Summertime Beauty In The Sun

Summertime Beauty In The Sun

Why does the skin age from the sun?

I love the beach and the fresh air and sitting there enjoying my family and friends, watching the waves and smelling all the tropical coconut lotions and Hawaiian suntan oils. That to me is summer, being out in the sun and enjoying longer and warmer days.

Even though we all like to soak up the sun and sit on the beach, skin does age faster if you over do it in the sun. We all know this by now and to use sunscreens if we are out in the sun for long periods of time. But really what does the sun do to our skin when we are exposed to too much sun or when we burn the skin.

One of the questions my clients ask most often is: “Does the skin on the face age faster than the skin on the rest of the body?” My answer: It appears to. The truth is, it’s the way we treat our skin—not the aging process–that “ages” facial skin the most.

Scientists explain it this way: There are two types of aging, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic(internal) aging is the rate of aging that occurs with the passage of time. Extrinsic (external) aging is intrinsic aging compounded by external causes such as sunlight, air pollution, and inflammation caused by harsh cleansers, rough treatments, hard water, and disease processes. Compounding extrinsic damage is the fact that with age your body’s ability to repair itself slows considerably. When we’re 11, our cells can repair themselves nearly perfectly from damage, but from age 20 to age 50 and beyond, the aging process begins to accelerate because we no longer have that ability for perfect repair.

So when you are soaking up the rays of the sun and your skin gets inflamed (sunburned), it is very hard for the skin to repair itself. We see Cellular damage in the form of wrinkles, sun spots and sagging skin. You don’t see the aging process right away but when you reach your 40’s and 50’s you will see visible signs of aging to the surface of the skin.

ANTIOXIDANTS TO THE RESCUE

Happily, our skin has allies in its continuing fight against free-radical damage. With technologies in highly advanced skin care, scientist have discovered certain nutrients called antioxidants (a group that includes Vitamin C , amino acids, DMAE and Co-enzymes.) can stop or even reverse free-radical damage caused from too much sun. They will help heal and help repair a good deal of the damage. The best advice I can give you is if you want to look tan buy a good self tanner. Sit in the sun in moderation and use a high grade skin care collection from licensed estiticians. One of the best creams on the market is our very own Face Firming Complex. It is rich in DMAE, Lipoic Acid, Ester-C, and Co-Enzymes.