Can you keep up with all the wonder ingredients in skin care products that are supposed to make your skin more youthful, smoother, more radiant? Luckily we can, as we stay on top of the ongoing developments within skincare for you.
We covered the importance of vitamins A, C and E, peptides, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, antioxidants in your (consistent) skincare routine in our previous blogs. Here is a little reminder…
- Vitamin A normalises the skin, supports the skin’s moisture levels and helps repair skin damage.
- Vitamin C is great for anti-ageing with its brightening and smoothing properties that fight those free radicals.
- Vitamin E supports the immune system and skin health – reducing UV damage to the skin.
- Peptides stimulate the production of collagen in the skin, resulting in a youthful complexion.
- Hyaluronic acid has the unique capacity to hold 1,000 times its own weight in water and so helps in plumping out the skin and reducing wrinkles.
- Ceramides act as a protective waterproof barrier that keeps the skin hydrated while keeping bacteria and pollutants out.
- Antioxidants defend the skin against dehydration and neutralises free radicals generated by UV rays and blue light.
Ceramides
We wanted to put the spotlight back on ceramides. Our blog from October 2019 explains in more detail that ceramides account for 30 – 40% of our skin’s protective barrier. This protective layer is created by a mixture of dead cells and fats held together by ceramides acting as the mortar between the cells. Particularly for those living in urban areas, it is important to keep a strong protective barrier, as it helps to keep pollution, dirt and bacteria out of the skin.
Stay clear of exfoliating
Environ, which is part of the iiaa Ltd. (the International Institute for Anti-Ageing) discourages you from exfoliating your skin. While it may be tempting to do, and temporarily make your skin feel soft and smooth, removing the ‘dead skin’ layer can actually be harmful. It removes the protective barrier and exposes new, immature cells which are not able to deal with environmental aggressors.
Give your skin the right tools
Ceramides deplete as we age, and are further reduced by UV radiation, pollution, soap-based products, a poor diet and even the cold winter months (in fact, they are depleted by as much as 20% in cold weather). The best tool you can give your skin, is to encourage it to make its own ceramides – rather than relying solely on applying ceramides topically with your moisturiser.
Vitamin A is just this tool. We already know that it normalises skin cells. Vitamin A also creates healthy keratinocyte cells (which make up 90% of the cells of the outermost layer of the skin), which in turn are involved in the production of ceramides.
Many of our clients have experienced the true effects of vitamin A by using Environ’s Skin EssentiA or Youth EssentiA ranges – a better hydrated skin, resulting in a plumper, smoother skin with reduced wrinkle depth.
Remember that a healthy diet will also help you to replenish your vitamin A. Foods including eggs, sweet potato, apricots, mango, grapefruit, broccoli, spinach are particularly high in vitamin A, so indulge and care for your skin from the inside out.
If you would like our advice on the best skin treatment for you. Fill in our online skin consultation questionnaire. here
