You assume you already know why your skin starts to look "old", right?
It's just part of the natural aging process. Right?
Well, yes, and no. And there's a lot more "no" in there than you might think.
At least, I learned thing or two, or more, from Linda Nelson, the Director of Education at ZO Skin Health, by Zein Obagi, MD. Maybe you will too.
Moisturizing isn't always a good thing.
Guess what ? Moisturizing and hydration are to different things. Hydration — getting the skin water — is always good for it. Moisturizer, however, can inhibit the skin from producing it s own natural moisturizers, which over time can have a detrimental effect. (Dr. Obagi noticed he never had men coming to him with complaints about dry skin). There are things more important than moisture — for instance, protecting collagen!
Fine lines don't necessarily mean dry skin.
We associate fine lines with dryness, when actually their appearance has more to do with collagen breakdown and repeated movement . You see forehead lines, crowfeet, and naso-labial folds (the "brackets" around your mouth running from nose to chin), on people with oily skin. By slowing or preventing collagen breakdown, or stimulating quick repair, you can slow down and sometimes reverse the appearance of fine lines.
DNA can be repaired.
When a cell is damaged — by the sun, for instance — it accelerates aging, because when a cell divides (and they always divide — it's not personal), it replicates itself in the same way. Meaning one damaged cell becomes two ... and so on & so on... Linda Nelson recommends OZ Daily Power Defense, which they formulated to penetrate the skin to get into the cells where it can work to repair them before they replicate — it's kind of like a sci-fi movie on your skin.
The Retin-A peel.
A woman asked me the other day 'Does Retin-A really work?' Yes, but ... there's a caveat: You have to let it. Meaning you will be red and peeling for the first month or so, but then it levels out. Most people stop Retin-A mid stream, only to start again later. But it doesn't hold your information, so you just start from scratch. And that means the redness and peeling begin all over again. If you can hang on till that first phase is over, you'll really start to see results.
Why your Retinol may not be all it's cracked up to be.
Retin-A is prescription. Retinol is not. So results are slower with Retinol, but even slower than that if you're not getting the amount of Retinol that does any good delivered to inside your cells. Naturally, Nelson recommends their "Hero product", ZO Radical Night Repair to do the job because it has a full 1% Retinol; you need a least .6 to .7. Most products have much lower than that.
Exfoliating is the most important thing.
Exfoliating helps keep skin active. If it's not active, it shuts off, and that is when you start to age. Nelson doesn't think you can exfoliate too much — as long as you're using a safe exfoliant, one that does not tear the skin. If your skin is bright and fresh, and the pores look small, your skin is active and in good shape. (I had fallen in love with the ZO Offects Exfoliating Polish —it heats up!— when I had my facial with them, which is what prompted the questions in the first place).
And here's comes the Chorus: It's the sun that causes damage to skin at a cellular level which accelerates aging, not specifically a burn or tan. ZO does have an award-winning sunscreen that contains titanium dioxide and zinc oxide — but we've told you about that before, so you're already doing that, right? Right?
Take their Skin Age Test, and see how your skin stacks up.
More info on the best ways to take care of your skin:
How to Look Better Without Makeup
Exfoliate!
The Real Reason for Sunscreen and Why You Should Steal from the Kids