What are
Anti-wrinkle supplements belong to the broadest category of nutricosmetics, which brings together all those diet products specifically formulated to improve the health and beauty of the skin.
As we will see in the course of the article, many anti-wrinkle supplements are actually multi-purpose; this means that, although they are designed to improve the aesthetics of mature skin, they contain active ingredients with various health-promoting applications.
Skin aging
The development of a good anti-wrinkle supplement necessarily passes through the study and understanding of the macro and microscopic alterations suffered by the skin during aging. For example, compared to a young and smooth skin, a skin marked by wrinkles presents:
- a reduction in the amount of collagen and elastin, with disorganization of the respective fibers, very important for strength, resistance and skin elasticity
- a reduction in the amount of glucosamminoglycans, including hyaluronic acid, which are important for ensuring the right degree of skin hydration and firmness
- a reduction in sebum production with an increase in skin dryness
- a reduction in subcutaneous fat
These alterations are the natural consequence of the chronological aging of the skin, but can be accelerated by the so-called aging linked to environmental factors. We know, for example, that the exaggerated exposure to sunlight, cigarette smoke, pollution, improper diet, excessive psychophysical stress, prolonged cortisone therapy and exposure to harmful and irritating substances, accentuate the aforementioned skin changes and anticipate their appearance. All these factors responsible for premature skin aging have as their common denominator the excess of free radicals, called into question (although with less emphasis than in the past) also in the processes of natural chronological decay of the organism and even in the onset and development of numerous diseases (hence the versatility of some wrinkle supplements). It follows that a good anti-wrinkle supplement must on the one hand provide substances capable of neutralizing excess free radicals, and on the other hand slow down the skin alterations associated with aging by directly supplying the substances necessary for skin metabolism. Collagen and elastin fibers, for example, are degraded by enzymes with proteolytic action, called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), whose action is favored by oxidative stress and hindered by antioxidant substances
Antioxidants
Antioxidants have been the target of countless researches for years to determine their potential for human health. Their effectiveness is mainly tested in vitro but it is not said that what happens in a laboratory test tube also occurs inside the body; trivially, an antioxidant that performs very well in vitro but undergoes digestive alterations and / or is not effectively absorbed in the intestine, is almost useless as an antioxidant / anti-wrinkle active ingredient.
The antioxidant molecules that can be used in anti-wrinkle supplements are particularly numerous and include polyphenols (resveratrol, epigallocatechins, quercitin ...), vitamins (in particular Vitamin A, C and E), carotenoids (precursors of vitamin A, including lycopene) and many other substances (eg selenium, coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid). These compounds are able to react with free radicals reducing their reactivity and generating less dangerous molecules, easily eliminated by the body. Let us remember, in this regard, that there is no effective universal antioxidant active against all types of free radicals; hence the need to combine different antioxidants so that the different molecules can act in a complementary way or in synergy; it is equally important to combine the anti-wrinkle supplement with a balanced and correctly distributed diet.
Another problem typical of antioxidants is an intrinsic fragility that leads them to lose their antiradical action in the event of exposure to light or heat sources. Hence the need to minimize this possibility by adopting production technologies that preserve the original antioxidant power.
Ingredients useful for skin trophism
The dietary intake of the macromolecules that make up the extracellular matrix and the fundamental substance of the dermis (such as collagen, hyaluronic acid and elastin) presents an important obstacle linked to the digestive processes. Being macromolecules based on protein and / or polysaccharide, once ingested, they undergo various digestive processes that break them down into the basic nutrients, effectively inactivating them. Fortunately, these nutrients are then absorbed and can be reused by the body as "bricks" to reconstruct the original macromolecules, especially in the case of specific organic deficiency. Hydroxyproline and the sulfur amino acids present in collagen, for example, are effectively absorbed and used in the skin for the re-synthesis of the original macromolecule. It has also been possible to establish experimentally that the products derived from the gastrointestinal hydrolysis of these substances can somehow play an active role in stimulating the biochemical processes that determine the formation of new structural fibers.
To circumvent the problem of gastric digestion of macromolecules taken by mouth, it is possible to insert substances essential to their synthesis inside the organism in the anti-wrinkle supplement. Always taking the example of collagen, we know for example that vitamin C, copper and zinc participate in its organic synthesis, as well as centella asiatica extracts have shown a stimulating effect on collagen synthesis.
Taking up the concept of versatility of anti-wrinkle supplements, we recall how collagen and hyaluronic acid are useful, among other things, also for joint wellbeing in the prevention and adjuvant treatment of arthrosis. Collagen is also traditionally used to stimulate nail and hair growth.
Quality
How to evaluate the quality of an anti-wrinkle supplement?
In assessing the goodness of an anti-wrinkle supplement it is necessary to take into consideration numerous factors, leaving aside those to which too often too much importance is given. Instead of being dazzled by the quality or quantity of advertising slogans spent by the company to promote the product, it is good to acquire specific knowledge to evaluate every single aspect of the anti-wrinkle supplement. In this regard, we have prepared an article based on the comparison between two anti-wrinkle supplements on the market; the factors taken into consideration to highlight the relative merits and gaps can be taken as a model for the evaluation of other anti-wrinkle supplements. For further information: Innéov ANTI-AGE CELLULAIRE and X115 New Generation Skin Care: comparison between the two anti-wrinkle supplements
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What results can you expect?
The importance of antioxidants and proper nutrition becomes evident by comparing a sportsman with a sedentary person of the same age. Sport, in fact, significantly increases the production of free radicals but at the same time it also strengthens the endogenous antioxidant systems, which become much more active than those of a sedentary person; the sportsman also tends in general to have a balanced diet without excesses compared to his caloric needs. The result is a visibly younger skin than expected due to the age of the individual.
The importance of food antioxidants can be confirmed by making the same comparison between a vegetarian and a person who does not consume sufficient quantities of fresh vegetables.
Already for these empirical reasons, a quality anti-wrinkle supplement can prove to be a valuable ally against wrinkles and the signs of aging. Of course, even the best wrinkle on the market has nothing miraculous about it; in fact, the aesthetic benefits that can be obtained are subject to constant use (generally for at least 3/4 months) and do not provide for the disappearance of the most pronounced wrinkles, currently resolvable exclusively through invasive surgery or aesthetic medicine. Generally, anti-wrinkle efficacy is maximum in individuals affected by the first signs of aesthetic skin decay (30-50 years) and exposed to a diet low in antioxidants or excessive psychophysical stress; in such circumstances the constant use of the product can favor an effective smoothing of the thinnest wrinkles, visibly improving compactness and skin aesthetics.
Innéov ANTI-AGE CELLULAIRE and X115 New Generation Skin Care: comparison between the two anti-wrinkle supplements »
