Skin Damaging Factors
To the damaging factors belong:
1. Sun. Exposure to UVB and UVA accounts for 80%-90% of premature aging symptoms. Damaging effects of UVA and UVB include: formation of free radicals, collagene breakdown, negative effects on the skin immune system, damage of DNA in skin cells.
2. Cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine. Caffeine and alcohol dehydrate your body and your skin. Alcohol dialates small blood vessels in the skin and can result in their permanent damage and a "flushed" appearance. Tobacco smoke not only dries the skin surface, it restricts blood vessels and reduces the ammount of blood flowing to the skin this way depriving the skin of essential oxygen and nutrients. This applies to passive smoking as well.
3. Skin irritants:
4. Free radicals
Free radicals are produced in our bodies in the course of metabolism and you cannot of course exclude them but you can minimize the damage by using internally and topically antioxidants. To prevent the damage internally it is recommended to take vitamins with anti-oxidant properties (such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E), improve your diet by including a sellection of fresh vegetables and fruit, drink green tea that is proved to be a very powerful anti-oxidant.
Free radicals are also contained in the environment, one should minimize/avoid: exposure to ionizing radiation (from industry, sun exposure, cosmic rays, and medical X-rays), ozone and nitrous oxide (primarily from automobile exhaust), heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium, and lead), cigarette smoke (both active and passive) etc. To further minimize the free-radical damage to your skin use moisturizing cream with anti-oxidant protection.
5. Excessively hot water. Many of us love to relax in a hot-hot shower or treat ourselves to a hot bubbly tub. Howevdr, excessivley hot water can eventually damage blood vessels in the skin. Such treats and habits increase our chances for broken blood vessels on the face and spider veins on our legs.
6. Excessive skin cleansing (especially with alcohol containing lotions), peeling and exfoliation can dry the skin, irritate and damage living skin cells and eventually exhaust the skin and bring down its ability to regenerate. It is recommended to cleanse the skin 2 times a day and exfoliate once a week
7. Overuse of skin care products may lead to irritation and some skin-care products which may contain potentially damaging ingredients. Also use of skin care products too intensive for your age may result in skin’s lower ability to regenerate and respond to skin care products.
8. Facial expressions. Some facial expressions if repeated constantly result in wrinkles. Many people squint or frown without knowing it. Learn to be aware of such expressions, work on relaxing your face muscles – for example practice relaxing your forehead in front of the mirror for a couple weeks and you will notice that your forehead wrinkles will either disappear or will become smoother depending on their depth.
9. Diet rich in fatty, spicy, modified, high calorie foods.
10. Extreme weather.
To prevent and slow down the appearance of the signs of aging do your best to avoid or minimize the above mentioned skin damamging factors.
Remember, the earlier you start researching the right skin-care for you, making informed choices about skin-care products, investing some time into regular skin-care routine, and choosing the right professional skin care treatments, the more chances you have to slow down the aging process, prevent premature signs of aging and keep your skin beautiful.
Read further about Basics of skin care everyone should know to mantain the health and beauty of their skin.
Do you need recommendations on a particular skin care issue related to your age? Read about Skin care by age