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.
Over the Counter Wrinkle Remedies – Sorting Through the Latest Fads
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Over the counter wrinkle remedies may contain a number of ingredients or only one. Hyaluronic acid has become a popular choice for creams and lotions, but doctors say that it does nothing when applied topically. The reason for its inclusion in cosmetics has nothing to do with its effectiveness.
Hyaluronic acid, collagen, elastin and an assortment of synthetic fillers will stretch out wrinkles when they are injected into the deepest of the skin’s layers. The injections are widely advertised. They have different brand names. You have probably heard some of them.
They are available at day spas, dermatologist’s offices and from cosmetic surgeons. They range in price from $400 to $1000 per shot. The immediate effects may wear off in as little as three months. The effects provided by the so-called “collagen boosters” will not appear for several months.
So, if your goal is to look great for your daughter’s wedding, then a hyaluronic acid injection might be a good choice. It is less likely to form hardened nodules under the skin’s surface. It can easily be dissolved with another injection if you don’t like the results. But, if you are looking for effective rub-on wrinkle remedies, it won’t do a thing.
You might say that cosmetic manufacturers are riding the coattails of the injection’s popularity. The companies did the same thing when collagen injections were the “in” thing. They use advertising claims like “safe Botox alternative” or “no needle cure for wrinkles”. The truth is that none of these solutions are cures.
Some creams and lotions are beneficial as long as you use them on a regular basis. Using the term “cure” leads people to believe that you can use it once and never have to bother with it again.
There are effective topical wrinkle remedies, but they must be used on a daily basis for three weeks to three months before you see optimum results. Optimum in this sense means that you might notice some improvement early on, but you will see even more as time goes by.
If you stop using the cream, lotion or gel, the benefits will fade away. It’s kind of like staying out of the sun.
Dermatologists say that if you protect your face from the sun consistently for six months, you will look five years younger. Your skin will look smoother and more even-toned. But, a day at the beach will redo the damage.
Topically applied wrinkle remedies containing collagen or hyaluronic acid are a waste of money, because the molecules are too large to penetrate the skin’s surface. It is true that the skin’s collagen and hyaluronic acid content decreases with age, but that issue cannot be addressed by using a cream or lotion containing them. The key is to protect what is present or stimulate the production of more.
Wakame kelp extract is an ingredient known to prevent the skin’s hyaluronic acid levels from becoming depleted. Functional Keratin is known to stimulate collagen production. Some of the more advanced over-the-counter wrinkle remedies contain both of those ingredients. That’s the kind of remedy to look for.
All Natural Beauty Products, Their Ingredients & How They Work
Friday, July 9th, 2010
The benefits of all natural beauty products depend on what they contain. Here’s a look at some of the compounds you might see on the list of ingredients and the benefits associated with them.
Active Manuka Honey
Active Manuka honey can be found in some of the better body lotions, nighttime facial creams, under eye gels and deep cleansing masks. The benefits have to do with the antioxidant and the antibacterial activity.
Antioxidants of all kinds are beneficial to the skin’s health and appearance. They prevent and sometimes repair free radical damage, which dermatologists believe to be the primary cause of wrinkles, age spots and other visible signs of aging.
The antibacterial activity of Manuka honey will help heal pimples, scrapes and other injuries. It will help prevent those things from becoming infected. It can also help to prevent future pimples caused by over-growth of the P acnes bacteria.
All honey varieties have been used in cosmetics, but few have proven benefits. Manuka honey is tested for its antibacterial and antioxidant activity, before it is shipped. It is graded with a “Unique Manuka Factor”. A high UMF number is equivalent to a highly active honey.
You might think that all natural beauty products would contain manuka. In some cases, it is just not necessary or other ingredients are more beneficial. For example, daytime moisturizers do not usually contain it. As long as you use a nighttime cream that does, you can reap the benefits.
Maracuja
Maracuja is a kind of passion fruit. The tree is native to Brazil. All passion fruits have been included in skincare creams and lotions, because of the antioxidant and the moisturizing benefits.
Maracuja is unique, because it is very similar on a molecular level to the skin’s own oils, which are called sebum. Because of its similarity to sebum, maracuja balances sebum production.
All natural beauty products containing the ingredient will help prevent your skin from becoming too dry or too oily.
That also means it can be used by any complexion type; oily, dry or combination.
Babassu Palm Oil
The benefits of Babassu are similar to those of maracuja. It is one of the few moisturizers that can be used on oily and acne-prone complexions.
It is Babassu wax that is most beneficial, because the wax helps to prevent moisture loss. Most companies use paraffin for this purpose. But, paraffin should not be included in all natural beauty products. It is not close enough to human skin. So, it causes dryness and clogs the pores.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is another antioxidant. People with acne typically have low blood levels of the vitamin. The same deficiency is seen in many different skin conditions.
If used on a regular basis, creams containing vitamin E can prevent age spots. Age spots are heavily pigmented areas. They are sometimes referred to as senile freckles. They are caused by free radical damage, typically due to excessive sun exposure.
All natural beauty products may contain a number of anti-aging ingredients or they may contain none. Check the label before you buy to be sure what you are getting.
« Previous Entries