Skin Science and Health – January 26, 2021
The Science behind daylight/ darkness and restful sleep.
What can you do to optimise light for better health? The simple rule of thumb is to expose yourself to as much daylight as possible during the day (without looking directly at the sun!), as little light as possible in the evening, and absolutely no light when you sleep (i.e. sleep in complete darkness).
Skin Science and Health – January 25, 2021
Antioxidants Explained.
Antioxidants - When we’re exposed to UV, pollution or other stressors such as smoke and chemicals, free radicals form in the skin. At a cellular level, these free radicals can kick off a chain reaction that causes a huge path of destruction and often, ultimately, the death of the cell.
Skin Science and Health – January 07, 2021
Lipids such as Cholesterol, Essential fatty acids and Ceramides and their role in ageing skin.
Essential fatty acids, Ceramides and Cholesterol are all naturally occurring lipids in the correct ratio in healthy skin. Lipids are the good fats in your skin that make it look healthy and young; as you age, your skin loses them, causing dullness, dryness, and wrinkles. These healthy fats play a critical role in maintaining a healthy functioning skin barrier. The skin barrier is Crucial for this skin barrier function is the lipid matrix in the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum.
Skin Science and Health – January 11, 2021
Acne-Rosacea
Acne Rosacea -Rosacea is a complex skin condition , with inflammatory triggers, in which environmental factors can interfere negatively or positively in its evolution. Our skin barrier can be disrupted due to many possible reasons. When it’s damaged the tight junctions between the skin cells are lost. This allows external irritants to get in our skin a lot easier and lead to more water leaving our skin, leading to a dry tight feeling. Damaged skin barrier is characterised by an easily irritated, dehydrated and flaky skin, red skin. Improving the skin barrier function can significantly reduce symptoms, plus reduce inflammation. Up to 30% of rosacea sufferers have a family history of the condition leading researchers to believe it involves as yet unidentified genes, and for some, this is an inherited condition.
Skin Science and Health – January 02, 2021
Free radicals & Antioxidants.
What are free radicals?Natural chemical reactions in our cells produce unwanted by-products called reactive oxygen species (ROS) – better known as free radicals. These furiously ping about inside cells causing havoc, particularly a type of damage called oxidation. Seen an apple go brown? Smelt oil or nuts that have gone off? That’s oxidation. Unchecked, a disastrous chain reaction would occur in which cell’s most precious elements – their fat rich membranes, their proteins and DNA - would degrade and suffer irreparable harm.There’s also a whole other source of free radicals - the environment. The skin is bombarded by sunlight (UV, infrared, visible light), weather and pollution which trigger the production of free radicals.
Skin Science and Health – January 02, 2021
What can be done to slow the ageing process?
We start losing collagen from the age of 20, starting the creation of lines and wrinkles. Healthy skin reflects overall health, and poor nutrition can contribute to factors that accelerate skin ageing.Environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation, pollution, nutrition and stress, play a key role in the way we age. Research also suggests that a diet rich in sugar contributes to the loss of collagen in the tissues as the result of a process known as glycation, which can destroy collagen. Smoking kills vitamin C and in turn damages collagen.
Skin Science and Health – May 03, 2020
Antioxidants help to protect against Free Radical damage.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that can cause damage to our cells. What makes them unstable is that they are missing electrons from their outer shell. This causes them to search for other atoms or molecules that have these electrons, in order for them to feel whole again and become stable. Due to their reactive nature, free radicals can wreak havoc on your skin and other cells in their quest to find an electron and feel whole again. In order to stabilise themselves, free radicals try to bond to other atoms or molecules.
