Anti Aging ScienceSo what is anti-aging and age management? What does it really mean? It is more than getting some procedures done or taking some pills. It literally encompasses every ounce of your being and how you approach your life. We all share one inescapable reality that we will all continuously age and eventually pass on. We start out with a random set of genes from our parents that dictate a lot of what will happen during our lives. But along the way we make choices that will affect the expression of these genes as well as how we will age. These are the variables we can control to some degree that can not only extend our lives, but make us look and feel better along the way.
The best anti aging secrets are not secrets! Some easy choices include not doing things that we know will harm us. Smoking has no place in a healthy life and negatively affects everyone around you. Cigarettes destroy your body from the inside out. Overconsumption of alcohol or food can be just as deleterious. Obesity prematurely ages your body and related diseases like diabetes directly shortens it. The sun and tanning feel good but prematurely ages our skin and increases the risk of cancer. Exposure to pollutants, whether in the home or the environment, harms our metabolism and is potentially carcinogenic.
A frequently ignored contributor of aging is stress. We all have some stress in our lives that helps us to be efficient. However, we all need an outlet to relieve excess stress. Ignoring this basic concept of life leads to the destructive behaviors listed above as an outlet.
So we have all heard of those anti aging creams, do they really work? The simple answer is no. Most anti aging creams have no effect beyond moisturizing your skin. However, there are anti aging products that actually have science behind them. The core principle to remember is that we are looking to protect and stimulate our collagen. Collagen is the building block of our skin. As we age our collagen is not only degraded, but its production slows down. This leads to the wrinkles, lines and sagging we commonly see with aging. Anti aging products that work can slow or reverse some of these. Retinoids are clinically proven to stimulate collagen production. Growth factors have been shown to have similar effects. Antioxidants like Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Green Tea help to protect collagen
In the same vein as anti aging products, many anti aging procedures are not effective. Effective anti aging procedures must stimulate collagen production too. Collagen production in the skin occurs in the deep layer, the dermis. Effective anti aging procedures must penetrate this layer and include microneedling, laser resurfacing and Ultherapy.
