Anti Aging Natural Skin Care with Wakame Kelp Extract
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Here’s a look at some of the more effective anti aging natural skin care solutions. There are plenty of “marginally” effective ingredients. The ones covered here are a little better than that. Let’s start with wakame kelp.
Wakame kelp or seaweed is highly nutritious. So it is often used as a component of many health food recipes. The benefits to the skin’s health are several. The first benefit has to do with a compound called hyaluronic acid.
If you have compared any of the ingredients in the anti aging natural skin care products currently on the market, you have probably seen one called hyaluronic acid. It is one of the most popular ingredients right now.
The popularity is due in part to the compound’s use as an injectable to stretch out wrinkles and fine lines. Hyaluronic acid and other compounds are injected into the skin’s fatty tissue layer to improve firmness and reduce wrinkling. When applied topically, however, it does nothing.
Another reason for its popularity has to do with the following fact: The skin’s hyaluronic acid levels decline with age.
This is one of the causes of the lost elasticity and lost firmness that occurs with age. Lost firmness leads to wrinkles. Once again, applying it to the skin’s surface does nothing to increase the skin’s hyaluronic acid content.
Scientists have discovered the reason for the decreased levels as we age. It is due to increased activity of a family of enzymes called hyaluronidaise. They naturally break down hyaluronic acid. When we are young, the body simply produces more. So there is a balance.
Extracts from wakame kelp have been shown to inhibit the activity of hyaluronidaise by 52% after 5 days of use. That means the skin’s hyaluronic acid levels will rise by about the same percentage. The result is a more youthful look due to the improved firmness and smoothness.
Anti aging natural skin care products containing the extract will also help protect against free radical damage caused by UV rays and exposure to environmental pollutants. The compound in the extract providing that benefit is called sulfated polyfucose.
Finally, wakame kelp extracts help to maintain the skin’s moisture balance by providing essential minerals like sodium, potassium and calcium. Kelp actually contains more calcium than an equivalent serving of milk.
Every anti aging natural skin care product should contain wakame kelp extracts, but most don’t. A lot of them contain seaweed or marine algae. But not all seaweeds provide the same benefits.
Briefly now, let’s look at grape seed oil. Grape seeds contain numerous antioxidants. The skin’s antioxidant content also decreases with age.
Some antioxidants can penetrate through the skin’s layers when applied topically. Others should be present in your diet. Dermatologists recommend eating more fruits and vegetables to help counter antioxidant loss.
Free radical damage is one of the main causes of cellular aging everywhere in the body; inside and out. Our only defense against free radical damage is the antioxidant.
The antioxidants in grape seed oil can penetrate into the skin’s layers. So that makes two ingredients that should be in all anti aging natural skin care creams, grape seed oil and wakame kelp. You might want to learn about some of the others.
To find natural skin care products with wakame kelp extract and grapeseed oil click here.
Natural Skin Care Products are Gaining Popularity
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
Natural skin care products are starting to become more popular according to recent surveys. The traditional versions are still outselling them by a huge margin, but at least people are learning more about reading labels and being picky about what they put on the outside of their bodies.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Environmental Working Group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and other consumer groups for letting us know about loopholes that allow US cosmetic manufacturers to put unlimited amounts of chemicals in items that are sold as “health and beauty aids”.
Because there is a lack of federal law concerning the subject, a few states stepped in to help out. Washington State recently banned phthalates from skincare products designed for children. California now requires cosmetic companies to report to the state whenever they include an ingredient that can cause cancer or birth defects.
But that type of legislation is slow-moving. Right now, it is up to the consumer to learn about ingredients, read labels and investigate manufacturers.
A lot of people think that by shopping for only natural skin care products, they don’t have to take the time to read the label of ingredients. That is not the case.
Some naturally occurring ingredients are allergens or irritants. They can cause irritation, redness and itching. Essential oils are an example.
When it comes to anti-aging ingredients, the alpha and beta hydroxy acids are naturally occurring acids found in fruit. Salicylic acid is found in certain kinds of tree bark. It is the compound from which aspirin was created.
While those mild acids are naturally occurring and relatively safe, they burn. Feeling the burn might be a good thing for bodybuilders, but it is not good for the skin’s health.
When natural skin care products or the chemical-filled kinds cause burning, the reaction is due to the body’s inflammatory responses. Inflammation is a function of the immune system designed to protect the body. But, the inflammatory chemicals released during the process will degrade the skin’s collagen fibers.
Collagen fibers are responsible for the skin’s firmness and elasticity. They are replaced on a fairly regular basis until we start to get a little older. As the replacement process slows down, we start to see sagging and wrinkles.
Depending on your age, you might not be too worried about those things. But, the sooner you start trying to make an effort to avoid them, the better off you will be.
Some natural skin care products have gentle anti-aging activity. Instead of causing inflammation, they actually prevent it. They feel good going on and as the days go by, they work to stimulate collagen production, instead of causing the collagen you have to degrade.
One of the compounds to look for is called Functional Keratin. You can find it in deep cleansing masks, soothing eye serums, anti-aging facial creams and body lotions.
Just be sure to fully evaluate the so-called natural skin care products on the market before you buy them. Compounds that burn are not good choices.
What is Functional Keratin?
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010What is Functional Keratin? It’s a relatively new ingredient found in some of the best skincare products. This article covers the question in great detail. Let’s start with what keratins are.
Keratins are structural proteins. They are used by the body to make hair, nails and the cells of the skin’s outer layers.
Keratins can be found in animal skins, wool, bird feathers and beaks, claws, horns, hooves, reptile scales, turtle shells and the quills of porcupines. There are two different types; alpha and beta.
Alpha-keratins are the type found in human skin, fingernails, toenails and hair. They are also found in sheep’s wool, the horns and hooves of cattle and the claws of various species.
Beta-keratins are also present in human nails, but not in the skin. They are found in turtle shells, reptile scales, bird claws and porcupine quills.
The toughness of keratins is similar to that of chitin, the main component of crab, lobster and mollusk shells. The main difference between the two building blocks is that chitin is a structural carbohydrate rather than a protein.
What is Functional Keratin derived from? That’s a good question.
Keratins have been used in skincare products for decades. They were derived from discarded animal parts, primarily the hooves and horns of cattle. Cow hide contains it, but it used primarily for its collagen content.
The horns and hooves must be heated to high temperatures and harsh solvents must be used to break them down into a water-soluble globular protein-form that can be added to lotions, creams or other skincare products.
The new type is derived from sheep’s wool, which is softer to begin with. So, the proteins can be softened gently. This allows them to retain their “function” or bioactivity.
What is Functional Keratin good for? There are many benefits.
Bioactive proteins can be picked up and used by the skin’s cells. One of the functions of the keratins in human skin is to absorb and pull in moisture.
So, when Functional Keratin is applied topically and absorbed by the skin’s cells, the cells become plumper. This improves the skin’s firmness. After 18 days of daily use, researchers have seen a 40% improvement in the skin’s firmness.
The ingredient has also been shown to stimulate the production of new cells. This is important, because the production of new cells for the skin’s outer layers slows down with age. That’s why older people have “duller” looking skin. After only 3 days of use, Functional Keratin has provided as much as a 160% increase in skin cell proliferation.
It has proven anti-inflammatory activity, which means it is beneficial for eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, acne, rosacea and any condition in which inflammation is involved. It also means that it can be used on irritated or broken skin; something that you cannot do with most anti-aging creams and lotions.
It has proven antioxidant activity and by stimulating the production of new cells, it causes an increase in the potent antioxidants glutathione and superoxide dismutase. Antioxidants fight one of the primary causes of skin aging. That cause is free radical damage.
In most cases, it takes one antioxidant molecule to neutralize one free radical molecule. Superoxide dismutase is an enzymatic antioxidant. One molecule can neutralize thousands of free radicals.
Antioxidants have been shown in clinical studies to reduce wrinkles and reverse sun damage. The extra superoxide dismutase and glutathione will help to light age spots, too.
So, what is Functional Keratin? You might say that it is nothing short of an anti-aging miracle. Click here for info on skin care products with Functional Keratin.
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