Aging Skin - You Can Slow It Down

Aging skin care is a topic of interest to a lot of people today. With the Baby Boom generation heading into retirement, and people living longer than ever, there are more aging and elderly people alive today than there has ever been before. One of the most visible and readily apparent signs of age is the effects on skin, namely wrinkles. Aging skin care is thus of primary concern for people that want to slow down the visible effects of their age.

Wrinkles are caused by damage to the proteins in your skin responsible for its elasticity. The protein in skin primarily responsible for its elasticity is appropriately named ‘elastin’. Like any other protein, elastin is subject to damage from free radicals and UV radiation. Essentially, it is free radicals that do all the damage in the long run, and aging skin care basically falls into different ways to counter their effects.

A free radical is just a scientific word for any number of oxygen molecules that have been split and are therefore very reactive, damaging any proteins or DNA molecules they crash into before being absorbed. The DNA damage they do can lead to skin cancers, and the protein damage they do leads to wrinkles. Free radicals are absorbed by substances called antioxidants, and so any aging skin care that involves the use of antioxidants will likely be effective.

Antioxidants can be applied in the form of a cream or moisturizer, directly to the skin. Some common examples are vitamins C and E, and the compound Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA). These compounds will not reverse wrinkles, but will help slowdown their onset. Even more important is maintaining a diet that is high in antioxidants. Fruits, berries, and dark colored vegetables are all high in antioxidants and are therefore important in aging skin care.

Perhaps more important than antioxidants is reducing the amount of free radicals you introduce into your body in the first place. UV radiation will split oxygen present in your skin into free radicals, and smoking essentially soaks your body in an assortment of free radicals as well. Quitting smoking and avoiding excessive sun exposure are thus great first steps to take for aging skin care. If you are planning on being in the sun, make sure you apply plenty of sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15.

A combination of all these measures will help you maintain youthful looking skin longer. If you already have wrinkles, using plenty of moisturizers or anti-aging creams may help reduce their appearance, but there aren’t any products that will permanently remove wrinkles.