How Anti Ageing Skincare Metabolically Alters Your Skin

From skin sagging to fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation to sun damage.

All these changes become evident with age.

Think about a baby’s skin; they’re born with a healthy, glowing complexion.

But over time, several factors influence the health of our skin.

The environment, lifestyle, and genetic disposition.

Transforming our skincare routine to suit the seasons, we regularly do.

But changing it to suit your age can be a challenge.

Before you do, it is essential to understand the physiological changes taking place.

In order to know how to treat your skin with the correct anti-ageing ingredients.

The Anatomy of Ageing Skin

In order to understand these structural changes, we will have to go a little skin sciencey, so please bare with us.

Although your skin has many layers, it can generally be divided into three main parts:

• The epidermis contains skin cells, pigment, and proteins.
• The dermis contains blood vessels, oil glands, nerves, and follicles and provides nutrients to the epidermis.
• The inner subcutaneous layer contains sweat glands, follicles, and blood vessels.

Each layer contains connective tissue with collagen and elastin fibres to give support, flexibility, and strength.

Unlike the skin layers on your body, which lie in sheets over the muscles, your facial skin is knitted to the musculature structure.

These fingers of muscles protrude up into the dermis, which is interestingly what gives your face its extraordinary range of facial expressions.

Exactly how and when your face folds or creases to allow such movement is determined by your genes and facial habits, which develop over a lifetime.

The Epidermis

With ageing skin, the outer layer – the epidermis – thins, and your skin can look pale and clear.

The number of pigment-containing cells – the melanocytes – begins to decrease, and the remaining melanocytes increase in size.

Large pigmented spots, including age spots or lentigos, may appear in sun-exposed areas.

The Dermis

Cushioned beneath our protective outer layer of skin lays the dermis.

You can liken the dermis to your internal scaffolding; it is deep and spongy and consists of a gel-like substance containing molecules known as Glycoproteins, Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and water.

Within the dermis lies a complex, supportive, unseen network of connective tissue, collagen, elastin, nerves, and fibroblasts.

All of these form a firm, resilient base for your epidermis, helping to keep your skin plump and youthful.

This study (1) found that roughly 95% of the dermis is made up of collagen, and around 3% makes up elastin.

Elastin is made from springy, fibrous coils that provide support and structure to your dermis, giving your skin a firm, elastic feel that helps it snap quickly back into place.

The blood vessels in the dermis become more fragile with age; this causes bruising and bleeding under the skin, which we associate with older people, referred to as senile purpura, cherry angiomas, and other similar conditions.

Sebaceous glands produce less oil as our skin ages, especially in women; their skin gradually makes less oil after menopause, resulting in dryness and irritation.

The Subcutaneous – Fat Layer

Ageing causes this layer to be thin; it has less insulation and padding, increasing your risk of skin injury and reducing your ability to maintain body temperature.

Changes in the connective tissue visibly reduce your skin’s strength and elasticity, referred to as elastosis. It is more noticeable in sun-exposed areas, known as solar elastosis.

Elastosis produces the leathery, weather-beaten appearance common to those who spend significant time sunbathing or outdoors.

Your Internal Scaffolding

Collagen, GAGs, and water form your skin’s foundation.

This study (2) looks at the formation and repair of collagen, which they found to be one of the most important factors in maintaining healthy skin.

Collagen retains water within the dermis, which helps keep your skin firm and flexible.

If your dermis is your internal scaffolding, collagen is the biological role which supports your skin.

It comprises tiny collagen fibres called tropocollagen, which contains the amino acids glycine, proline, and lysine.

Hydration, hydration, hydration

In our youth, our skin contains a lot of hyaluronic acid, which our body requires to help bind water to the skin tissues.

Ageing causes hyaluronic levels to deplete, which causes your skin to appear dry, dull and flat.

This is why it is essential to replenish hyaluronic topically, which you can do with our H20 hydrating skin shot, which keeps your skin plump, vibrant and healthy.

To conclude. The naked truth

So as you can see, a lot begins to happen to your skin as you age:

• your skin becomes drier
• your skin starts to thin
• your skin is less able to restore itself
• the integrity of your skin becomes impaired, and it starts to thin
• skin tone and texture are significantly reduced, dark spots become apparent
• a lack of collagen formation and GAG concentration results in a loss of hydration

By topically applying essential skin-identical ingredients, including ceramides, urea, hyaluronic acid, lipids, and more.

You can reverse much of the damage caused by free radicals and ward off premature ageing.

You are helping to keep your skin young and beautiful for now and many years to come.

References

1. Evaluation of Elastin/Collagen Content in Human Dermis in-Vivo by Multiphoton Tomography—Variation with Depth and Correlation with Aging

2. The role of Elastin and Collagen in Cutaneous Aging: Intrinsic Aging Versus Photo Exposure