You cannot maintain youth forever, but it is quite possible to delay the onset of old age for several decades. To start anti-aging treatment, there is no need to wait for the appearance of the first wrinkles - on the contrary, it is better to take preventive measures in advance. Let's consider where to start, what to pay attention to and what results to strive for.
How skin ages
The aging process affects all body cells, including the skin. This process is influenced by internal and external factors. The first group includes genetics, ethnicity and hormonal levels - things that are impossible or very difficult to change. Second is stress, exposure to air pollution and ultraviolet light, smoking, nutrition, lack of sleep and movement, and various diseases. These factors can be controlled. The negative effects can be at least partially neutralized by providing quality skin care.
As we age, many processes that depend on the condition of the skin slow down; for example, cells do not renew as quickly as in youth. Blood circulation worsens, and hence cell nutrition. Hydration levels drop due to a lack of hyaluronic acid, and less collagen and elastin production. The skin becomes thinner, drier and less elastic, and wrinkles appear.
External factors make things worse. So, as a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, the skin structure changes to become thinner and less elastic. Smoking slows down the regeneration of the epidermis and disrupts blood circulation, thereby causing disruption of cell nutrition. Air pollution causes the appearance of age spots and wrinkles.
The good news is that a healthy lifestyle prolongs youth. Eating antioxidant-rich foods, quality sleep and moderate physical activity will help maintain your beauty for a long time.
Prevention or treatment?
It is believed that the skin begins to age from the age of 28. In practice, everything is individual: some discover signs of age earlier, and others late, depending on genetic characteristics, health status, lifestyle and the influence of external factors. In any case, there is no need to postpone self-care until the reflection in the mirror no longer pleases you. Prevention is always more effective and affordable than treatment, so you should take care in advance to prolong your youth. The further you go, the stronger the products you have to use, but to prevent aging, it is enough to care for your skin thoroughly and protect it from negative effects.
When choosing cosmetics, you need to focus not on the brand, but on the recommendations of cosmetologists given after direct examination. All people are different, the aging process also occurs differently, and an individual approach is needed to improve it. The doctor will determine the appropriate method not according to the calendar, but to the biological age.
Main features of anti-aging care
- Soft effect. It's time to stop using harsh scrubs and aggressive products that can dry out your skin. Mature skin is sensitive and does not recover well after traumatic procedures. He needs gentle and gentle care;
- Mandatory skin protection. The sun is the skin's number one enemy. It is not surprising that there is a special term "photoaging" which refers to the changes that occur in the skin due to the influence of ultraviolet rays. As we age, it becomes increasingly difficult for the skin to resist its effects. Creams with SPF will help him with this. It is also important to protect the skin from the effects of free radicals;
- Intense hydration. The direct cause of a decrease in skin tone and the appearance of wrinkles is a lack of moisture. Anti-aging care is based on deep hydration;
- Stimulation of collagen production. In adulthood, collagen, which is responsible for skin elasticity, is synthesized more slowly and destroyed more quickly than in youth. This means that additional stimulation of the formation of its own protein compounds is required to increase epidermal turgor;
- Not just cream. A thin layer of moisturizer may not be enough. Anti-aging care also involves intensive skin nutrition, use of exfoliants, masks and serums. The need for professional procedures is also increasing every year;
- Regularity. Young skin will forgive its owner for minor sins such as cosmetics not washed off at night or irregular care. Adult women need to care for their face, neck and décolleté constantly, day after day, year after year. Only in this case can you count on a real effect.
Doctor's comment:No need to complicate the skin care process in your mind, start small, with proper home care! If you have dermatological diseases, then you need to consult a dermatologist! Because even high-quality home treatment will not be able to get you out of the acute process. First, treatment on the background of cosmoceutical treatment, then everything else.
Is it possible to do without a beautician?
Aesthetic medicine and cosmetology have not yet made the dream of eternal youth come true, but they have brought its realization closer. Injection and hardware cosmetology procedures allow you to rejuvenate from the inside and restore the skin naturally. However, it would be a mistake to think that it is enough to take a course at a cosmetology clinic once a year, and ignore face and body care the rest of the time. Professional care must be complemented by home care - constantly, every day. This approach allows you to achieve optimal results and postpone old age for many years.
To maintain youth, cosmetic procedures are highly desirable, and home anti-aging treatments are absolutely necessary. It is best to combine both.
Anti aging treatment at home
And now it's time to consider in detail what to do in anti-aging skin care. What are the stages, what tools should be used and how to use them correctly.
It should be emphasized once again that the age at which you should start approaching facial care from a rejuvenation point of view is determined individually. It is difficult to independently assess the condition of your skin and detect changes in time, so it is better to consult a beautician to draw up an individual plan to maintain youth.
Cleaning
It is important to constantly combat age-related changes, and it is better to choose regular personal care products with a rejuvenating effect. To prevent fading, it is recommended to use the mildest and most gentle cleanser. These ingredients will easily remove residual makeup, sebum and dirt, but will not dry out or injure the skin.
When choosing a cleanser, you should pay attention to the condition of your skin. If after washing there is a feeling of tightness or discomfort, you need to look for another option with a higher content of moisturizing components. Surprisingly, the appearance of a greasy shine also indicates a lack of moisture. If irritation and redness occurs, you need to pay attention to hypoallergenic products.
Even if your skin is prone to rashes, you should not choose aggressive drying products. It is better to give preference to cosmetics with anti-inflammatory effect.
Morning and evening cleansing are two very different procedures. In the first case, you just need to remove skin secretions and remnants of night cream. Foam can easily cope with this task, and in some cases it is enough to just use a tonic. In the evening, you also need to remove the remains of sunscreen, cosmetics and atmospheric pollution. In situations like these, makeup remover lotions, creams and oils will come in handy. Apart from that, 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 particularly susceptible to aging and require careful attention.
tighten
This stage of leaving is underestimated by many, and completely in vain. The use of a tonic restores the water and acid balance, prepares the face for applying the cream and protects it from aggressive influences. Additionally, any remaining contaminants that cannot be addressed by cleansing lotions or foams will be removed.
The tonic is selected according to skin type and is used after washing (or other cleansing) in the morning and evening. In both cases, the same suitable agent can be used.
Hydration
Perhaps the most important thing in anti-aging care is hydration. Mature skin always needs moisture and therefore, hydrating products and professional care.
Hyaluronic acid molecules have impressive sizes and cannot penetrate the epidermal barrier to enter the deeper layers of the skin, so injections have been and remain the most effective way to use them. However, scientists have learned to process the molecule so that it penetrates better into the dermis. Thanks to these developments, the effectiveness of modern external products with hyaluronic acid has increased significantly.
Another well-known hydrant is urea. Don't be fooled by its unappetizing name: this substance effectively saturates the skin with moisture while stimulating cell renewal. These products are perfect for dry, dehydrated, rough and rough skin. To maintain moisture levels and improve skin tone, a cream with a small urea content is 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 has smaller molecules that easily penetrate the skin. This component is included in most cheap moisturizers with anti-aging effects. At the same time, concentrated glycerin can have the opposite effect, drawing moisture from the epidermis, so most manufacturers combine trihydric alcohol with other skin moisturizers.
Doctor's comment:I would like to emphasize that we choose products with urea in cases of hyperkeratosis, for example with rough skin, with psoriasis, with ichthyosis. Urea helps exfoliate scales, and other product components moisturize and nourish.
Nutrition
Unlike other organs, the skin can receive nutrients not only in the traditional way - through the 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 previously cosmetic products were confidently divided into moisturizing and nourishing, now this line has been erased: the same cream is able to saturate the skin with moisture and nutrition. Typically, modern creams, serums and masks combine both types of effects.
To nourish the skin, it first needs fats and fat-soluble substances. Don't underestimate the importance of this to preserve the younger generation. As you age, your skin needs more and more lipids. Even girls who complained of excess sebum in their youth notice that their skin becomes drier over the years. The fat layer on the surface of the skin becomes thinner and is no longer able to protect the epidermis from negative environmental influences.
Lipid deficiency causes:
- Increase sensitivity;
- Slows down the exfoliation of dead cells;
- Reduces humidity levels;
- premature wilting.
It is believed that the skin absorbs nutrients best at night, so it is recommended to apply nutritious products in the evening, at night.
Doctor's comment:Our skin is covered with a hydro-lipid mantle, this is a very important structure that ensures our skin functions normally! If its integrity is violated, the skin becomes brittle, dry, dehydrated, does not tolerate aggressive environmental factors, and the balance of the skin microflora is disturbed. We become helpless and lose resistance to various skin diseases.
Protection
The skin protects internal organs from negative environmental influences. It comes into contact with polluted air, ultraviolet radiation, aggressive substances, low or high temperatures. This effect does not go unnoticed: the skin condition worsens. To avoid premature aging, you must take care to protect your skin throughout your life.
First of all, it is necessary to protect the skin from exposure to sunlight. And you need to do this every time you go out during the day, and not just when getting ready for the beach. The cream is applied for 20-30 minutes until a large layer comes out, if necessary it needs to be renewed. In addition, it is important to choose the product according to your phototype: the whiter the skin, the greater the protective factor. If you don't follow these rules, using sunscreen lotion will not provide the expected benefits.
Sunscreen cosmetics not only protect the skin from burns, but also from aging. Long wave radiation (UVA) penetrates the deep layers of the skin and destroys cells. The rays damage the epidermis even in cloudy weather, so it is recommended to use products with SPF all year round.
Daily use of a protective cream will protect against skin photoaging - pigmentation, sagging, wrinkles, dehydration. But you have to choose the method carefully. The best option is pharmacy cosmetics.
High-quality day creams usually contain sunscreen components. If you have to combine moisturizer with Sanskrins, then apply the moisturizing cream first to the face and neck, and once completely absorbed, the protective cream.
UV radiation is not the only factor causing skin aging. To prolong youth, it is also necessary to protect the epidermis from the effects of free radicals - molecules that damage cells and destroy collagen. For this purpose, antioxidants are used to neutralize the effects of "aggressors".
They could be:
- Vitamins A, C, P and E;
- Alpha lipoic acid;
- Amino acid;
- Coenzyme Q10;
- Isoflavones;
- Tannin;
- Beta glucan.
These components can be contained in the cream in various combinations. Antioxidants are known to prevent aging, so it is advisable to start using creams containing them even before the first signs of age-related changes appear.
Doctor's comment:It is important to know that various antioxidants work only in certain combinations, and their absorption occurs strictly in accordance with the body's needs. Cosmoceutical products are presented in the right combination. It is important to determine your skin type and needs; a dermatologist or cosmetologist can help you with this.
Special care
In addition to routine skin care, "special purpose" procedures are also necessary. This category includes anti-aging courses in cosmetology clinics and the use of masks and peels at home.
Mature skin needs to shed more dead cells than young skin, because the natural renewal process slows down with age. Therefore, peeling, which is only used occasionally by young women in their youth, has become a necessity for adult women. A gentle exfoliator should be used 2-3 times a week.
It is important to use products designed for mature skin. They should be soft, without scratching particles or irritating materials.
Talking about skin care, it is impossible not to mention masks. It usually contains the same ingredients as the cream, but the concentration is higher, so the mask is intended for intensive care. They can be used regularly, gradually improving skin condition, or as a quick treatment if you need to tidy up your face before an event.
Masks can be produced in the form of creams, gels, powders for self-dilution, and ready-made pieces of cloth soaked in healing compounds. The last variation is most often used to freshen the skin.
The purpose of masks can also vary. For mature skin, products that nourish, moisturize, tone, tighten and brighten are best suited. The choice of a particular mask is best done together with a beautician.
Doctor's comment:Pay attention to alginate masks, they are sold for household use, there are also professional ones. They have unique properties and are ideal for all skin types. Their healing properties are due to the fact that they are made from brown algae. They have a very pronounced lymphatic drainage effect and are a powerful anti-aging preventative.
From theory to practice: choosing cosmetics
A general understanding of the ingredients useful in rejuvenation will help you choose personal care products.
Day cream to prolong youth
The main task of day cream is to moisturize and protect the skin. Hyaluronic acid and other hydrating components help achieve the first goal. In addition, day cream should also improve the quality of the skin, making it more resistant to the negative effects of free radicals - aggressive molecules that trigger aging. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E are used for this.
Vitamin C is generally called the vitamin of youth, and this is no coincidence: ascorbic acid stimulates the production of collagen by fibrocytes and destroys melanin, eliminating unnecessary pigmentation.
When choosing a cream, you should give preference to so-called cosmetics, that is, cosmetics that are sold in pharmacies. This variety differs from bulk cream in its high content of active substances and. hence, 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
Night is the best time to nourish the skin. Although modern night creams do not necessarily have a heavy, oily texture, they always contain lipids and fat-soluble substances. These can be fatty acids, shea butter or wheat germ, cholesterol and other ingredients. Also contains moisturizing components.
The task of such products is to restore the skin, as well as 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 - do not overload the skin with lipids. This effect is possible if you choose the wrong night cream: the skin becomes oily, the pores become clogged, blackheads and rashes appear. Such phenomena indicate that the night cream was chosen poorly or used incorrectly.
It is important to remember that thick and oily products are intended primarily for dry, rough skin that flakes. In other cases, it is better to choose a lighter, melting texture. In addition, the cream must be suitable for your skin type and age: for anti-aging care it is best to use cosmetics labeled anti-aging.
As for usage, the main mistake here is too many applications. Night cream should be applied thinly to slightly damp skin after applying toner. After 15 minutes, you can remove the excess that is not absorbed into the epidermis with a napkin.
Don't forget that the product needs to be applied not only on the face, but also on the neck and décolleté!
Doctor's comment: Modern high-quality creams purchased at the pharmacy eliminate the need to use tonics. It is important to choose a night cream and apply it half an hour before bed. Subtly, avoid contact with eyes. Light patting movements.
Serums, peels and masks: secret weapons in the fight for youth
When choosing a "special purpose" product, you should pay attention to the following parameters:
- Active substances in the composition;
- Their concentration;
- Potential allergen and irritant.
As well as when choosing a cream, it is recommended to give preference to serums and masks with antioxidant, moisturizing and nourishing ingredients. But the presence of SPF is no longer necessary - 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 top layer of the epidermis. Modern effective peels rarely do without the addition of acids.
In addition to masks and peels, it is a good idea to buy an anti-aging serum. This is a highly concentrated product, and just a few drops are enough for the transformation. Serums are usually non-greasy, instantly absorbed and significantly rejuvenate the skin. It's not surprising: after all, they contain high doses of vitamins, amino acids, microelements, peptides and other substances that moisturize, nourish, brighten and tighten the skin.
When choosing such a product, you should focus not so much on your skin type, but on what problems need to be addressed. Is there pigmentation? Serums that even out skin tone will help. Does the oval face "swim"? This means you should choose options with a lifting effect. Increased dryness of the epidermis? The problem will be resolved faster if, in addition to the usual cream, you use a serum with hyaluronic acid.
Individual approach
Choosing your own anti-aging cosmetics 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 will help you choose the right treatment.
It is much more difficult to detect signs of aging on your own: we get used to our own appearance and cannot track changes over time. The result is the wrong selection of anti-aging products, so that the prevention and treatment of skin aging is ineffective. So it's better to take an hour to consult a doctor to immediately choose the right product for your skin.
And, of course, the best addition to regular home care is professional cosmetic procedures in the clinic. We will tell you about it next time.