What Once Was Is Now Again

Age, sunshine, tobacco, pollution and illness deplete collagen levels. You can’t get away from aging. You can take time in the morning to apply sunscreen to stop the sun from letting those rays onto your face. You can stop smoking. You can get away from pollution by moving to the country, but if your job doesn’t allow you the freedom to simply pick up and move to another part of the country, then you’re probably stuck where you are. The final thing, illness, can hardly be avoided. It can be put at bay by several methods, but when that little bug comes around, and you hope that that late night last night followed by the stressful morning this morning didn’t break down your immune system, you have hope and a prayer to avoid getting sick.

And yet, there are other, more potent factors that are affecting your skin, such as those free radicals that keep creeping up in the scientific community. Free radicals are caused by ozone, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, exhaust fumes, and inorganic particles. You see, the oxygen that we breathe is actually O2, and the ozone that is disintegrating is causing O3 to fall. Well, with that extra oxygen molecule, it causes an unstable element, and that last molecule must get away, in order to become O2. The extra molecule is called a free radical, and free radicals cause a myriad of problems for your skin. They diminish your skin’s structural support, decrease the elasticity, resilience, and suppleness. After time, with more free radicals bombarding your skin, wrinkles, and liver spots appear. Finally, with the increase in particles, and lack of filtration system, UV rays come down and cause even more problems.

But, for all the problems that are out there, there is help, and the most natural, most effective treatment, is Vitamin C. Vitamin C synthesized collagen, helping the skin to maintain its supple appearance, reduces fine lines, and restores the firm texture. It is also a potent anti-oxidant, stopping those free radicals from bombarding your face. Other common skin problems such as acne, hyperpigmentation and general irritation are eradicated with Vitamin C. Cosmetic companies have taken l-ascorbic acid, and put it in different bases, such as water for oily skin, and oil based, for drier skin. They have also mixed it with different bonding agents, such as ascorbyl palmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and tetra substituted lipophilic acerbates.

While unmodified vitamin C remains an important skin care ingredient, the derivative does a better job in some situations. They are more stable, more affordable, and less irritating. They are also as effective in boosting skin collagen synthesis. However, they do not stimulate the collagen synthesis and exfoliate at the same time, as high potency vitamin C products are highly acidic and have a natural exfoliating agent.

So, take care, but don’t worry too much about the effects of the world on your skin. As long as there’s vitamin C, we will always be able to have beautiful skin.

How Science has Warned and Helped Us

Scientists and physicists have been publishing the well documented effect of climate change, and how it came about because of our decreased ozone layer. The effects have been far reaching and varying, but one of the predicted effects is an increase in UV radiation in many areas. Increased UV exposure causes in the very least sunburns, and after a time, it causes photo aging, then finally, skin cancer which takes the from of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. But, wait… that’s not all. Because of the depletion of the ozone layer, free radicals enter into our daily lives. “When oxygen molecules are involved in chemical reactions, they usually lose one of their electrons. Similarly, these molecules referred to as free-radicals, deprive neighboring molecules of electrons. This will set off the chain reaction known as free-radical damage.” Free radicals move attached to our beloved oxygen and on to other, more heinous gasses such as carbon monoxide, and exhaust fumes. All of these components add to the daily stress and strain that we put our skin through.

Free radicals diminish your skin’s structural support, causing fine lines and wrinkles. They decrease the elasticity, resilience, and suppleness, by constantly bombarding the collagen in your skin, and causing the collagen to loose its luster. Later on, wrinkles, liver spots, and poor skin condition such as flaking and pealing. The collagen gives your skin its natural glow and eliminates fine lines. However, because of aging, UV rays, pollution and illness, the collagen in your skin falls short.

Enter natures wonder drug, Vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in several different sources, but none as common as citrus fruits and vegetables. But, the type of Vitamin C that I’m talking about is the topical vitamin C, to reduce the fine lines and skin blemishes. It synthesizes collagen, is a potent anti-oxidant, and blocks environmental damage. There are several types of vitamin C compounds, such as water based for naturally oily skin, and oil based for drier skin. The thickening compounds range from the man made ascorbyl palmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and tetrasubstituted lipophilic acerbates to the natural vegetable glycerin. The active ingredient is l-ascorbic acid, which is 5%-15% of the finished product. L-ascorbic acid that has been made, instead of distilled, tend to be more stable, more affordable and less irritating. Furthermore, some of the derivatives may even be as effective in boosting skin collagen synthesis. What they don’t do though is have the naturally exfoliating substance of the more potent, less saturated l-ascorbic acid. And, on top of it all, it is amazingly easy to make, and there are several websites that show you how.

For all the evils that there are out in the world, it is nice to know that not everything out there will be to get you, and cause you to get older. There are still solutions within the problems themselves and we as human beings have been adapting to the changes since the beginning of time.