Antioxidants

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Harmful nature

‘Antioxidants’ is one of the biggest buzzwords in skincare these days. I get countless questions about them in clinic every day. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what exactly antioxidants are and how they should be used. So I have summarized the most important facts about antioxidants here:

What is an antioxidant?
Antioxidants are substances, which can neutralize free radicals. By neutralising free radicals, they prevent a harmful reaction called the oxidative chain reaction. Antioxidants in skincare therefore reduce ‘oxidative stress’ in the skin, help to prevent damage and thus reduce the risk of premature skin ageing and possibly even skin cancer.

What are free radicals & oxidative stress?
Free radicals (‘reactive oxygen species’ – ROS) are highly reactive molecules, which contain at least one unpaired electron. Free radicals thus constantly seek electrons from other molecules and start a chain of oxidative reactions in the skin (‘oxidative chain reaction’). This leads to disruption of normal cell function and damage to our cells, especially when in a high concentration (‘oxidative stress’). Cells might become mutated, defective or killed as a consequence of free radical damage.

Free radicals are generated as by-products from normal cellular metabolism. However, free radicals can be increased in number by sun exposure, smoking, pollution and other internal and external factors.

How can free radicals damage our skin?
Free radicals contribute to the skin’s ageing process by damaging lipids, proteins and nucleic acids in our skin. Free radicals also cause inflammation, reduce collagen and elastin production and increase collagen and elastin breakdown in the skin. In addition, free radicals also play a role in skin cancer.

How important are antioxidants in the fight against skin ageing? 
They play a significant role. There are a variety of mechanisms involved in skin ageing including shortening of DNA telomeres, mutations in mitochondrial DNA with subsequent mitochondrial dysfunction, formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and last but not least free radical damage of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids in our skin.

Where are antioxidants present? 
Antioxidants are present everywhere in our body. The skin also contains a variety of different antioxidants. Antioxidants can be divided into enzymatic antioxidants such as glutathione and low-molecular weight antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and ergothionine. Both types of antioxidants are present in our skin.

How do antioxidants work to combat ageing? 
Antioxidants help to prevent a number of harmful ageing processes revolving around free radicals. These contribute to the skin’s ageing process by causing inflammation, reducing collagen & elastin production and increasing collagen & elastin breakdown in our skin. Our skin will try to repair the damage, but this might happen sub-optimally, so that with time damage will accumulate and the quality of collagen and elastin fibres will be reduced. This ultimately leads to poorer skin elasticity with development of lines and wrinkles. Using anti-oxidants will reduce the rate at which this takes place.

How effective are antioxidants in skincare?
That depends largely on the specific product. There are countless factors influencing whether a skincare product really will deliver, but a good antioxidant product should certainly be included in everybody’s daily skincare routine, as a good product will greatly contribute to protecting the skin from premature skin ageing. Some antioxidants work particularly well in concert, as they recycle each other, e.g. vitamin C and E.

What other ingredients are important if we want to have youthful looking skin?
Although antioxidants are crucial and should be present in everybody’s daily skincare routine, antioxidants should not be the only active ingredient you use, if you serious about combating skin ageing. A good vitamin A derivative for example (e.g. retinol or retinaldehyde) is also important. And of course you should always use a broadspectrum sun protection moisturizer with SPF 30-50 all year around.

What would your top three anti aging products be? And do any of these include antioxidants?

am:
1.) Antioxidant serum:
e.g. Skinceuticals’ CE Ferulic for normal skin, Phloretin GEL for dry, sensitive skin and Phloretin CF serum for oily to combination skin.

2.) Broadspectrum sun protection moisturizer:
e.g. Skinceuticals Sheer Mineral Defense or Heliocare Gel, both SPF 50.

pm:
3.) Vitamin A derivative containing product:
e.g. Avene’s Ystheal+ for normal skin, Skinceuticals’ Retinol 0.3-0.5 for combination to oily skin or Avene’s Eluage cream for dry skin.

Menopause and Hair Loss

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Ask Bosley Age of Balding

 

Unfortunately, hair loss is a very common symptom during menopause. Though hair loss is very often believed to only affect men, most women will experience some sort of hair loss during their life time too. Hair loss in women occurs when the number of hairs falling out is greater than the number of hairs growing. The causes of hair loss in women going through menopause usually fall into one of two categories; psychological or physical.

Hormonal imbalance is most often the cause of hair loss during menopause, and falls under the category of physical causes. This happens when there is too much of the hormone known as DHT in the body. Although DHT is produced with testosterone, it is actually controlled by estrogen. When a woman’s hormones are properly balanced, this will make for a controlled level of DHT. During menopause however, when the hormones become off balance, estrogen levels may fluctuate causing an excessive amount of DHT to be produced. This is what causes the hair loss that is most often seen in women during menopause.

Scalp Problems

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Scalp problems are common and occur for a number of reasons. The scalp’s micro-environment, with its large hair follicles and plentiful supply of sebum, and the relative ease with which this can induce elevated levels of micro-organisms and associated scaling, is frequently a primary cause of scalp disorders.

Another major factor is the infrequency in which some people wash their hair/scalp. They may take a shower every day but only wash their hair/scalp twice a week. Clearly this differential in cleansing from one region of the skin to another is likely to have an effect on the least washed area. Dandruff and other scalp disorders affect over 50% of all adults at some point during their lives. The most common cause of these problems is a micro-organism called Malassezia furfur (formally known as Pityrosporum Ovale). This fungus is always present on the scalp but when the level of sebum increases (sebum is composed of fatty acids which acts as a food source for the fungus) and/or there are minor changes to the composition of sebum due to ill health, diet, stress, hormonal changes and other factors, then conditions improve for the proliferation of the Malassezia furfur fungus resulting in scalp itching, flaking, inflammation, spots, dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis and other problems.

Another causative factor in scalp problems is the rate at which the skin cells form. These cells begin to grow from the base layer of the epidermis and gradually move to the surface of the skin. The epidermis, or outer, protective layer of the skin, is constantly changing. This whole process is called the epidermal turnover. Normally it takes approximately 28 days for the cells to move through the skin to the surface, where they come away when we wash or remove our clothing (much household dust is composed of dead skin cells) but with dandruff and other scalp problems the formation of skin cells is faster than normal, with the cells taking perhaps only 12 to 15 days to reach the surface of the scalp rather than the usual 28. If this is accompanied by an increase in the quantity of sebum which acts like a cement to bond the microscopically small cells together, then flakes, visible to the naked eye, form and we see this as dandruff. In addition to this are other factors which improve the conditions under which the fungus can increase.

With scale on the surface of the scalp comes an increased surface area, so increasing the space available for greater numbers of micro-organisms. This increased volume of dead skin cells absorbs more water (sweat) so allowing the fungus to multiply in this warm, moist scalp environment.

Dandruff

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Dandruff
Contrary to popular belief, dandruff (pityriasis capitis) is not dry scalp. Most dandruff is oily so there is no point in putting on oil and rubbing it in, to cure your dry scalp – it will only make the oily flakes oilier – and stickier. Pityriasis capitis affects most people at some time in their life, often temporarily and fluctuating. Research indicates that it is stimulated by a micro-organism normally present on everyone’s scalp as part of the skin’s normal flora – so you can’t catch it as you already have it. The skin’s secretions control the organism, keeping it at a certain level. Adverse changes in the secretions, however, enable the micro-organism to flourish, causing the scalp to produce skin flakes faster – dandruff flakes. The extra rapidity of skin production and an increase in sebum, cause the flakes to become oily and stick to the scalp. Reasons for adverse changes in skin secretions can be stress, hormone changes in sexes, diet, cosmetic products and poor hygiene. Dandruff is simple to clear by using an effective shampoo such as ‘Clear‘ for flaky and itchy scalps. However, it may re-occur if left untreated. DHD recommends using Clear with activated charcoal Shampoo to clear dandruff then alternate between Clear Shampoo and shampoo for your specific hair type to manage healthy scalp and hair. Scalp Toner is seen as an integral part of the DHD regime: pre-treatment, shampoo and conditioner then scalp toner. Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Therapy

Honey, Honey

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Honey honey

Honey is a humectant, which means that it holds on to water molecules. This is a desirable property in a moisturizer, especially for skin. But unlike skin, hair is not alive and it doesn’t need as much moisture. What it does need is something to smooth the cuticle so the hair feels soft and looks shiny.

Sugar sugar

Unfortunately honey is not a good lubricant, so it doesn’t make hair slippery and smooth. In fact, it’s the opposite of slippery– it’s sticky because it’s basically a sugary solution. (Rub some between your fingers and you’ll see!) So it will not smooth your cuticles or help a comb pass through your hair without damaging it. So any moisture-grabbing benefits that honey might give your hair are off set by it’s stickiness.

The DHD bottom line:

There are plenty of honey based hair care products on the market but we’ve never seen any that use honey at effective levels for moisturization. Silicones are better for that purpose, even though people think ‘cones are bad for hair.