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Wrinkles and skin care: understanding your skin

December 17th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Once fine lines and wrinkles appear, we tend to take more notice of our skin. But what is skin?

Skin is the body’s biggest organ. When people think of organs, most often the heart, lungs and brain come to mind but typically not the skin. Like these and other organs inside the body, skin is made up of different types of tissues and these tissues are made up of cells.

Much like the roof on a house, the skin plays an important role in protecting our bodies. It keeps bodily fluids inside while at the same time carefully controlling the release of waste product. It also helps keep our internal body parts safe from the potentially harmful effects of the environment including the sun, light and bacteria and also from injury.

Several different layers make up the skin, but perhaps because the underlying layers are not visible, they’re not thought of very often. We spend much of our lives worrying about acne and wrinkles but don’t realize that these types of skin issues have a lot to do with the workings of the layers below.

If you were to look at a cross-section of skin, you’d see that skin consists of 3 different layers: the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis or subcutis layer. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Epidermis

This is the outermost layer of skin - the one that is visible. It covers the entire body, from the head down to the feet. The epidermis itself consists of 3 layers and is made up of tightly-woven connective tissues of varying thickness. For example, the skin covering your feet is much thicker than that below the eye. The epidermis acts like a barrier, keeping the good in and the bad out.

The top layer of the epidermis is constantly being shed. It’s the layer that acts as the gatekeeper keeping fluids in and dangers out. Although not easily visible, most of this layer is covered with thousands of tiny pores and hair shafts. New skin is continually being generated by the bottom layer to replace the skin that has been shed. The epidermis also contains melanin, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation (coloring) and protecting against the sun’s damaging rays.

Dermis

This layer of connective tissue tucked in between the innermost and outermost layers is the site of much activity. The dermis is home to blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerve tissue, hair follicles, bundles of collagen and sweat glands. Much activity happens in the middle layer. Blood vessels supply nutrients. Nerve tissues give skin the ability to feel. And the muscle tissues in this layer when they are activated are what cause a person to develop goose bumps in response to cold or fear. This layer also has the ability to trap bacteria that manages to penetrate the epidermis.

Hypodermis or subcutis layer

The innermost layer of skin helps to regulate our body temperature. It is here that insulating fat and collagen can be found which is why this layer helps keep us warm. This layer also acts as a cushion or shock absorber, protecting the body from injury. The connective tissue that makes up this important layer is also known as adipose tissue.

Finding An Anti-Aging Product

July 30th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

When the first lines appear, it’s time to start looking for an anti-aging product.

When we go to groceries or drugstores, we are bombarded with different kinds of brands that specialize in smoothing our wrinkles, toning our facial muscles, and promising us firmer skin in just a few minutes per day. 

These advertisements claim that they have found the breakthrough in giving back the years of our youth through their specially formulated creams. But really, with all this, how can we be so sure which anti-aging product works?

What’s In Anti-aging Products?

It has been proven that oxidants in our bodies are primarily the one responsible in our process of aging.  To automatically combat aging, we must take in lots of anti-oxidants and technology has already come a long way in somehow reversing the time by providing us with different options on how we could maintain our youthful look. 

The most common ingredients on any anti-aging product is Alpha-Hydroxy Acids or AHA.  It is an exfoliant but promotes skin repair.  BHA or Beta-Hydroxy Salicylic Acid also does the same for the skin and is an alternative to AHA.  For preventing and repairing sun damage, Coenzyme Q10 or Ubiquinone is the answer. 

Not only does it prevent and repair, it also encourages new cell growth and is a proven antioxidant.  Collagen, as one of the main ingredients in an anti-aging product promotes skin hydration making our skin look and feel plumper, firmer while minimizing fine lines and wrinkles.  These are just four of the other many chemicals that is inside a jar of an anti-aging product. 

Vitamins for your skin

It is not surprising to know that there are vitamins and minerals in an average anti-aging product.  One of which is vitamin C or ascorbic acid that is clinically proven to increase collagen production.  Also vitamin C has healing and antioxidant properties while reducing fine lines and minimizing scars.

Vitamin E is also clinically proven as an effective antioxidant.  It also improves our skin’s moisture and content, but also has skin protection properties and is good in smoothing our skin.

And last but not the least of all vitamins that can be found in a common anti-aging product is Vitamin K which is popular among eye care products.  It is also clinically proven to reduce dark circles around the eyes and treats spider veins.  Also, Vitamin K is proven to be effective in treating broken capillaries and bruising.

Though we may be confused with so many anti-aging products that we see, in a nutshell, the most important thing here is to take time in taking care of our skin.  We could use the help of a moisturizer that has an adequate SPF content to protect our skin from sun damage, causing us more wrinkles and fine lines. 

Also, it is important to avoid smoking and sleeping late if we can.  We only have one life to live and it is important that we live it to the fullest by taking care of ourselves. Like what they usually say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.  One way to start is by taking care first of what is essential to our body and is obviously visible to others, our skin.

Cool Laser for Wrinkle Treatment

June 18th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

People cannot avoid the signs of aging, but in a society that seems to revere youth, many want to look as young as possible.  Cool laser for wrinkle treatments are procedures without any surgery or medicine to consume. 

A laser is an instrument that is designed to transmit light for a variety of purposes.  Lasers were not developed for cosmetic purposes, but lasers have shown characteristics that are helpful when used for cosmetic purposes.  The cool laser for wrinkle treatment does not use just any light but a highly concentrated beam of light that is effective to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

A cool laser for wrinkle treatment can definitely reduce the signs of aging.  This treatment works just as well as some of the invasive plastic surgery procedures.  The cool laser wrinkle treatments are much less costly than traditional plastic surgery procedures.  These treatments are also completed without the need for recovery time so the patient can return to work or other responsibilities almost immediately.  The treatments take approximately an hour and the patient will have to return for some follow up visits to maintain the results of the treatments.

The cool lasers for wrinkle treatments are used to restore the collagen that appears naturally in the skin of a person.  This collagen provides the elasticity in the skin and when the collagen is diminished, the skin appears aged.  The laser treatment works to go beneath the skin and affect the collagen in a positive way.  This restoration will make a substantial difference in the appearance of each person. 

These treatments are especially effective to reduce the lines around the eyes and the mouth.  There are very few complications with these procedures; the laser treatments are a bit painful but nothing that is unbearable. 

Copyright © 2007 My Fab Face Skin Care Wrinkle Treatment

Credits: 30 Day Slimmer | My Fab Face | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund