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 Lines and the Lack of Skin Care Regulations
Monday, June 28th, 2010While there are some excellent natural skin care lines, there are some companies that capitalize on our desire to protect our health. What they claim to provide and what they actually provide are two different things.
Things are different in some parts of the world. But, in the US, cosmetic manufacturers are largely unregulated. Even though creams, lotions and similar items are actually healthcare products, they are still classified as cosmetics.
The advertising terms used by cosmetic companies currently have no legal definitions. A company might use only naturally occurring ingredients. They might make the safest choices to help you protect your health. But, they might not.
Until things change, the only accurate source of information is the label of ingredients. When internet companies do not publish a full list of ingredients, you have to be suspicious about what the products contain. My personal recommendation is this.
Don’t buy anything unless you can read the label of ingredients and you fully understand the possible side effects of using them. Interestingly, the FDA makes a similar recommendation on their webpage for cosmetic users, because of the risk of allergic and adverse reactions.
One would think that natural skin care lines would not cause allergic or adverse reactions. But, many naturally occurring ingredients are allergens. Concentrated plant fragrances are among the worst.
They call them essential oils, hydrosols or herbal distillates. Sometimes they use the name of the individual fragrance. Examples include limonene and lavender. Regardless of what the companies call them, they are concentrated plant fragrances and there are several concerns accompanying their use.
First, they are toxic to the skin in their undiluted forms. The concentration should be less than 10%. Ideally, they would not be included at all. But, there are only a few natural skin care lines that do not contain plant fragrances.
The second concern has to do with the skin’s absorptive qualities. If used on a daily basis, creams or other skincare products containing essential oils can penetrate through the skin’s protective barrier and enter the bloodstream.
Once in the bloodstream, they will be diverted to the liver, where all toxins end up. The liver is resistant to many toxins and can dispose of them easily. Essential oils can damage the liver, especially if used on a regular basis.
They are included in aromatherapy because of the calming effect that some of the fragrances have. Some are good safe household cleansers. Orange oil is an example. But, they should not be included in natural skin care lines.
Some of the fragrances are known to increase the skin’s sensitivity to sunlight. None of them should be used during pregnancy, because they can have an effect on the body’s production of hormones, which could lead to birth defects.
There are some published cases or pre-pubescent boys developing breast tissue as a result of exposure to lavender or tea tree oil. This is due to the fragrances effect on hormone production.
The final concern has to do with pesticide residues. Unless you were buying a certified organic product, you could be exposing your body to pesticides.
While there are many things that should not be included in natural skin care lines, concentrated plant fragrances are among the most dangerous. The best products are free of added fragrances, because the company’s goal is to make them as safe as possible.
Over-the-Counter Anti Aging Skin Care Products
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Dermatologists often compare the effectiveness of over-the-counter anti aging skin care products to the effectiveness of Retin-A, the only prescription anti-wrinkle cream. Until recently, there was no comparison.
Nothing worked as well as Retin-A for people who could get beyond the unwanted side effects. Those include redness, itching and irritation. Burning is yet another side effect many people experience. The burning is usually the hardest for people to deal with.
They may be able to deal with a little redness or even some itching, but burning is another issue entirely. It’s painful. The natural reaction is to want to rinse it off as quickly as possible.
No one is sure why Retin-A causes people so many problems. Of course, they aren’t sure why it works, either. Most of us believe that most of the benefits would be due to the antioxidant activity.
While Retin-A is a synthetic compound, it was derived from naturally occurring vitamin A, an antioxidant. Vitamin A is known to be important to the skin’s health and appearance, although no one knows exactly why that is the case, either.
It is known that anti aging skin care products should contain antioxidants, because they address one of the causes of cellular aging. That cause is free radical damage. Antioxidants can prevent and reverse free radical damage. They are a part of the body’s natural defense system.
The reason that Retin-A burns, causes redness, itching and irritation is understood. The synthetic form is the acidic version of vitamin A. Naturally occurring sources of vitamin A are non-acidic, although they can be toxic.
The vitamin A found in animals is toxic to humans in large amounts. It can cause illness and even death.
Most of the vitamin A in our bodies is made within our bodies through the conversion of beta-carotene. The best anti aging skin care products on the market today contain plant extracts rich in beta-carotene. The extracts provide the same benefits as Retin-A, but without the side effects.
Then there is coenzyme Q10, another antioxidant. Judging from the latest studies, it is even more effective than Retin-A. It can be used on sun-damaged skin to reverse wrinkles and other types of damage.
But, antioxidants are not the only things that we need to fight the visible signs of age. That’s why antioxidants are not the only compounds you will find in the best anti aging skin care products.
The skin’s moisture balance must be maintained in order to prevent wrinkles. Excessive dryness is one of the causes of wrinkles and sagging.
The average moisturizer contains petroleum-based oils that cannot be absorbed by the skin’s cells. The companies should not be allowed to call them moisturizers, because they are not moisturizing.
The best moisturizers are plant-based oils, nearly identical on a molecular level to those produced by the human body.
Maybe in time, dermatologists will be able to judge over-the-counter anti aging skin care products by evaluating the ingredients they contain. Luckily, you and I don’t have to wait. We can do our own evaluations.
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