Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Holding Back the Age of Your Skin

By Wendy Jackson

Reducing the visible signs of aging is the goal of many beauty companies and this is why the use of anti-aging skin care products continues to rise each year. It makes up about a quarter of the total protein content of structural protein found in skin. Most anti-aging products (collagen included) fall into the category of anti-oxidants which are the body's method of slowing down the aging process.

You probably know many anti-oxidants by name, including vitamin C, the use of which is still, even now, hotly debated in the science and nutrition community. The main problem when using any skin care treatments which use vitamin C is that oxidization can occur as soon as they have contact with the air.

To get around this some skin care treatments are based on derivatives of vitamin C, which are more stable and less expensive. These new anti-oxidant products are not quite as good as vitamin C although other naturally occurring compounds, vitamin E and lipoic acid can achieve the same effect.

The body uses vitamin E as an anti-oxidant and is also used to increase the natural defense we have against disease, including many types of cancer, it is a fat soluble vitamin in people's blood. Lipoic acid is also an energy making component of the body, found in every cell, it can also help reduce the ageing process which affects the skin.

Another group of products used to reduce the visible signs of aging are phytochemicals which are compounds extracted from various plants and used in many anti-aging skin care products. Phytochemicals prevent occurrence of certain types of cancer.

Some B-vitamins like B5, B6 and B12 are also in use for anti-aging skin care products. The field of anti-aging skin care products is vast and needs a great deal more research.

While a great deal has been learned about this subject, it is only the tip of the iceberg and more long term effective methods need to be discovered to reverse or slow down the effects of time. With the research that is now taking place, many people are confident that in time, more effective, cheaper anti-aging skin care products will be discovered.

However, man-made skin care regimes should be used only as a supplement. So, drinking plenty of water, getting a good night's sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy eating habits and keeping stress at bay are essential means of delaying the ageing process. - 16650

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