Over the years, we all can see the changes in our skin as some fine lines make their appearance around the eyes when we laugh. We start to notice forehead wrinkles and lines between the eyes when we frown. The clock never runs back, but we can at least slow it down a little by taking the best care we can of our skin. Cleansing and moisturizing your skin every day and applying good skincare will make a difference, but avoiding external stressors that speed up skin aging is as important or even more.
Many external factors exacerbate skin aging, such as cigarettes and alcohol consumption, poor sleep, or an unhealthy lifestyle. However, in terms of skin aging, sun exposure is your worst enemy. Why is that? Sun exposure triggers skin photoaging, which damages your skin cells. It significantly accelerates the skin aging process to a great extent. It is believed that 90% of the signs of skin aging are due to sun exposure. So never forget this: there is no better way to prevent skin aging than protecting your skin from UV rays.
CHRONOLOGICAL AGING VS PHOTOAGING
Chronological aging and photoaging are overlapping processes with blurred boundaries that make it difficult to separate them. However, they show a few distinctive features. More importantly, they are triggered by different factors:
CHONOLOGICAL (or intrinsic) SKIN AGING is a series of skin changes that happen naturally with time and without the influence of any external factor. Over the years, the production of skin proteins as collagen and elastin decreases, and it becomes more difficult for the skin to retain moisture. As a result, the skin loses elasticity and firmness, which leads to the apparition of fine wrinkles and sagging skin.
PHOTOAGING (or extrinsic) SKIN AGING is triggered by sunlight (UVRA, UVB) and, to a lesser degree, blue light (HEVL). These rays generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), also known as free radicals, that damage the skin cells and cause oxidative stress. It leads to the rapid degradation of skin proteins that inevitably accelerates skin aging. It promotes the formation of dark spots and causes pigmentation changes or uneven skin tone. Photoaging accelerates the loss of elasticity and firmness, leading to deep wrinkles, discolouration, age spots and uneven skin tone, leathery, rough, skin texture, telangiectasia (small “widened” blood vessels in the skin, redness and rosacea) skin sagging.
HOW DOES UVR TRIGGER PHOTOAGING?
There are three main UVR wavelength ranges, UVC, UVB, and UVA. UVC rays do not reach the Earth’s surface, so they are not a risk for human health. UVB radiation has more energy than UVA and can cause sunburn and skin cancer. Finally, UVA rays, despite having less energy, are the ones that penetrate the deepest into human skin, so they are the main responsible for skin photoaging.
Among other skin reactions, chronic or excessive UV Radiation exposure induces the production of Reactive Oxygen Species and increases the expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP). These degrade some skin proteins that are crucial for the elasticity, moisture, and firmness – collagen, fibronectin, elastin, and proteoglycans. The degradation of these proteins and, more importantly, the presence of fragmented collagen particles cause a reduction in your skin’s production of new collagen leading to impairment of skin structure, leading to rough skin texture and the formation of wrinkles. A tan is your skin’s way of trying to protect itself from sun exposure. This overstimulation of the melanocyte leads to the formation of solar lentigines and melasma.
CAN SUNBLOCK OR SUNSCREEN REALLY PREVENT SKIN PHOTOAGING?
There are two ways of protecting your skin from photodamage – and you should practice both. You can avoid sun exposure as much as you can, and you can wear sunblock every time you go out.
A good sun cream combines different types of filters. Some of these filters reflect most or all UVR off, preventing them from getting into the skin. Some other filters transform the radiation that enters the epidermis (outermost skin layer) into heat energy before it reaches the deeper layers of the skin, neutralizing the damaging effects of UVR and preventing the formation of free radicals.
A third important element in the arsenal to protect your skin is to use skincare that contains antioxidants that will work as free radical scavenges. Two such products are INNO-EPIGEN® Urban Day Cream and INNO-EPIGEN® Antiox Serum.
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