When it comes to skin care and anti-ageing, there are various different aspects
that need to be addressed. Things like sun damage, free radical damage, smoking,
pollution, hormones, harsh skin care routines or beauty products, and time itself
all affect how the skin ages and this is shown on the skin in numerous forms. Dryness,
sagging, lack of plumpness, dehydration lines, fine lines, wrinkles, expression
lines, sun damage, age spots, dullness, sluggishness, blemishes and the list goes
on. These are a few of the problems people get as the skin ages, and one thing that
you must be aware of is, whatever else damages your skin and causes it to age, the sun
accelerates the process.
Is the Sun the main culprit?
In fact the sun can cause up to 80% of the skins ageing processes, which means that
the first line of defence in your anti-ageing skin care routine is a good UVA and
UVB protecting sun cream. A SPF (Sun Protection Factor) will only protect you from
UVB rays, which are the rays that burn the skin, and the SPF number will only tell
you how long you can stay out in the sun before burning. For example, if you can
stay in the sun with no protection on for 10mins before you start to burn, then
a SPF15 will allow you to stay out for 15 x longer (10mins X SFP15 =150mins). However,
a SPF will not protect you from UVA rays which are the rays that penetrate deeper
into the skin, causing the skin to become thicker on the surface (the ‘leathery’
look), breaks down collagen and elastin fibres, which gives the skin a transparent
look and it feels less plump and thin to touch and it also causes pigmentation marks
(brown spots/liver spots). Therefore, you must make sure that your sun screen has
UVA protection as well as an SPF of at least 15. Also remember that an SPF needs
to be applied regularly throughout the day to be effective, and who has time to
take off all make up just to reapply more sun screens in the middle of the day,
only to reapply more make up after? But using moisturisers with sun filters, and
a sun screen with SPF15 or higher with UVA protection, and making sure your make
up has sun filters in is why the ‘layering’ technique is effective. Using one of
these beauty products alone will not give you complete protection as you need to
apply a generous layer and who actually applies a thick layer of make-up foundation?
Is SPF all I need?
Before you get carried away and think all you need is a beauty product with SPF
remember that protection from the sun doesn’t help with the many other factors influencing
how your skin ages. Consider using moisturisers and skin care products with anti
oxidants to enhance the sun screens effectiveness on the skin... Supporting and
improving the collagen and elastin structures within the skin can help to plump
the skin as well helping to firm the skin, and as using water binding ingredients
in your skincare, which help to support the skin’s intercellular matrix (the cement
that holds the skin together) which gives the skin its silky touch. Also ingredients
that will help to improve cell regeneration, like exfoliators with enzymes and mild
AHA’s. Avoid using mechanical exfoliators as these can damage the already delicate
skin When you are younger, you skin renews itself every 28 days. As we get older
this process slows down and so our skin cells are exposed to all that damages the
skin for longer which is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. So by removing
the dead skin on the surface, you help to stimulate the cell renewal cycle. Another
key factor to consider in your skin care routine is Retinol. A technical name for
Vitamin A, retinol can be very powerful on the skin, and when used in the right
concentrations and under the right circumstances, can actually have a huge effect
on the skin. Whereas most anti ageing ingredients help to plump, protect, increase
cell renewal and do all sorts of necessary things to the skin, they only work on
what is already there, Retinol is one of the only ingredients that will stimulate
the skin to produce healthy skin cells and so in turn can have a positive effect
on the skin. Helping to reverse the signs of ageing like sun damage and age spots,
it helps to plump the skin from within; it improves skin texture and tone and also
has an effect on plumping out dehydration lines and fine lines. Retinol is a very
powerful ingredient and to get these results, it needs to be in a high concentration,
and it is this high concentration that cannot be used in ‘over the counter’ beauty
products. Those people with thin, delicate or extremely sensitive skin should not
use it unless advised by and under the supervision of a qualified and experienced
beauty therapist or skin specialist.
Maintaining healthy functioning skin cells is important in anti ageing. A good skin
care routine with anti oxidants, collage and elastin stimulators, enzymes and mild
AHA’s, fillers, water binding ingredients, retinol and a good SPF with UVA protection
and some of the key points you need to include in your anti-ageing skin care routine.
Want to know more?
For further information please contact us. The Beauty Team at Matis Beauty, highly
skilled, trained beauty therapists are available to answer beauty and skin question
that you may have.