Antioxidants And Skin Care For NJ

Maximize Your Skin Health and Beauty

The use of antioxidants in a skin care regimen is vital in both preventing and repairing age-related damage. The following is a summary of the necessary role antioxidants play in care of your skin. The antioxidants described in this section have been studied and found to be beneficial in skin care. NJ plastic surgeon Dr. Caroline Glicksman makes products available at her office. These are listed here, along with their ingredients at the end of this section

Free Radicals, Antioxidants, and the Aging Process

Ultraviolet light, cigarette smoke, and environmental pollutants constantly barrage the body. Internal stress associated with aging also contributes to the formation of free radicals—unstable molecules that cause damage to living cells. An accumulation of free radicals is the principal cause of skin aging. Free radicals produced by ultraviolet light cause photo-aging, blotchy hyperpigmentation, mottling, and wrinkling. Smoking, another confirmed cause of free-radicals, is known to destroy dermal collagen.

If free radicals are the weapons that cause the damage, antioxidants can be your defense in skin care. Antioxidants have been shown to work in two ways. First, they protect cells from environmental damage; second, they travel through the body, repairing cellular damage and stimulating age-reversal changes. Our bodies cannot make enough antioxidants on their own, and, therefore, we must supplement the body through food and topical application in skin care.

Antioxidants for Skin Care

Although most antioxidants can be used as a single agent, they work better when paired together in combinations in a skin care regimen.

Vitamin E

Human sebaceous glands produce Vitamin E as either alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol, and both create the skin’s first line of defense against environmental stress. Skin aging and damage occurs when the rate of tocopherol reduction exceeds the amount of production. This explains why oily skin tends to age slower than dry skin.

Vitamin E and Skin Care

Vitamin E is found in many skin care products due to its exceptional photoprotective effects, its excellent moisturizing effects, and its ability to act as a natural preservative in cosmetics. Because it also offers significant protection against ultraviolet damage and penetrates the skin well, it increases the benefits of sunscreens—and even more so if paired with Vitamin C.

Vitamin C

This water-soluble vitamin plays an important role in collagen synthesis and is an antioxidant. Studies have shown that Vitamin C reduces wrinkles and improves the appearance of aged skin. It has also been shown to significantly lighten hyperpigmented skin by blocking the enzyme tyrosinase. Unlike Vitamin E, the body cannot make Vitamin C, so it must be supplemented through diet and topical application. Most Vitamin C products manufactured today for skin care are unstable and tend to oxidize quickly, making them ineffective. Look for products that contain the L-ascorbic acid anhydrous water-free form—it is the most stable and recommended version.

Plant Derived Stem Cells

The three most commonly used plant stem cells are malus domestica (Swiss apple), vitis vinifera (grape), and syringa vulgaris (lilac leaf). The plant cell extracts offer a replacement for the stem cells derived from animal origin. The active part of the lilac stem cell is called verbascoside. Not only does verbascoside possess strong antioxidant properties, but studies have also shown anti-inflammatory capabilities stronger than those of cortisone creams, as well as the ability to speed up the wound-healing process.

Cellular Antioxidants for Skin Care

Alpha-Liopic Acid

Lipoic acid is readily absorbed into the skin and becomes dihydrolipoic acid once absorbed. Studies have shown it decreases the effects of ultraviolet radiation and results in improvement in photo-aging and wrinkling when used for skin care.

Every Patient. Every Visit.

Dr. Glicksman is a board-certified plastic surgeon who has been committed to delivering expert, state-of-the-art care for her patients for over 25 years. The doctor performs all of her own consultations, procedures, and treatments and does not use “practice extenders” to care for her patients.

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