You cannot preserve youth forever, but it is quite possible to postpone the onset of old age by decades. To start anti-aging care, there is no need to wait for the first wrinkles to appear - 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 cells of the body, and the skin is no exception. This process is influenced by both internal and external factors. The first group includes genetics, ethnicity and hormonal levels - things that are impossible or very difficult to change. The second is stress, exposure to air and ultraviolet pollution, smoking, nutrition, lack of sleep and movement, and various diseases. These factors can be controlled. It is possible to at least partially neutralize the negative effects by providing quality skin care.
With age, many processes on which the condition of the skin depends slow down; for example, cells are not renewed as quickly as in youth. Blood circulation deteriorates, and therefore cell nutrition. The level of hydration drops due to a lack of hyaluronic acid, and less collagen and elastin are produced. The skin becomes thinner, becomes drier and less elastic, and wrinkles appear.
External factors aggravate the situation. Thus, as a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, the structure of the skin changes, it becomes thinner and less elastic. Smoking slows down the regeneration of the epidermis and impairs blood circulation, which leads to 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 foods rich in antioxidants, 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 as early as 28 years of age. In practice, everything is individual: some discover signs of age earlier, and others later, depending on genetic characteristics, health status, lifestyle and the influence of external factors. In any case, there is no need to put off taking care of yourself until the moment when the reflection in the mirror ceases to please 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 means you will have to use, but to prevent aging it is enough to carefully care for your skin and protect it from negative effects.
When choosing cosmetics, you need to focus not on the brand, but on the recommendations of a cosmetologist given after an in-person examination. All people are different, the aging process also occurs differently, and an individual approach is required to correct it. The doctor will determine the appropriate means that correspond not to calendar, but to biological age.
The main features of anti-aging care
- Gentle effect. It's time to give up rough scrubs and aggressive products that dry out your skin. Mature skin is sensitive and does not recover well after traumatic procedures. She needs delicate, gentle care;
- Mandatory skin protection. The sun is skin's No. 1 enemy. It’s not for nothing that there is a special term "photoaging" to refer to the changes that occur to the skin under the influence of ultraviolet rays. With age, it becomes more and more difficult for the skin to resist their effects. Creams with SPF will help her with this. It is also necessary to protect the skin from the effects of free radicals;
- Intense hydration. The immediate cause of deterioration in tone and the appearance of wrinkles is lack of moisture. Anti-aging care is based on deep hydration;
- Stimulation of collagen production. In adulthood, collagen, which is responsible for the elasticity of the skin, is synthesized more slowly and is destroyed faster than in youth. This means that additional stimulation of the formation of its own protein compounds necessary to increase the turgor of the epidermis is necessary;
- Not just cream. A thin layer of moisturizer may not be enough. Anti-age care also involves intensive skin nutrition, the use of exfoliants, masks, and serums. The need for professional procedures is also increasing every year;
- Regularity. Young skin will forgive its owner for small sins such as cosmetics left unwashed at night or irregular care. Adult women need to take care of their face, neck, and décolleté constantly, day after day, year after year. Only in this case can you count on a noticeable effect.
Doctor's comment:There is no need to complicate the process of skin care in your thoughts, start small, with proper home care! If you have dermatological diseases, then you need to consult a dermatologist! Since even high-quality home care will not be able to get you out of the acute process. First, treatment against the background of cosmoceutical care, then only everything else.
Is it possible to do without a cosmetologist?
Aesthetic medicine and cosmetology have not yet made the dream of eternal youth a reality, but they have made it possible to get much closer to its realization. Injection and hardware cosmetology procedures allow you to rejuvenate from the inside and naturally restore the skin. However, it would be a mistake to think that it is enough to take a course at a cosmetology clinic once a year, and the rest of the time to neglect taking care of your face and body. Professional care must be complemented by home care - constant, daily. This approach allows you to achieve optimal results and push back old age by many years.
To preserve youth, cosmetic procedures are very desirable, and home anti-aging care is absolutely necessary. It is best to combine both.
Home anti-aging care
And now it’s time to consider in detail what anti-age skin care should consist of. What stages does it consist of, what tools should be used and how to use them correctly.
It must be emphasized once again that the age at which you should begin to approach facial care from the point of view of rejuvenation 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 with a cosmetologist to draw up an individual plan for preserving youth.
Cleansing
It is necessary to constantly combat age-related changes, and it is better to choose even routine personal care products with a rejuvenating effect. To prevent fading, it is recommended to use the softest, most delicate cleansers possible. They should easily remove remnants of makeup, sebum and impurities, but not dry out the skin or injure it.
When choosing a cleanser, you should focus on 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. The appearance of an oily sheen also, oddly enough, indicates a lack of moisture. If irritation and redness occur, 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 an anti-inflammatory effect.
Cleansing in the morning and evening are two completely different procedures. In the first case, you just need to remove the skin secretions and the remnants of the night cream. Foam can easily cope with this task, and in some cases it is enough to use only tonic. In the evening, you also need to remove any remnants of sunscreen, cosmetics, and atmospheric pollution. In such a situation, lotions, creams, and makeup remover oils will come in handy. Additionally, you should use a pore cleansing mask 1-2 times a week.
You need to cleanse not only your face, but also your neck and décolleté. These areas are very susceptible to aging and therefore require careful attention.
Toning
This stage of care is underestimated by many, and completely in vain. Using a tonic restores water and acid balance, prepares the face for applying cream and protects it from aggressive influences. Additionally, residual contaminants that the cleansing lotion or foam could not cope with are removed.
Tonic is selected according to skin type and 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, accordingly, hydrating products and professional procedures.
The hyaluronic acid molecule has an impressive size and cannot penetrate the epidermal barrier to get into the deeper layers of the skin, so injections have been and remain the most effective way to use it. 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 put off by the unappetizing name: the substance effectively saturates the skin with moisture while simultaneously stimulating cell renewal. Such products are well suited for dry, dehydrated, rough and rough skin. To maintain moisture levels and improve complexion, creams with a small urea content are 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 budget moisturizers with anti-age effect. 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 components of the products moisturize and nourish.
Nutrition
Unlike other organs, the skin can receive nutrition not only in the traditional way - through the blood - but also by absorbing substances that are applied to its surface. This is not only moisture, but also all kinds of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and lipids. They replenish 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 can saturate the skin with moisture and nutrients. As a rule, modern creams, serums and masks combine both types of effects.
To nourish the skin, first of all, fats and fat-soluble substances are needed. Don't underestimate their importance for preserving youth. With age, the skin needs lipids more and more. Even those girls who complained of excess sebum secretion in their youth note that their skin becomes drier over the years. The fatty film on the surface of the skin becomes thinner and can no longer protect the epidermis from negative environmental influences.
Lipid deficiency leads to:
- Increasing sensitivity;
- Slowing down the exfoliation of dead cells;
- Reduced moisture levels;
- Premature withering.
It is believed that the skin absorbs nutrients best at night, so it is recommended to apply nourishing 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 normal functioning! If its integrity is violated, the skin becomes fragile, dry, dehydrated, it does not resist aggressive environmental factors, and the balance of the microflora of the skin is disrupted. We become defenseless 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 condition of the skin worsens. To avoid premature aging, you should 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 outside during daylight hours, and not just when getting ready for the beach. The cream is applied for 20-30 minutes until it comes out in a generous layer; if necessary, it needs to be renewed. In addition, it is necessary to select such products in accordance with your phototype: the whiter the skin, the greater the protection factor should be. If you do not follow these rules, using sunscreen lotion will not bring the expected benefits.
Sunscreen cosmetics protect the skin not only from burns, but also from aging. Long-wave radiation (UVA) penetrates into the deep layers of the skin and destroys cells. Such rays damage the epidermis even in cloudy weather, so it is recommended to use products with SPF year-round.
Daily use of protective creams will protect against skin photoaging - pigmentation, sagging, wrinkles, dehydration. But you need to choose the means carefully. The best option would be pharmaceutical cosmeceuticals.
High-quality day creams usually contain sunscreen components. If you have to combine moisturizers with Sanskrins, then first apply a hydrating cream to the face and neck, and after it is completely absorbed, a protective one.
UV radiation is not the only factor that causes 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 can be:
- Vitamins A, C, P and E;
- Alpha lipoic acid;
- Amino acids;
- Coenzyme Q10;
- Isoflavones;
- Tannins;
- Beta glucan.
These components can be contained in the cream in various combinations. Antioxidants are a recognized means of preventing aging, so it is recommended to start using creams containing such ingredients 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 according to the needs of the body. Cosmoceutical products are already presented in the right combinations. It is important to determine your skin type and your needs; a dermatologist or cosmetologist can help you with this.
Special care
In addition to routine skin care, "special purpose" procedures are also required. This category includes both anti-aging courses in cosmetology clinics and the use of masks and peels at home.
Mature skin needs to exfoliate dead cells much more than young skin, since natural renewal processes slow down with age. Therefore, peelings, which girls use only occasionally in their youth, become a necessity for adult women. Gentle exfoliators should be used 2-3 times a week.
It is important to use products designed for mature skin. They should be gentle, without scratching particles or irritating ingredients.
When talking about skin care, it is impossible not to mention masks. They usually contain the same ingredients as creams, but in higher concentrations, so masks are intended for intensive care. They can be used regularly, gradually improving the condition of the skin, or as express care if you need to put your face in order before some event.
Masks can be produced in the form of cream, gel, powder for self-dilution, and a finished piece of fabric soaked in healing compounds. The latter variety is most often used to urgently refresh the skin.
The purpose of masks can also be different. For mature skin, nourishing, moisturizing, toning, tightening and brightening products are best suited. The choice of a specific mask is best done together with a cosmetologist.
Doctor's comment:Pay attention to Alginate masks, they are sold for home use, and there are also professional ones. They have unique properties and are ideal for any skin type. Their healing properties are explained by the fact that they are made from brown algae. They have a super pronounced lymphatic drainage effect and are a powerful anti-aging prevention.
From theory to practice: choosing cosmetics
A general understanding of the ingredients that are useful in rejuvenation will help you choose personal care products.
Day cream to prolong youth
The main tasks of a day cream are to moisturize and protect the skin. Hyaluronic acid and other hydrating components help achieve the first goal. Also, the day cream should improve the quality of the skin, making it more resistant to the negative effects of free radicals - aggressive molecules that provoke 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 cosmeceuticals, that is, cosmetics that are sold in pharmacies. These varieties differ from mass creams in their high content of active substances and. accordingly, 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-age 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 to 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 - not to overload it with lipids. This effect is possible if you choose the wrong night cream: the skin acquires an oily sheen, pores become clogged, comedones and rashes appear. Such phenomena indicate that the night cream is poorly selected or used incorrectly.
It is important to remember that thick, oily products are intended primarily for dehydrated, rough skin with flaking. In other cases, it is better to choose lighter, melting textures. In addition, the cream must match your skin type and age: for anti-aging care, it is better to use cosmetics labeled anti-age.
As for use, the main mistake here is too much application. Night cream should be applied in a thin layer to slightly damp skin after applying the tonic. After 15 minutes, you can blot off the excess that is not absorbed into the epidermis with a napkin.
Don’t forget that the products need to be applied not only to the face, but also to the neck and décolleté!
Doctor's comment: Modern high-quality creams purchased at the pharmacy eliminate the need to use a tonic. It is important to choose your night cream and apply it half an hour before bed. Subtly, avoiding contact with eyes. Light patting movements.
Serums, peels and masks: the secret weapon in the fight for youth
When choosing "special purpose" products, you should pay attention to the following parameters:
- Active substances in the composition;
- Their concentration;
- Potential allergens and irritants.
As when choosing creams, it is advisable to give preference to serums and masks with antioxidants, 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 a variety of oils that soften the top layer of the epidermis. Modern effective peelings rarely do without the addition of acids.
In addition to masks and peelings, it is worth acquiring anti-aging serums. These are very concentrated products, and literally a couple of drops are enough for transformation. As a rule, serums are non-greasy, they are instantly absorbed and significantly rejuvenate the skin. It is not surprising: after all, they contain shock doses of vitamins, amino acids, microelements, peptides and other substances that moisturize, nourish, brighten and tone the skin.
When choosing such products, you should focus not so much on your skin type, but on what problems need to be solved. Is there pigmentation? Serums that even out skin tone will come to the rescue. Is the oval of the face "swimming"? This means that you should choose the option with a lifting effect. Increased dryness of the epidermis? The problem will be solved faster if, in addition to regular cream, you use serum with hyaluronic acid.
Individual approach
Choosing anti-aging cosmetics on your own is not as easy as it might seem. The ideal option is to entrust this choice to a cosmetologist. An experienced doctor will easily identify "weak spots" that need maximum attention and will help you choose the appropriate remedies.
It is much more difficult to detect signs of aging on our own: we get used to our own appearance and cannot track changes in time. The result is an incorrect selection of anti-aging products, and, accordingly, ineffective prevention and treatment of skin aging. So it’s better to spend an hour consulting with a doctor to immediately select exactly the products your skin needs.
And, of course, the best addition to routine home care will be professional cosmetic procedures in the clinic. We will tell you about them next time.