The Best Anti Aging Serum – Searching for a Fountain of Youth
By Skin Care Editor | December 3, 2009
The world has searched for an anti aging serum throughout recorded history. But, the proverbial fountain of youth has been elusive. Perhaps, we were simply looking in the wrong places.
Judging by the latest research, the secrets to health, longevity and good looks are found in the foods that we eat. If we eat the right foods, we can expect to live long, healthy lives and look younger than our peers.
If we eat the wrong foods, we can expect to have a variety of health problems and develop wrinkles at an early age. The popular theories about the causes of wrinkles, including habitual facial expressions and genetics, may be incorrect.
According to scientists, free radical damage causes the majority of wrinkles and other signs of age. Chronic inflammation and glycation play a role, as well. Only a very small percentage of wrinkles and other outward signs of age are related to facial expressions and only a very small percent are related to genetics.
We don’t know exactly how the percentages break down. Science has not gone that far, yet. But, it really doesn’t matter. We know enough to create an effective anti aging serum.
When it comes to the health of the whole body, the three big causes of age-related diseases are the same as the three that cause most wrinkles:
- Free Radical Damage
- Chronic Inflammation
- Glycation
The body’s natural defense against free radical damage is the antioxidant. We create some of them within the cells of our body. Others are consumed through the foods that we eat.
Some foods have natural anti-inflammatory activity. Others contribute to chronic inflammation. Certain foods are the causes of the glycation process that ends with the creation of Advanced Glycation End-products or AGEs.
An anti aging serum can address all of these things. For inner health, a good multi-nutritional supplement is necessary. For the health and appearance of the outer body, nourishing skincare products are necessary.
Eating a healthy diet and being physically active are also important. Advice about all of those things cannot be included in an article of this length. So, let’s stick with the skincare products.
First, of all, you should never use anything on the outside of your body that you would not take internally. So, when you see warning labels about the poisons, allergens and irritants, don’t buy those products. They are simply not worth the risk.
The best anti aging serum will contain antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatories. It will also contain ingredients that stimulate the production of antioxidants within the skin’s cells.
It is not possible to address the issue of glycation from the outside in. It would be worth your while to learn more about the foods to avoid, because they contribute to the production of AGEs.
But, when it comes to getting rid of wrinkles or preventing them from forming in the first place, the proverbial fountain of youth may have been found in a bioactive protein called Functional Keratin. If you want the most effective anti aging serum for your face and body, you should look for that ingredient.
Topics: Anti Aging, Anti Wrinkle Creams, Skin Wrinkles | Comments Off
Holistic Skin Care Solutions & What Products to Look For
By Skin Care Editor | November 29, 2009
Holistic skin care routines require that you consider the health of your whole body, treating problems from the inside out and from the outside in. Caring for the mind or spirit is part of the equation, too.
It’s interesting to note that scientific research continues to prove that ancient Ayurvedic and other healthcare practitioners were right. Modern cosmetic companies were wrong. The mainstream medical community might not have the right ideas, either.
All of the systems of the body are interconnected. Things that affect a part of the whole will eventually affect all of it. Drugs that address only symptoms or only a piece of the equation are only modestly effective. Oftentimes, they work temporarily, but become ineffective over time, if they don’t make the problem worse.
Take for example, psoriasis. It’s a chronic inflammatory condition that causes the appearance of red spots on a person’s body. Eventually, the spots may become plaques composed of dead skin cells that cannot be sloughed off.
The mainstream medical community refers to psoriasis as an autoimmune disease, because inflammation occurs for no known reason. A holistic skin care practitioner would look for the underlying causes of inflammation, evaluating a person’s diet and the things that they put on the outside of their bodies.
At one time, doctors prescribed drugs for severe psoriasis that inhibited essential functions of the immune system. They stopped prescribing the drugs, because people died of serious brain infections as a result of a weakened immune system. What happened to “first do no harm”?
Most doctors know to look for infection and other signs of illness. They don’t always take the time to evaluate a person’s dietary or lifestyle habits. That’s a big mistake.
In holistic skin care, we recommend dietary changes in certain conditions. For example, in psoriasis, one of the things that we would recommend increased intake of omega-3 fatty acid, reduced intake of omega-6s to keep inflammation at bay, without negatively affecting the immune system.
For general health maintenance and to keep our faces and bodies looking as young as possible throughout our lives, we would recommend cutting simple carbohydrates out of the diet. Those include white bread, processed grains, white sugar and starchy Irish potatoes.
We would also recommend some good nutritional supplements, including omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to reduce inflammation, antioxidants to prevent and repair free radical damage and a good dosage of basic essential vitamins and minerals.
The final key to holistic skin care is the use of good, all natural creams and cleansers. Installing a water purifier on your showerhead is a good idea, because of all of the chemicals in publicly treated supplies.
Using a gentle, all natural cleanser is important. One that is sulfur-based is beneficial for acne and other conditions, because it helps to normalize the skin’s pH level.
After cleansing, the regular use of a moisturizer is essential. Just be careful about the ingredients that you choose. Natural plant-based oils are the ones to look for. Petroleum-based oils and petrochemicals, of all kinds, should be avoided.
There are other tenets of holistic skin care, but if you start with the ones mentioned here, you will be well on your way to looking healthier and younger.
Topics: Holistic Skin Care, Skin Health | Comments Off
Anti Wrinkle Creams Have Come a Long Way
By Skin Care Editor | November 20, 2009
Shopping for anti wrinkle creams can be very confusing. You see manufacturers making lots of claims. But, how can you be sure that the claims are honest?
Well, there’s been a lot of scientific research on reducing wrinkles. Not as much as there has been concerning health problems like cancer, but still a significant amount.
The better manufacturers are aware of the research. You can confirm their products’ claims by doing a little online research. The information in this article should help with that.
Research indicates that the causes of wrinkles and sagging skin are several. The primary cause is free radical damage. Combine that with decreased production of new cells and fibers, low levels of hyaluronic acid and chronic inflammation, what you will have is a recipe for an aged look. Luckily, those factors can be addressed with the right ingredients.
Several studies have shown that the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 is effective when applied topically. The most effective form of COQ10 for the skin’s health is one in which the molecules have been reduced in size.
So, when you are shopping for anti wrinkle creams read the label of ingredients and look for the nano-emulsion form of COQ10. It works best when combined with vitamin E, another antioxidant that has been used for decades to improve the skin’s health and appearance in many ways.
If you want to see the biggest improvement, it’s probably a good idea to increase your antioxidant intake as well. Dietary supplements containing coenzyme Q10, vitamin E and green tea extracts are among the many that have been studied for their “anti-aging” effects.
Antioxidants neutralize free radical molecules before they can damage the cells or the cellular DNA. We are starting to see more and more anti wrinkle creams containing antioxidants. But, now, there is also an ingredient that increases the production of antioxidants within the skin’s cells.
A bioactive form of the protein keratin, one of the skin’s important structural proteins, is now available. For many years, it was impossible to include keratin in a lotion or cream without rendering it inactive. The processes necessary to soften it were too harsh.
A New Zealand manufacturer was able to extract keratin from sheep’s wool and process it gently, without rendering it inactive. The company is called KERATEC and the ingredient is called Functional Keratin.
It was created using patented processes, but it’s still a natural product. So, supplies are limited. Only a few companies make anti wrinkle creams containing Functional Keratin.
Research showed that the bioactive protein stimulates the production of new skin cells and the production of two important antioxidants. One is called superoxide dismutase or SOD. The other is called glutathione. Increased production of those antioxidants should help fade age spots caused by overexposure to sunlight and the free radical damage caused by UV radiation.
Functional Keratin has the ability to do many other things that you might want to learn about. It should be a primary ingredient in all anti wrinkle creams.
Topics: Anti Aging, Anti Wrinkle Creams, Skin Firming, Skin Wrinkles | Comments Off
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