With summer quickly approaching, the tanning lotions and beach trips are quickly rounding up for most of us as we begin to come out of our sunless, gloomy winters, at least here in the Northwest that is. Being someone who has come from a seemingly ageless family, I never really understood, nor did I care, about the importance of taking care of myself and preventing potential damage from the sun, my diet, and my interactions with various pollutants in my day-to-day life. I always assumed it was something I never really had to worry about personally for a while. Now, as the biology major/lover that I am, I have been beginning to see the aging catching up with individuals a few years older than me, and I'm trying to assess that in a way that everyone can understand, as well as from a scientific standpoint.
At the same time, I look at others around me as well who seem to show little to no signs of aging. What's their secret? Is it their genes? Maybe. Is it their diet and health regimen? Makes sense. But more often than not, talking to these individuals, seeing their tips and tricks, as well as putting a little science behind the process of aging on the human body, I've found that a lot actually goes into maintaining a healthy relationship with our bodies, as we inevitably age. With a lot of time and A LOT of research, I've found a few things that will help anyone regardless of age, gender, or background whether it be for preventative measures or to help reverse some of the already noticeable signs of aging below.
1. Sunscreen
Yes, I know, we've all been told to wear our sunscreen since we were children, yet still, so many individuals seem to skip this important step in their daily regimen. Although this may seem like a time consuming sticky mess at times, especially in this heat, it's perhaps one of the most crucial steps to preventing wrinkles and cancer in every individual.
The science behind your skin and sunscreen: Those with darker skin have more active melanocytes within their skin making their skin darker. Melanin is created by melanocytes that help absorb UV radiation from the sun, as well as determining individuals' hair/eye/skin color as well. Darker skinned individuals naturally have more natural protection from the sun because of their active melanocytes which can be one of the many reasons why most of us pasty Oregonians and fellow fair-skinned individuals burn more severely and quickly, and are more susceptible to the sun's harmful rays because we don't have as much of this built-in sun protectant. The inorganic components within sunscreen act like melanocytes in a way, by collecting the UV rays that fall upon our skin and reflecting the light back off the skin so it isn't absorbed into the skin and therefore can't damage the deeper layers of our skin. There are three types of UV radiation, UV-A, which can travel down to the deepest layers of the skin causing cancer, UV-B, which is what we usually associate with a sunburn and tanning, and UV-C, which can destroy nucleic acids which in turn, disrupts our DNA, as well as the ability to kill microorganisms. Sunscreen mostly protects individuals from UV-B radiation, but there are a few sunscreens that will also protect you from UV-A radiation (like Neutrogena's "Ultra Sheer Broad Spectrum SPF 30" sunscreen, etc).
What SPF is Good For You: SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. Although every individual is different when it comes to their individual built-in protection from the sun, we all begin to burn fairly quickly when trusted out into direct sunlight. The SPF factor (like SPF 15, SPF 50, etc) is like an approximation factor for how long you can remain protected by the sunscreen while soaking up rays. So basically, the SPF numbers mean if you were out in the sun for 10 minutes, using SPF 20 would help protect you from burning for 20 times longer than if you were in the sun with nothing, which would be 200 minutes, or about three hours. So the longer you plan to be in the sun or based upon the activity you will be participation in, choose a sunscreen that will accommodate your lifestyle and needs such as waterproof sunscreens, broad spectrum sunscreens, and higher or lower levels of SPF based upon how long you plan to be in the sun.Steal/Splurge Products to Consider When Choosing Your Own:
Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Broad Spectrum SPF 55 $6.59
Julep's No Excuses Invisible Gel SPF 44 For Face $28.00
Sun Bum SPF 30 $15.99
2. Water/Hydration
Water is something that is imperative for our health and is an elixir for youth in many ways. Around 60% of our adult bodies is composed of water, and more than half of our society is constantly or even chronically dehydrated all the time, and it begins to show in our skin, hair, and nails, and urine almost immediately. But there's a lot more that's going on beneath the surface that is compromising our overall health that's creating these unsightly bags, fine lines, and brittle hair and nails.
The Science Behind Water and the Aging Process: There are trillions of cells within all of our bodies, and almost all of our cells are made up of around 55-80% water. When we begin to become dehydrated, our cells begin to release their water into the bloodstream when we begin to lose water and our naturally happy isotonic states (equilibrium where solutions like water can move freely from membrane to membrane (cells, etc) without having to move concentrations. This basically means the environment isn't too salty or watery, it's perfect conditions). We lose a lot of water in our day-to-day lives through sweat whether we are super active, or live more sedentary lifestyles. When the water coming out of our bodies isn't met with water coming in to replenish what's coming out, our skin begins to pay a hefty price. Nutrients travel through the body through our bloodstream vastly composed of water, and this helps deliver oxygen and needed nutrients to needed areas in the body, like our largest organ, our skin. When skin cells are dehydrated and don't have the nutrients they need, the skin begins to dry, flake, and fold creating an ideal area for wrinkles and fine lines to form making us look tired, unhealthy, and age quicker. When we lack water, our skin also takes the brunt in the end when it comes to toxin removal. Water flushes out toxins and other pollutants we are exposed to and eat on a daily basis, and when there isn't enough to help push out the toxins through sweat or urine, it begins to show on our hair, skin, and nails as weak, dry, brittle, and aged visible external components of us.
How Much Water Should You be Drinking?: Everyone is different when it comes to their prime hydration needs. I personally strive for a gallon of water a day, but that's a stretch to most, especially those who don't or hardly drink the national standard of at least 8 cups a day. Although this is a good amount to strive for, this still might not be enough based upon various individuals' weight, height, and activity level. Through this, there are plenty of hydration calculators on the internet that can help anyone figure out their ideal water consumption like the Camelbak Hydration Calculator that takes into account your age, weight, urine color, sweat level, etc. You can check it out here: Camelbak Hydration Calculator
Personalizing Your Water/Water Bottles: I find that a nice water bottle with stickers from adventures I've been on and adding things like blueberries, green tea, strawberries, mint, lemon, etc have helped me make drinking water a more enjoyable thing as well as a more personalized and unique way of enjoying its anti-aging properties almost effortlessly. By adding things like green tea and blueberries to water, they also add antioxidant properties that help your body fight free radicals that cause cancer and premature aging. Water bottles have been something that have helped me really love water since it makes my water portable and personal touch as it fits in to my busy schedule. If you think that personalizing your water might be something that would help you drink more water and reap the amazing benefits from it, Pinterest has thousands of recipes as well as Google!
Steal/Splurge Products to Consider When Choosing Your Own:
I personally don't drink from plastic bottles to help steer clear of chemicals that lurk in plastic and BPA. Stainless steel helps keep water colder for so much longer, and glass helps you see what's in your bottle, so if you have some fruit in there or what not, it looks really cool and in turn helps encourage you to drink more water. I personally love my double-insulated stainless steel 40 oz. Hydro Flask like below.
Hydro Flask 32 oz. $27.93-$39.95
3. Collagen
Collagen is an important component to our skin, especially since it makes up around 70% of our dermis (layer of skin just below the very top exposed layer, also known as our epidermis). Collagen helps maintain skin's elasticity and keeps it firm. Individual collagen fibers are stronger than steel, but since they are so much smaller than their metal counterparts, this makes them very fragile in many ways as well.
The Science Behind Collagen: Collagen is made by fibroblasts within our skin. Collagen fibers are flexible, incredibly strong fibers within our skin that helps keep our skin smooth and happy essentially. When we are exposed to things such as UV rays (sun), daily pollutants, ans\d free radicals caused by things like smoking. UV rays and free radicals we are exposed to everyday break down individual collagen fibers and making them weaker. UV rays deplete the amount of fibroblasts in our skin therefore drastically lowering the production and breakdown of more collagen. In turn, this begins to create saggy, lifeless skin and wrinkles.
What You Can Do: Although our collagen production naturally begins to decrease as we begin to age, it's never too early to start taking collagen supplements or getting more collagen-supporting foods/those that fight and prevent free radicals into your diet like fish, berries, citrus fruits, dark green veggies, etc.
4. Retinoids/Moisturizers
It's never too early to start moisturizing your skin, whether you be 13 or 45 etc. By using moisturizers, you are setting your skin up for the brightest future possible when dealing with aging and effects from our daily lives and UV rays this summer, especially when using one that is made to combat aging or has anti-aging aids like vitamin A that is found within retinoids which are topical creams that are a cure-all for many skin problems in many ways.
The Science Behind Moisturizers and Retinoids: Retinoids are composed of chemical components of vitamin A or resemble it that help stimulate and regulate epithelial (skin) production. Retinoids help control and regualte the breakdown of collagen within the skin as well as also helping treat inflammation, kill bacteria, regulate oil production, etc that are related with the skin. Moisturizers help the skin by being packed with various added vitamins that help improve the skin like vitamin A and E as well as antioxidants to help surface free radicals, and the most obvious, helping the skin retain moisture by the addition of humectants to moisturizers which are molecules that help the skin retain and absorb more water than if left alone, leaving your skin better protected from the elements, especially if it has SPF within it.
Steal/Splurge Products to Consider When Choosing Your Own:
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum (Moisturizer) $16.00
Origins Starting Over Age Erasing Moisturizer $52.00
Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Retinoid Cream $43.00
5. Makeup Removal and Keeping Your Face Clean
I've been focusing a lot on protective measures that we can do to help improve our skin's overall health and help combat and prevent aging, but washing your face, cleansing, and removing makeup and sunscreen at the end of the day is perhaps one of the most crucial components of keeping a happy and healthy complexion for years to come.
The Science Behind Facial Cleansing and Removal of Daily Facial Contaminants: Every day we are exposed to countless amounts of chemicals, pollutants, oils, sweat, etc that sit on the surface of our skin clogging our pores and causing various ailments like skin discoloration acne, and wrinkles. Make up is a sticky breeding ground for countless amounts of bacteria as well as acting as a holding ground for all sorts of contaminants that we come into contact with on a day-to-day basis. The oils and sweat that we secret off our faces and bodies every day also hold toxins from within our bodies and dead skin cells that are attempting to be sloughed off but getting caught on our skin's surface. If not cleaned daily, all these things start to become a problem as they prevent the skin from breathing and carrying on its functions. When the skin is struggling, we break out in acne, get enlarged pores, experience inflammation and discoloration, and struggle with the effects of premature aging. I see so many people brush off washing their faces or creating a routine for themselves and they wonder why they're experiencing breakouts and milia which are little hard white bumps on the face usually around the eyes, and their skin and so man others' suffer from a poor or lazy lifestyle, and it's something that should be known and addressed for every one, especially if they want to remain overall healthy.
What Face Wash/Cleanser is Right for You: There are countless washes, toners, and cleaners out there that are made for all types of skin whether you have dry skin, combination, acne, etc. When it comes to the right facial cleanser, and wash set, I personally like to splurge a little more and go for more high quality ingredients since this is stuff that will be sitting and soaking into my skin throughout the day and night, especially when it comes to anti-aging and keeping my skin as clean as possible after a long day of makeup or my own facial oils etc. Clinique has good starting points for those who are looking for more personalized skincare options and are new to the game of taking care of their skin more deeply. You can check out Clinique and get matched with a more personalized skincare regimen as well as opening possibilities into further companies and matches for you here: Clinique Three Step Skincare
Steal/Splurge Products to Consider When Choosing Your Own:
Origins Mega Mushroom Toner $31.00
Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty Skin Regimen $69.00
Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser $22.00
