The aging process of the skin is caused by known factors. Skin aging can in great extend be avoided by simple means and aging symptoms in the skin can also often be cured by the same measures. The same measures are also helpful against skin injury from chemical and physical  impacts.

To understand better how to keep your skin in good condition, some basic knowledge of skin anatomy is helpful:

The skin has there layers: The outer layer called epidermis consists of epithelial cells. The outermost cells cells of this layer are dead, and consist moustly of the protein keratine. However this layer is protecting your skin from damage. Under the epidermis lies the dermis consisting of connective tissue cells, blood vessels and fibers. At the bottom there is a layer called the hypodermis consisting mostly of fat cells.

The skin has narrow pores extending from the surface down to the top of the sub-dermis, called hair follicles. A hair extend from a growth zone in the bottom of each hair follicle and out at the skin surface. Around the hair in the dermis, there are small glands called sebaceous glands. These glands produce a fatty substance, sebum, which empty through the follicle opening and lubricates the hair and the skin.

If the epidermis of the skin for some reason is destroyed, epidermis cells deep in the pores can begin to prolifereate, spread to the surface and replace the destroyed epidermis.

In the skin there is also a lot of stem cells. These are mostly situated in the tissue around and under the pores. Stem cells are cells that has not yet developed into mature organ cells. When the skin is badly hurt, these cells also proliferate and mature to replace dead or injured cells. Probably these stem cells also divide and mature all the time to replace cells that have been injured by the aging process.

The sun rays have a stimulating effect upon the skin. They make the skin grow thicker, get better color and more robust. As long as this effect is not too great, it is a positive effect.

But the sun rays also effect damage both at the cellular level and on the connective protein fibres in the skin.

In order to get the good effects from the sun, but avoid most of the harmful effects, you must enjoy the sun with reason. Some daily exposure from sun-rays on the skin will not hurt. On the contrary, it will in fact do your skin good. 

You must however avoid massive daily exposure. Massive sun exposure has a very disturbing influence on the skin, and will cause all types of skin problems: Wrinkles, brown spots, miscoloring, very thin or very thick skin, dry skin and cancer. To keep your skin young and healthy in the long run, you must protect your skin when you are outside for longer times.

This can be done by covering your skin with clothes when your bare skin has got enough exposure, or you can use a sun balm with a high enough protection factor. Be aware that the practical protection factor often is lower than that you can read on the bottle.

Take lecithin supplement

Take some supplement of lecithine or a product containing lecithine: Lecithin is a fatty substance. It is an important constituent of all  body tissues.

It consists of glycerole, fatty acids, cholin, ethanolamine, inositol and cerine. The four latter substances are working tools used in nerve signal transmission, in the immune system and in tissue regeneration. Therefor they stimulate the immune system to act againts damaged elements and stimulate the cells to regenerate. Lecithin is especially important for the growth and regeneration of nerve tissue and the skin.

Lecitin also has a cleansing effect upon the skin. It helps the sebaceous gland to produce cleansing secretions. Taking a daily dose of lecitin alone or a product containing lecithine will greatly help to keep the skin young and regenerate the skin from damage.

Eat fish and sea-food

A dish of fish or seafood at least every second day has proven to keep the skin in good condition and help the skin to avoid sun damage. You should include fat fish, since fat fish has an especially high content of vitamin A and D, important for the skin health.

Tomatos seem to help the skin resist damages from the sun rays and other impacts, and help the skin repair allready manifest damages. This effect is probably produced by the red pigment in the tomato skin, lycopene.

Use plant-oils or products with plant oils or other natural oils upon your skin

Using a topical product containing certain types of plant oils or even using some of the pure oils upon the skin daily, will make the skin smooth and ease regeneration from damage. Oils that have these effect are: Blue chamomile Oil, tea tree oil, borage Oil and olive oil. Pure olive oil of good quality can be used alone upon the skin after the daily wash. The amount needed is very little. Use exactly as much that is needed to saturate the skin and make it smooth.

The oils give the skin a protective cover, and they dissolve harmful substances that have deposited in the skin. The oils also make the skin tissue softer, so that the cleaning processes in the skin easier can take away damaged elements or harmful deposits. Essensial fatty acids and vitamins in the oils are also used as working tools in the regeneretion of new tissue.

Squalane is a natural oil (a hydocarbone, C30 H62) produced by the body itself, by many plants and by many animals that protects the skin against damage and helps the skin to regenerate from damage. Using a cream or oil blending containing squalane can be very beneficial for the skin. Olive oil contain some squalane. Do not mistake squalene for squalane. Squalene is a realated natural oil, but it is not so well suited to use upon the skin, because it is oxidized more easily than squalane.  Instead it is suited to be used as an oral supplement in some amount.

Using olive oil in your dishes will help to keep your skin young, and help the skin to regenerate from damage and aging symptoms. Olive oil contains much mono-unsaturated acids and much of vitamin E. However, your skin will also need essential poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore you should also consume some amount of other types of oils or supplements containing poly-unsaturated oils especially valuable for your skin. Other plant oils with fatty acids beneficial for your skin are:  Evening primrose oil, flax seed oil, borage oil, soy oil and wheat germ oil.

The vitamins in olive oil and the other oils work as anti-oxydants and prevent oxidation processes that can damage elements in the skin. The fatty acids in the oils are also used as ingredients for the production of sebum, and enhances the quality and fluidity of the produced sebum. Therefore the sebum do not so easily harden and clog the pores.

Taking conjugated linolaeic acid (CLA)

CLA is a fatty acid produced in the stomach of cows by bacteria, taken up into the cow’s blood-stream and secreted into the milk. This acid has shown to help the skin regenerate from damage and keep the skin in a juvenile state. Taking CLA as a supplement may help you get finer skin, and also help you to keep your weight at a wanted level. Fat milk and diary products also contain CLA and can improve your skin health. However, great amounts of fat diary products are not good for your heart and circulation.

The skin should be washed at least every second day with a mild soap or cleansing product. Men should shave during the wash or after the wash, depending upon the shaving method used. Then you should use some oil or cream to protect yous skin and and to make it smooth and elastic. Use a product containing natural oils with anti-aging properties. If you suffer from acne or other skin problems, the cleansing product and the protecting cream should contain ingredients to treat this problem.

Before exposing your skin to heavy sunshine for a longer time, you should also use some additional product with sun-shield. If you have used a product with sun-shield or make-up during the day, this should be washed away in the evening, and a new layer of protecting cream layed on.

More basic washing and care that outlined here, is not neccessary, and may in fact damage your skin. The same is thrue for heavy use of make-up.

Smoking has a very negative effect upon the skin in the long run, and will cause a lot of wrinkles.

By Knut Holt