What Is Anti-Aging?

Vanity plays a large part in the use of popular anti-ageing skin care products and treatments; it is not unreasonable to want to continue looking youthful for as long as possible when you consider how much longer most of us are living! This is achieved in beauty products by promoting the growth of connective tissue using the protein collagen which is the most abundant in the skin of all animals; approximately one quarter of the protein contained in skin is collagen. Most anti-ageing products (collagen included) fall into a category of natural everyday products we all use; known as antioxidants, they are the body’s method of slowing down the ageing process.

One of the best known anti-oxidants is vitamin C and despite continual research, no-one body involved can decide just exactly how much our body should consume on a daily basis. Skin care treatments that are based on vitamin C, pose the problem of becoming oxidized themselves as they come into contact with air during their usage.

More stable skin care treatments are now available that are almost as efficient and actually cost less to manufacture. Unfortunately the anti-oxidant products used to replace vitamin C are not as effective but as vitamin E and lipoic acid can both have the same effect; this is not too much of a problem.

The body uses vitamin E as an antioxidant and to increase the natural defense we have against sickness; it has many functions including inhibiting the formation of cancer cells. Another of these is lipoic acid which is found in every cell of our body to help generate energy for us to live; it is also able to help reduce and restore the skin’s aging process.

Another group of products used to reduce the visible signs of ageing are phytochemicals which are compounds extracted from various plants and used in many anti-ageing skin care products. Another benefit of phytochemicals, like those of alpha-lipoic acid, is their ability to reduce the prevalence of certain cancers; for instance:

* Prostate Cancer in Men

* Breast Cancer

* Colon Cancer

These are all on the increase around the world.

It has also been discovered that there are anti-ageing benefits to vitamins B5, B6 and B12. This just goes to highlight just how complex and far reaching the whole field of anti-ageing skin care products is and why so much more research is required. Gradually, new discoveries will be made to advance our understanding of the aging process; more long term effective methods will eventually be found to reverse or slow down the effects of aging.

The amount of research going on in this field will undoubtedly bring results in time, hopefully bringing down the cost of these anti-ageing skin care products in addition to increasing their reliability. A person should never accept that everything science devises in relation to skin care and anti-aging is always going to be the best; it is doubtful if science can replace natural skin care remedies. Simple things that can make a difference in slowing the signs of ageing; these include physical activity, restful sleep, maintaining good dietary habits and removing stress from your life.