What is aging?
Aging is the natural process of becoming older.. Many things can affect our aging process. few things we cannot do anything about; others we can influence.
One thing that we cannot control is the natural aging process. The age and the rate of progression of aging is largely determined by our family tendency. The medical term for this type of aging is “intrinsic aging.” This happens as a result of normal wearing and tearing of collagen and elastin fibres, which form a meshwork under the skin to support it and provide it elasticity. Also loss of fat and an another important molecule, called Hyaluronic acid, which can hold water, giving fuller, hydrated look of youthful face.
There are few external factors which can also influence our aging. Our environment and lifestyle can cause our skin to age prematurely. To list them:
- 1. Stress
- 2. Smoking
- 3. Sugar
- 4. Sun-exposure
- 5. Hormones
- 6. Poor diet
- 7. Pollution
The medical term for this type of aging is “extrinsic aging.” With few life style modifications, we can slow down the extrinsic aging.
How to prevent early aging?
- Be regular with your sunscreen – Sunscreen protect you from harmful rays of sunlight, which are responsible for development of fine lines, age spots and wrinkles. Use broad spectrum sunscreen and do reapply it every 3-4 hourly.
- Do not forget your moisturizer – A well hydrated skin is the sign of youthfulness. Regular application of moisturizer can delay onset of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Quit smoking – smoking release lots of toxins in the body and also leads to early lysis of collagen, leading to development of signs of aging at early age.
- Cut down on sugar intake – Sugar damages your skin through a process called glycation. The sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins and produces harmful free radicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The proteins that are most vulnerable to damage are Collagen and elastin. These proteins keep skin firm and elastic and are responsible for the plump and bouncy characteristics of a healthy and youthful complexion. AGEs make your collagen and elastin stiff, dry and brittle.
- Indulge into physical activity – Regular moderate physical activity can help you to remove toxins from your body, by increasing blood supply.
- Eat a healthy diet – Go for vegetables, fruits, whole grains, high protein and fibre rich food. Limit foods high in saturated fat and salt.
- Manage stress – Stress can leads to alteration in hormonal levels and released of toxins, which can accelerate your aging.
- Get enough sleep – Quality sleep plays an important role in the healing and repair of your skin. Aim for seven to nine hours a night.
What anti-aging treatment does?
Antiaging treatments aimed at the either delayed onset of the signs of aging or to minimized their appearance. This treatment are just addition to your healthy lifestyle and not an replacement. The treatment could be topical medications only or along with them few procedures. The nature of treatment depends on many factors like, age, existing skin quality, degree of sagging, degrees of fat loss or fat sagging etc.
- Retinol – Most effective topical agent, but prone for irritation. You should not include it into your night routine without dermatologist’s advice.
- Peptides – They are inferior to retinol for aging, but are more safer. They boost collagen formation.
- Fillers – These are concentrates of hyaluronic acid, which can hold almost 100 times more water that its molecular weight. If used judiciously, it can give only lifting or lifting and fuller look, depending on requirement.
- Threads – They are made up of bio-degradable material, can add lifting effect. They don’t have filling effect for volume loss.
- Botox – This are neurotoxins, which are very safe to smooth your expression lines. They don’t work for static or permanent lines.
- HIFU – This are high intensity ultrasound waves, which can leads to fat lysis. Used for sagging of the skin.
- RF based devices – This devices emits radiofrequency energy, which leads to more collagen synthesis, leading to diminished appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and more firmer skin.
