Three Age Defying Solutions To Manage Wrinkles

I. Upgrade Your Sunscreen

Use sunscreen with a sun screen protection factor (SPF) of 30. While SPF is a measure of protection against UVB, the rays that cause sunburn, higher SPF sunscreens usually offer greater protection against UVA, the rays most responsible for fine lines and wrinkles, particularly around the eyes. Your sunscreen should also contain antioxidants like vitamins C and E. Recent research shows that sunscreen with built in antioxidants offers even more insurance against UVA exposure. Antioxidants are your ally because no sunscreen protects you 100%.

• What to do: Check labels for UVA blockers such as avobenzone (Parcel 1789), mexoryl and helioplex (found in some Neutrogena sunscreens). Apply at least 1 ounce, the amount that fits in a shot glass, to all exposed areas.

II. Use Serious Skin Care

When it comes to minimizing wrinkles and smoothing texture, there are no more proven anti-aging ingredients than retinoids. Derived from vitamin A, retinoids have been shown in over 30 years of study to rev up collagen production and normalize cell renewal - a process that slows with age. It is recommended that everyone over the age of 30 should be on some form of retinoid if they want to look younger.

A good starting point: An over-the-counter product containing retinol, the less potent chemical cousin to prescription retinoids like Renova. While it may take longer to see results with a nonprescription product, you’ll forgo a lot of dryness and peeling that can accompany those often-irritating ingredients.

• What to do: After cleansing skin at night, use a retinol-containing cream to diminish fine lines and increase cell turnover. To allow your skin to adapt, you may need to use every other night to start.

For added benefit, choose one that also contains peptides, small chains of amino acids that have been shown to signal cells to stimulate collagen. Two products that contain both ingredients are:

• Philosophy Save Me

• Neova Dual Action Lotion

III. Get Better Sleep

Sleep is an essential need for your skin. While you sleep, physiological important things are happening to your skin, including an increase in cellular renewal. Unfortunately, a recent University of Chicago study shows that we are not only getting less shut eye than we need (six hours, instead of the recommended seven to nine), we are getting less efficient sleep. Even after getting into bed, we spend as much as an hour and a half awake - sharply diminishing the time skin has to repair itself.

• What to do: For deeper, more restorative sleep, help your body and mind wind down before going to bed. Begin by dimming the lights an hour before bedtime; light suppresses melatonin, disrupting the natural sleep cycle. Soaking in a hot bath can also help you nod off faster. Listening to soft music before turning in improves sleep quality too – the sedative sounds may decrease levels of hormones that keep you awake.

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5 Ways To Prevent Eye Wrinkles

Sun damage is the leading cause of wrinkled skin. In fact, many experts agree that wrinkles are the direct cumulative result of decades of unprotected sun exposure, rather than aging itself. Ultraviolet (UV) rays penetrate the skin, invading the normally sturdy layers below and eventually destroying collagen and elastin. Collagen makes your skin firm and youthfully plump. Elastin gives skin resiliency and keeps expression lines from forming into creases and wrinkles.

No matter what your age, you can help prevent further sun damage by using a strong sunscreen, that absorbs ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) rays. UVB, the burning rays, are more prevalent in the summer and strongest at midday. UVA rays reach the earth year-round and in greater amounts. La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX is currently one of the most effective sun protection creams on the market because it contains Mexoryl SX, an active sun filter.

To get the most from your sunscreen (see product review for Athelios SX), use the following guidelines:

1. Stay away from midday sun. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.
2. Put sunscreen on early. Apply a sunscreen at least 30 minutes before you go out to allow it to penetrate your skin’s top layer, and 15 minutes before you apply makeup.
3. Don’t be stingy. Use an amount about the size of a marble to cover your entire face.
4. Hide your eyes. Wear sunglasses that block as much ultraviolet light as possible.
5. Go undercover. Stay in shady areas, wear a brimmed hat to protect your scalp and further shield your eyes.

Antioxidants: Your Armor Against Aging

When it comes to aging, free radicals are public enemy number one. Our cells use oxygen to produce energy. In the process, they generate free radicals - unstable oxygen molecules created during basic metabolic functions as circulation and digestion. Free radicals are also produced by sunlight, by toxins such as pesticides, and by cigarette smoke and air pollution. Most free radicals encountered in our bodies, however, come from oxygen. They are an unavoidable by-product of daily living.

Free radicals can damage virtually every part of a cell, including the nucleus, where DNA, the body’s unique genetic blueprint, is produced. If they connect with collagen molecules in our skin, the result is that the collagen becomes damaged. When the collagen becomes damaged, the skin gets discolored and stiff and loses elasticity. The end result is that free radicals sap our skin of its youthful appearance.

Fortunately, our bodies have developed a defense system for fighting free radicals. This defense system is powered by antioxidants. Antioxidants join with free radicals to prevent them from latching on to the various components of other cells. Essentially, antioxidants work by making the free radical harmless.

The most power antioxidants are vitamins such as E, C and beta-carotene. Others, however, occur naturally inside the human body. Our inability to fight free radical damage occurs when our bodies are out of balance. In other words, when free radicals are produced in circumstances such as prolonged exposure to sunlight or ingestion of toxins such as cigarette smoke, the body’s antioxidant system can be overwhelmed and the free radicals move about unchecked. Known as oxidative stress, supplementing the body’s supply of antioxidants can, however, keep this situation to a minimum, or at least slow it down considerably.

What we eat is the first step in keeping an adequate supply of antioxidants in our body. Include an array of colorful, pigmented fruits and vegetables in your diet every day. Recommended vegetables include broccoli, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts and other dark, leafy greens. And recommended fruits include blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, and goji berries.

Fine Lines? Vitamin C To The Rescue

Got fine lines around the eyes? A stroll down the aisles of your local department store will reveal lots of sparkling bottles, jars and vials guaranteeing to smooth out those fine lines and give you a youthful look. Unfortunately, these claims are rarely true. As you may intimately know, many products offer only limited, short term benefits. That’s not to say that these products can’t do your skin some good. Many companies produce high quality emollient and exfoliant formulas that can temporarily smooth the skin’s surface around the eyes or increase its ability to maintain moisture. And if you are in need of a quick fix, a short-term gain may very well suit your needs.

If you are serious about getting rid of eye wrinkles, however, you must consider those products and treatments that have been scientifically proven to penetrate to where the aging process actually takes place: in the deeper layers of the skin. Antitoxidants or, more specifically, topical antioxidants fit the bill. One of the most effective antioxidants for treating eye wrinkles is vitamin C.

Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen, the strong connective tissue that essentially holds us together. Dietary vitamin C is just as important as topical solutions. Fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, tomatoes and red bell peppers are rich in vitamin C.

Vitamin C ester is a topical solution discovered by Nicholas Perricone M.D., that can be easily absorbed into the skin. It can be mixed into creams and lotions and keep its potency for months and even years. And over time, vitamin C ester can reduce deeply embedded lines as well as fine lines around the eyes.

But, not all antioxidants are created equal. Even more important, some are better suited to some skin repair jobs than they are to others. According to Dr. Perricone, the skin conditions most likely to respond to treatment with vitamin C ester topical preparations are:

• Fine lines and wrinkles on severely sun-damaged skin;

• Sagging skin that is losing its firmness because of lost or damaged collagen; and

• Sunburned, inflamed or irritated skin.

So if your skin falls into one of the above categories, check out the newest products from Dr. Perricone.

Why Our Skin Wrinkles

Skin is essentially made up of three layers. The epidermis or outermost layer helps our skin hold in moisture and oil. The dermis, which lies under the epidermis, makes up 90% of the thickness of our skin. The dermis contains collagen and elastin, two types of proteins that give our skin its strength and elasticity. The fat layer, which lies under the epidermis and dermis, serves to insulate and protect our inner organs and acts as a sort of cushion that helps keep the skin plump and smooth.

Our facial skin tends to show signs of aging faster than the skin on the rest of the body due to external factors, such as:

• sun exposure

• cigarette smoking (inhaled or secondhand)

• environmental toxins

• a low-nutrient diet, especially one lacking in vitamins A, C, E and folic acid

• excess alcohol consumption

• stress

• harsh soaps or detergent-based moisturizers

• sleep deprivation

The prime culprit: the sun. Wrinkles are formed as the sun breaks down collagen or the elasticity of the skin. Compounding the impact of the sun is the fact that with age (an internal factor) our body’s ability to repair itself slows down considerably. The skin around the eyes is particularly susceptible because it is thinner and more delicate than the rest of the face and is ground zero for sun damage. However, antioxidants like alpha lipoic acid can repair the skin, thus improving or erasing a wrinkle. This is good because with proper care, we can have wrinkle-free skin in our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.

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