appearance of your skin.
Because collagen stays in the skin for many years it is continually
subjected to this free radical damage and the effects are
cumulative.
If you could stop the actions of these free radicals you could
stop the aging process. This applies not only to your skin
but to your entire body. But, it simply is not possible to
achieve a 100% success rate. However, you can reduce the impact
of these free radicals to a measurable degree.
This is through the use of a series of compounds known as
anti-oxidants. I am sure that you have heard of these but
you may be unsure exactly what they do? In simple terms they
donate spare electrons to the free radicals to 'heal' the
damaged molecule.
There are many different forms of anti-oxidants available
... some natural some synthetic. Some really potent, some
quite weak. For example Vitamin C is an antioxidant which
is relatively weak. On the other hand Alpha Lipoic acid is
a relatively potent one being about 400 times more powerful
than most Vitamin C's. Other antioxidants are even more powerful
than Alpha Lipoic acid, and so on it goes.
So, how does this apply to your skin and what should you do
to protect it?
Simple. When you are reviewing various crèmes and lotions
to apply to your face select those ones which are natural,
don't have any harsh chemicals that are likely to cause inflammation
(free radicals love inflammation) and make sure they have
natural antioxidants in them, for example, alpha lipoic acid,
vitamin C esters (fat soluble type), DMAE etc.
BUT... and this is an important but, if you are serious about
your skin health take heed of the old saying 'Beauty comes
from within'. Although this term is intended to relate to
an individuals mental attitude it also applies in a physical
sense. The health of your skin and thus the appearance of
it is directly related to your internal health.
If you have free radicals rampant in your body, then putting
all the expensive antioxidant crèmes on your face will
only do a part of the job. Nourishing your skin from the inside
out is much more rewarding and effective than any topical
application.
Don't forget about your internal health ... your skin is an
organ and it needs to be properly supported internally.
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