Hope and Help For Damaged Skin

By: Marlene Affeld

Exposure to the sun causes the most significant damage to the skin. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is an environmental stressor impacting on skin health. Effects include acute inflammation and long-term photodamage.

Cold temperatures, wind, and pollution from environmental toxins also impact skin health. A loss of elastin and collagen causes the skin to loosen and lose resilience, tension, and fullness. Skin appears dull and dry. As a result of this loss of collagen and elastin, the skin forms small rough ridges and folds. The crease formed by the fold becomes a wrinkle or line. Smoking, alcohol, and poor skin cleansing and care accelerate the process.

The most visible wrinkles in the skin are those known as static wrinkles or lines, creases, or folds in the facial skin that are visible when the face is at rest and not moving. Static wrinkles are encouraged by age, stress, smoking, and dramatic facial expressions. Your mother is right, and if you frown all the time, you will develop a permanent scowl.

The FDA strongly advises everyone to use sunscreen and protective clothing to shield skin from harmful rays of the sun and to help prevent sunburn and skin cancer. Collagen and elastin, the two substances that provide skin fullness, are not evenly distributed amongst all women. However, each one of us can take action to protect and nurture our skin to allow it to look it’s brightest and best. If we protect our skin with sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, avoid excess consumption of alcohol and stop smoking, our faces will be less creased and wrinkled than those who unconditionally expose themselves to the sun and continue harmful habits that cause premature aging.

• Chronic dry skin is more prone to wrinkling compared to other skin types. A natural moisturizer that helps to keep wrinkles at bay is grapeseed oil. Grape seed oil is easily absorbed and has a refreshing tonic and antioxidant role.

• Take your vitamins. Vitamin C is crucial to maintaining youthful, healthy skin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that prevents free-radical damage, a primary cause of dryness, wrinkles and fine lines. Because Vitamin C produces new collagen, the protein that makes your skin firm and plump, taking an adequate amount of the essential nutrients can help reverse the signs of skin damage. It is also vital to apply Vitamin C to the skin topically. Choose a face cream rich in Vitamin C. Applied topically, Vitamin C is up to 20-times more effective than when taken orally.

• Vitamin E is a healing natural oil that is good for the skin. It nourishes the skin as it strengthens the cell walls. Regularly taking Vitamin E supplements is one of the best ways to avoid wrinkles. Vitamin E makes the skin healthy and keeps it retain its youthful glow.

• Crushed fresh fruit is one of the most available and most natural home treatments for dehydrated, wrinkled skin. Choose melons, bananas, and apricots. Fresh fruit can be ground in a food processor to create a paste. Apply as a mask, or you can rub your face with a piece of melon or half an apricot. Follow with a rinse of lukewarm water and pat dry.

• High in Vitamin C, carrots are especially beneficial to tired, dull skin. Grate or grind a fresh carrot and apply the mixture directly on the face. Allow the carrot paste to remain on the skin for 20-minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. Many celebrities endorse washing your face with carrot juice every morning and evening.

Stay Hydrated

More than 60 percent of your body weight is water. It is your body’s principal chemical component. Without water, you can’t survive.

Drink plenty of water to keep skin moist and plump. When the body is dehydrated, the skin appears parched and wrinkled. Drinking adequate water is crucial to overall good health. Water aids in the elimination of toxins, promotes digestion, is required for healthy blood volume and circulation, and is required for excretion. Water protects sensitive tissues, regulates body temperature, and cushions and lubricates joints.

That is all very good, you say, but what does water have to do with skin health? Well, the answer is, just about everything! Drinking an adequate amount of water a day contributes to a healthy, radiant, and younger-looking complexion. Our skin is an organ, the largest of the body, and just like any other part of the body, the skin is composed of cells that contain water. Without adequate hydration, none of the organs of the body function at their optimum, and the skin surface is one of the first to show the effect of dehydration.

If your skin fails to receive adequate hydration, you likely suffer from tight, dry, and flaky skin without resiliency; your skin looks old before its time.

As we lose large quantities of every day through urination, excretion, and sweat: the loss must be replaced. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women. However, keep in mind that body size varies. To maintain optimum skin health, it is vital that we daily drink at least one-half ounce of water for every pound of body weight.

Unfortunately, much of the water we drink never reaches the skin; it reaches other organs before it reaches the skin. Therefore, it is essential that to maintain a youthful and glowing complexion and to halt premature aging, water is applied to the skin and kept there. Doing so will show a visible difference in skin hydration, texture, and tone, as well as help to prevent future wrinkles.

• Drink more water: at least eight glasses a day to help rid the body of toxins. That’s the minimum. Medical research studies indicate that persons suffering from acne noted a marked improvement within ten days of increasing their water intake to recommended levels.

• Apply a skin care product containing hyaluronic acid before applying your moisturizer. It’s a fact! Hyaluronic acid retains more than 1,000 times its weight in water, thereby attracting water to the skin and holding it there.

References:

United States Library of Medicine - Green Tea and Other Tea Polyphenols: Effects on Sebum Production and Acne Vulgaris

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5384166/

Mayo Clinic - How Much Water Should You Drink?

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

United States Library of Medicine - Herbal Treatment for Dermatologic Disorders

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92761/

Clinical Trials - The Effect of Green Tea and Vitamin C on Skin Health

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01032031

8 Natural and Effective Anti Wrinkle Treatments | The .... http://blog.themodelstage.com/8-natural-and-effective-anti-wrinkle-treatments/

Fruit of the Month: Citrus - wellness.ucr.edu. https://wellness.ucr.edu/March%202018-%20Asparagus%20and%20citrus.pdf