Appearance and Characteristics
Premature ageing occurs when the skin is exposed to factors and environments that force the skin to go into the stages of ageing before the body itself is ageing. Thus, there will be individuals in their early 20’s with the skin of a person in their early 30’s. The principal cause of ageing skin is the decrease in production of collagen and elastin. These proteins are crucial to help skin sustain its integrity and tone. Characteristics of premature ageing include loss of elasticity, decrease or change in colour, dark circles, fine wrinkling, crow’s feet, thinner looking skin and increased itchiness.
Free Radical Factors: Smoking & Pollution
Smoking causes biochemical changes by bringing in toxic substances that increase the number of free radicals in our cells that hasten the ageing process. Research confirms that a person who smokes for a minimum of 10 years is more likely to develop deeply wrinkled, leathery skin than someone who doesn’t smoke accompanied by skin that also develops an ill yellowish tone. Smoking is also known to interfere with blood flow to your skin and preventing nutrients and oxygen from getting to the skin cells and various chemicals in tobacco smoke can harm the fibres that give your skin elasticity and strength.
The ageing process is sped up by high concentrations of pollution in the air coming into contact with the skin surface.Tiny particles of pollution go deep into the dermis which fills the skin with free radicals and breaks down collagen and elastin. The oxidising effect of the pollution leaves the skin looking dull, wrinkled and prone to age spots.
photo-ageing & free radical damage: affects to collagen and elastin production
Free radicals are extremely volatile and react quickly with other compounds. Generally, free radicals attack the nearest stable molecule and takes its electron. When the other molecule loses its electron, it becomes a free radical too, creating a chain reaction.
Photo ageing is the process in which UVA rays penetrate deep into the dermis, where they damage the collagen fibres. This damage causes increased production of abnormal elastin. Additionally, the enzymes which rebuild damaged collagen tend to have defects and impair the collagen which subsequently results in incorrectly rebuilt skin. As this process occurs daily with sun exposure, the incorrectly rebuilt skin forms wrinkles, and the weakened collagen results in leathery skin. Continuous sun exposure can also cause age spots (solar lentigo) and other signs of premature ageing.
beauty therapists vs other medical professionals in the treatment of premature ageing.
Beauty therapists are only able to work with the dermis layer of skin while other medical professionals such as dermatologists are able to go further into the skin to help treat premature ageing. Though there are some treatments that both a beauty therapist and a medical professional can perform, they are divided in the potency of the treatments. For example, a chemical peel can be performed in both a salon and a professional clinic however a beauty therapist may only use chemicals that are at 25% strength while a clinical strength peel can exceed that strength drastically. Medical professionals are also able to perform procedures like administering botox and fillers to reduce the appearance of fine lines and/or deep wrinkles while a beauty therapist can only work superficially and provide treatments like facials to aid in the treatment of premature ageing.
beauty therapy treatment used to treat premature ageing
Include the products, how they are absorbed into the skin, as well as the equipment that would be used, contraindications and post and home-care advice.
The chemical peels performed by beauty therapists usually contain alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic, lactic and fruit acids as they are able to produce a milder formula and result in a light peel. The procedure involves a chemical solution that is applied to the skin. The solution causes a layer of skin to separate and peel off. The new skin underneath is usually smoother, less wrinkled, and more even in colour and tone than the old skin. Contraindications for chemical peels include a person being on birth control pills, being pregnant, or having a family history of brownish discolouration on the face (melasma). People who have previously contracted the herpes simplex are more prone to reactivation of the virus due to a chemical peel.
REFERENCE LIST
Boyer, T. (2012, March 30) Warning Signs of Premature Aging: Causes and Solutions [blog post] Retrieved from http://www.emaxhealth.com/8782/warning-signs-premature-aging-causes-and-solutions
Goudreau, J. (2011, July 26) Premature Aging Signs You Shouldn’t Overlook. [blog post] Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2011/07/26/premature-aging-signs-you-shouldnt-overlook/#6d360e30727e
Gianni, A. (2014) How Pollution Affects Your Skin [blog post] Retrieved from http://www.annmariegianni.com/pollution-and-skin-aging/
HealthCheck Systems. (2014) Understanding Free Radicals and Antioxidants. Retrieved from http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.htm
Petrou, I. (2014) Pollution, stress take toll on skin aging. Retrieved from http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/content/tags/anti-aging/pollution-stress-take-toll-skin-aging
Daily Times monitor (2015, December 17) Pollution levels cause premature ageing [blog post] Retrieved from http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/entertainment/17-Dec-2015/pollution-levels-cause-premature-ageing-living-in-some-cities-can-age-your-skin-by-more-than-a-year
The Skin Cancer Foundation (2016) What Is Photoaging? Retrieved from http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/anti-aging/what-is-photoaging
John Hopkins Medicine (2015) Chemical Peels. Retrieved from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/dermatology/chemical_peel_85,P00267/