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Healthy skin vs. Photoaged skin


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#1 Eva Victoria

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Posted 05 February 2008 - 03:54 PM


Skin is the biggest organ of the body. It is designed to keep out the outside world and keep in the inside world hence protecting us from the dangers of the outside world: sicknesses, oxidation and UV-rays (even though none of these functions are as effective as today`s environment demands it.) Signals it sends out are interpreted by others; they tell one`s health and fertility hence determine how attractive one is perceived by others.

What is the difference? On the outside:

Healthy, undamaged skin looks smooth, unlined with even skin colour.
Photo damaged skin (sun damaged skin) is matt, lifeless, lacking lusture, sagging, lines and wrinkles are visible and brown pigment discolorations make skin colour uneven. Dry.


In the inside; Epidermis (the uppermost layer of the skin):
Healthy skin`s epidermis has a smooth surface (which lets light be reflected back evenly: hence we perceive it as smooth from the outside. Its sickness is thin, cell turnover is normal (between: 24-28 days).
Natural Vitamin A level is high.

Photoaged skin's epidermis is thickened (our body's very own way to protect the underlying cells from more UV induced damage. Hence cell turnover is naturally slowed down (to be able to accumulate more skin cells on top pf each other for better protection). It is 35-56 days. Pores are visibly enlarged (inbuilt debris/dead skin cells do not shred quick enough).
Natural Vitamin A level is low (UV-rays deplete VitA from skin). Dehydrated. (The Sun deprives skin of its watercontent even if you use a fully protecting sunscreen).


Dermis (the layer where collagen and elastin fibres make skin supple):
Healthy skin: collagen and elastin fibres are perfectly aligned giving support to the skin. Dermis is thick.

Sun damaged skin: Dermis is thinned because collagen and elastin fibres are destroyed and depleted by UV-rays. Its supporting function is weakened hence the overlying skin is collapsing giving way to visible damage: lines and deep wrinkles.
Melanin (skin natural colouring-agent) is overproduced because of UV-light and cannot return to its own melanin-producing cells: mottled pigmentation in the form of visible brown spots and freckles.

Naturally aging skin looses a bit of its elasticit, the dermis is thined a bit, and it gets dryer with age. Epidermis thins.

Skin with Acne: Have similar features to photo damaged skin in the case of the Epidermis: it is thickened (cell turn over is slower than normal: keratinisation process). Pores are enlarged (due to inefficient exfoliation), debris, dead skin cells build up in the shaft which is mixed with sebum (which is produced in a higher degree than normal) clogging the pores efficiently. When bacteria is trapped it evolves in to cystic or papillae acne.
Natural Vitamin A level is low.
(Dermis is thick and supple like healthy skin, unless it is damaged by Sun exposure).

Therefore most of the treatments used to treat acne can successfully be applied to the treatment of photo damaged skin and vice versa.

Most products designed to repair the damage caused by UV-rays are products that will exfoliate the skin (AHAs, BHAs, Azelaic Acid) hence making cell turn over higher.

AHAs also showed good results in improving collagen, lighten skin colour.

Azelaic Acid can improve brown discolorations as well.

Tretinoin 0,05% is proven to repair damaged collagen fibers and make the body produce more collagen (UVA-rays not only destroy existing collagen fibres but also shut down the receptors that signalize production of new collagen!) Tretinoin reverses UVA induced damage!
(And has a drying effect on oily, acne prone skin, minimizing the size of the oil-glands hence oil production becomes less).

Edited by Eva Victoria, 05 February 2008 - 04:19 PM.





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