- DERMATOLOGIST
Inside the Book
SUNSCREEN
This is the most important anti-aging product in your medicine cabinet.
Ultraviolet radiation comes from the sun. Ultraviolet B, or short wave UV, causes sunburn, then skin darkening (tanning). Ultraviolet A, or long wave UV, causes delayed skin darkening (found in tanning booths).
Ultraviolet B represents 5% and ultraviolet A represents 95% of ultraviolet radiation.
Here’s the amazing part—SPF, or sun protection factor, that number that we see on sunscreens, only refers to UVB, or 5% of the sun’s radiation! What about the 95% that comes from UVA? There is no number to tell us what protection we’re getting. So, look for the words “broad spectrum,” and look for the ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to know that you’re getting protection from ultraviolet A–95% of the sun’s radiation.
MOISTURIZERS
Despite the fact that this word is used in virtually every cream or lotion sold, this is simply a word that was coined in the 1950s by Madison Avenue to sell products whose main function is to remedy dry skin.
Whether a product is a cream or lotion depends on the percentage of water in the product. Higher percentages of water make the product pourable—a lotion. Nevertheless, the first ingredient on almost all moisturizers is—water!
Moisturizers don’t know the difference between your face, eyes, neck, body, hands or feet. They don’t know the difference between night and day. These are just made-up differences to sell more products. And we all believe it!
Moisturizers do make skin look and feel softer, and help makeup go on smoother. But do they prevent wrinkles or reverse aging? NO!
What does?
ALPHA HYDROXY ACIDS (“FRUIT ACIDS”)
The five common fruit acids used in skin care and their sources are:
Glycolic acid—sugar cane
Lactic acid—sour milk
Citric acid—citrus fruits
Malic acid—apples
Tartaric acid—grapes
Glycolic acid is the most well know and well studied.
It increases epidermal thickness, disperses pigment, and increases collagen content in the dermis.
It can cause irritation, dermatitis and rarely even blisters, and sometimes causes sensitivity to ultraviolet light.
RETINOIDS
Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives, the most familiar being RetinA, or tretinoin. This has been around since the 1970s, and is only available by prescription.
Retinoids increase the turnover of skin cells and increase collagen formation in the dermis, producing thickening of the skin.
They can cause irritation and sun sensitivity, especially in the first few weeks of use.
Retinol is a precursor of RetinA, and is available without a prescription. It is less irritating, but twenty times less potent than RetinA.
ANTI-OXIDANTS
There are quite a few anti-oxidants available in skin care products.
They include vitamin C, vitamin E, ferulic acid, Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), green tea polyphenols, resveratrol, curcumin (turmeric) and others.
Anti-oxidants protect cells from environmental damage.
To understand anti-oxidants, it’s important to understand free radicals. These are unstable molecules that are missing an electron. They are created by external stresses like sunlight, pollution, and cigarette smoke. Free radicals steal electrons from other molecules and cause inflammation. This results in premature aging, some types of cancer, and many other problems.
Anti-oxidants donate an electron to the free radicals and neutralize them so they can’t steal an electron from molecules in the skin and other organs. This is how anti-oxidants give protection against aging and disease.
PEPTIDES
Peptides are the building blocks of proteins. The most important protein in the skin is collagen.
They can signal the skin to make more collagen and also to slow down the breakdown of collagen.
Look for the words ending in peptide or beginning in palmitoyl, or copper.
GROWTH FACTORS
Growth factors regulate a cell’s growth and differentiation. In the skin they cause an increase in collagen and elastin formation, decreased inflammation, and increased blood supply.
Growth factors have been harvested from fetal fibroblasts (which is bothersome to some people), but have also been made from plants, like bioengineered barley seeds and black cohash. Unfortunately, growth factors from plant sources do not seem to be as effective.