This is a great question, and I'm sure you'll be surprised by the answer. Technically you start ageing when your skin stops producing collagen and elastin, so, let's say somewhere between 18 and 20 years old.
Surprised? Those in your 20's reading this, will be like, "Yeah, right". Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I didn't think it was happening to me either. Hellllooooo, 40. Hellllooooo fine lines, pigmented skin, sun damage and all the other classic telltale signs of what's to come in our 60's and 70's.
So, what is collagen, and ditto for elastin? These are the fibres in your skin that literally "hold it up", and allow it to "snap back" into place. Let's use smiling as an example. Under the age of 18, we produce enough of these fibers, to replace those that are broken each time we smile and create a crease in the skin.
The muscles we use to smile, create creases around our eyes for instance, and instead of the collagen and elastin replacing itself, it starts to fall behind in production. Eventually, some years later, creating a wrinkle. And so on from there - they deepen and others follow in the skin surrounding. Frown lines on the forehead, the crease between our brows, deepened naso-labial folds (the lines that extend diagonally downwards from the edges of your nose to your mouth).
How do we stop them? Get plenty of good quality rest, eat well, move your body, reduce stress, take supplements, wear an SPF and stay out of the sun, don't smoke, don't drink excessively, don't do drugs, watch environmental factors like pollution, use good skincare... And I could go on and on.
Too late? What do we do to get rid of them? Well, this is endless too. First things first: visit a good therapist and have a proper skin consult. This should cover your lifestyle from A to Z, products, physical analysis and treatment program. There is a lot out there from injectables (botox and filler), to more natural and crazily-effective practices like collagen induction therapy (AKA dermaroller, dermapen) that can help reduce the physical appearance and increase collagen by up to 400%.
And for goodness sake, stop using supermarket junk and invest in some good quality cosmedical products - you can't correct the skin without them!
Drop me a line if you have any questions. Kx.
#skinformation #ageing #collagen #elastin #collageninductiontherapy #dermapen #skinconsult #lifestyle #dermaroller
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