29 July 2008 569 views 4 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

Wrinkles are the first signs of aging. That premise used to hold true. But in our day and age when we are exposed to so much harmful elements present in the atmosphere and the very real threat of the thinning ozone layer, there are no escaping early signs of aging brought about by most of these occurrences. Too much indulgence in vices such as smoking and drinking contribute to pre-mature aging. This is a sad reality. Aging is very real but people nowadays would rather not have them.

Skin ages all over the body, but much more so where there has been sun exposure. Changes brought on by sun damage include dryness, sagginess, skin growths like keratoses (liver spots), and of course, wrinkles.

Most wrinkles appear on the parts of the body where sun exposure is greatest. These especially include the face, neck, the backs of the hands, and the tops of the forearms. Wrinkles come in two categories: fine surface lines and deep furrows. Wrinkle treatments are in general much more effective for fine lines. Deeper creases may require more aggressive techniques. The main preventive measures we can take are to minimize sun exposure and not smoke.

SPF numbers on sunscreen labels refer to protection against UVB radiation (shortwave ultraviolet light or the ‘sunburn rays’. More and more sunscreens offer protection against UVA radiation (longer-wave ultraviolet light) as well. This will help curtail the damage from sun exposure by a considerable length.

Cosmetic companies continue to conduct research in search of the proverbial fountain of youth and we can see from a lot of product marketing around that the sheer number of skin care products for anti-aging out there can overwhelm us.

Getting the right skin care products for anti-aging won’t be too much of a challenge provided we may intelligent choices. Meaning, we don’t just grab the next new thing in the market that promises miracles. Many products claim a promise to reduce wrinkles. Some do little or nothing, such as reducing the appearance of fine lines; to cite an example. Others can achieve a fair amount of success. We really need to spend time to research a product before trying it. We have immediate access to all kinds of information at our finger tips; it will serve us well to use it.

A thing to remember is that as time goes by our bodies produce fewer and fewer new cells, so the production of new fibers is diminished. We need something to induce production of new cell fibers and if not possible then something that eventually brings about a balance in our bodies. The balance that we need to maintain in this case has to do with proteins. When we are young, the levels of proteins in the skin are higher and as we put on age we lose this. Since we need those proteins to build new cells, the best anti-aging skin creams should be able to return the balance to that of a younger person. Once we know and understand the aging process then it wouldn’t be too difficult to make product choices.

Julia Elorriaga - LastSkinCare.com