Thursday, July 19, 2007

Sunlight In Anti-Aging

If you're seriously interested in knowing about anti-aging, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about anti-aging.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you're fully informed about antiaging, keep reading.

What triggered wrinkles and premature aging.

Premature aging is caused by repeated exposure and prolonged to UVA rays. It penetrated down to the lower layer of the skin and cause damages to the supporting elastin and collagen.

Premature aging is also caused by the degeneration of elastic tissue which appears as yellow patches. The face and back of hands are mostly susceptible to this symptom where sun exposure is usually occurs.

Guideline for maximum effectiveness of sunscreens application:

1. apply on cool dry skin

2. strongly recommended to apply half and hour before before sun exposure

3. spread generously and evenly

4. Do apply even if it is a cloudy day

5. Hourly application if we are swimming or sweating profusely

With increasing age, the skin's cell renewal process becomes less efficient. Tissue repair and cell regeneration slow down. The amount of natural moisture present in the skin is reduced. Because collagen production is less, the skin becomes thinner and loses its flexibility.

Changes in the protective function

The most obvious sign of intrinsic aging is a decrease in the overall thickness of the epidermis as a whole, with a reduction in the number of cell layers. The number of cells in the stratum corneum does not diminish with age, however; this is important, because of the vital role of this layer as the skin barrier. On the other hand, the numbers of melanocytes and other cells do decrease with age. So do the numbers of the Langerhans cells, which are involved in the body's response to allergens. This could be one reason why people tend to experience fewer allergic reactions as they get older.
The rete pegs become less prominent, and the junction of the dermis and epidermis becomes flattened. This means that the epidermis is not so securely held down, and becomes more vulnerable to damage by friction.
Metabolism in the skin (as everywhere else) slows down. So too does the rate at which epidermal cells are produced, which may interfere with wound healing. The time necessary to repair the stratum corneum barrier increases considerably with age: the replacement of skin cells takes about twice as long for people over 75 as for those around 30.
Although the sebaceous glands themselves do not change much with increasing age, sebum production declines in many older people, especially after the age of 70, though in some the glands on the face actually enlarge in extreme old age.
With age, the number of active sweat glands falls and their output of sweat decreases too. As a result, perspiration is less in elderly skin. This explains why older people often find it hard to adapt to hot weather.
Most older people have a dry skin and therefore have a special need to avoid the over-use of harsh soaps and detergents, in order to prevent problems associated with dryness. Aged skin retains its fundamental ability to control water loss, but may partially lose this ability if the stratum corneum barrier becomes damaged by physical or chemical agents. Many substances will penetrate aged skin more easily than young skin.

The sun is the source of all life on Earth. Heat, light and warmth from the solar furnace sustain us all. There is a price to pay, however: the cumulative effects of invisible rays on our skin.

A whole travel industry was founded on people's desire to get away from more miserable climates to the sun, and to acquire a tan at almost any cost. Yet this very sunlight is arguably damaging to the skin in the short term and a significant health hazard in the long term - the actual benefits of sun exposure are few indeed.

The part of the sunlight that causes 90% of damage to the skin is called ultraviolet radiation (UVR). For convention and completely arbitraryly, the UV spectrum has been divided into UVA,UVB and UVC.

Some exposure to ultraviolet B is necessary, since it is essential for vitamin D production in the skin. The amount required is tiny, however, and 15 minutes a day is probably sufficient even in cloudy countries. Occasional exposure to visible sunlight is believed to enhance psychological well-being.

In spite of these benefits, however, the UV radiation from the sun is the environmental factor that is overall most damaging to the skin.

Our apparent age depends on a number of factors. Genetic inheritance is important, as is the way our skin has been treated throughout our lifetime. Young, radiant skin has a healthy look that, as we get older, begins to fade as the skin loses its ability to retain moisture. The skin becomes drier, loses elasticity and begins to show the effects of constant exposure to the environment.

Some of the skin changes that accompany aging are natural and inevitable. Together, these changes make up the process called “intrinsic aging.” Damage caused by external factors, such as exposure to UV radiation, are known collectively as “extrinsic aging.”

As our skin ages, the natural substances, which help the skin retain moisture, are reduced, causing it to become drier. In addition, the rate at which our skin sheds old cells slows down, the network of collagen and elastin that support the skin degrade, and the production of the natural pigment melanin can become uneven.

These changes result in a range of visible signs of aging. Research by Olay has shown that there are seven main signs of facial aging that concern us most. These are lines and wrinkles, uneven texture, uneven tone, a dull appearance, age spots and blotches, visible pores and an overall increase in dryness.

As your knowledge about antiaging continues to grow, you will begin to see how antiaging fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

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