Losing Weight and Feeling Great

The older we get, the more we need an anti-aging skin care guide.  Today’s world is full of pollutants that damage the skin from without.  And yet, we also damage our skin from within — the food we feed our bodies.

We have a guest today, Giselda Marcua.  She’s graciously written the post so that we can find out more about why some skin care treatments work and some don’t.  She’ll be focusing on the “without” aspect — what we put on our skins.  Giselda — you’re on!

Cosmetic Companies and Anti-Aging Skin

The anti-aging skin care guide in general comes from a cosmetic company. People are inclined to think that they are honest and they are likely to believe in their anti aging skin care treatment, but the companies are mainly interested in selling their product.

One of the best anti-aging skin care guides that I came across was created by a dermatologist. The original was not easy to understand, so I’ll give you an abbreviated version and cover the highlights.

From a Dermatologist’s Point of View

It’s not easy for the novice in the field to grasp some of the terms in the dermatologist’s guide, but the antiaging skin care treatment that he recommended actually made absolute sense. It does not contain recommendations like the ones you are likely to see on TV or at the cosmetic counter, but it stresses the importance of taking care of the skin’s health, and the end result would be the prevention of skin related problem and an improved look.

It seems logical that a dermatologist would write an anti aging skin care guide, but in reality that is unusual. They don’t regularly believe that a topically applied anti aging skin care treatment can have a positive result. Like most doctors, they usually believe in injections, drugs and other more mainstream medical solutions.

But One Doctor Didn’t

A doctor named Albert Kligman believed that if you take care of the outermost of the skin’s layers, then the health of the inner layers will be protected. He recommended different treatments for different conditions.

But, for each ingredient, he believed that the manufacturing process should be very specific, or the product would be ineffective. That’s why you often find anti aging skin care treatment that is ineffective. The ingredients may be right, but the manufacturing process is wrong.

Active Ingredients in Anti-Aging Skin

One of the ingredients that Dr.Kligman recommended in his anti aging skin care guide was peptides. They are tiny fragments of amino acid proteins found in the skin. One is hyaluronic acid. Another important one is keratin.

Some companies have pursued the use of keratin, but the peptide chains were surrendered inactive by the manufacturer’s incapacity to perform the process. Exclusively “Functional Keratin”, contains active peptide chains and stimulates production of collagen. Functional Keratin, which is created using a patented process, has the ability to reduce wrinkles and fine lines, and performs the task from the outside layers towards the inside layers of the skin.

Hyaluronic acid has the ability to increase firmness of the skin, but it is rapidly destroyed during an enzymatic process that occurs in the skin’s layers. The best anti-aging skin care treatment contains an extract from Japanese kelp that blocks the enzymatic process, and consequently evens of hyaluronic acid normal rise.

Another ingredient recommended was grape seed extract, because they are free radical scavengers. Grape seed oil is also an effective moisturizer and creates an invisible layer that keeps in moisture. Moist skin has less of a tendency to crack and wrinkle.

For an anti aging skin care treatment, the use of special composites that change the reflection of the light, lets the consumer to see instant results. That suggestion was mainly oriented to affect the disposition of the consumer, because many people become unhappy with their appearance.

Functional Keratin has demonstrated to have the ability to reflect the light, but there are two main reasons why it is a better choice. First, it improves the skin’s health and second it is not just a cosmetic like other compounds. A complete anti aging skin care guide would be extensive and include a lot more information, yet this can be sufficient information to lead you in the right direction.

About the Author:
Giselda Marcua is passionate about natural anti aging skin care products. For more skin care tips and trends on effective anti aging skin care treatments and how to defy wrinkles, visit her web site Natural Beautiful Skin. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Thank you so very  much, Giselda, for this fascinating information on the skin we’re in!  And you know, what she said makes sense.  Think about what she said about the ingredient being right but the manufaturing wrong? 

I’m thinking of bread yeast here; if it’s inactive (bad manufacturing that killed the yeast), the bread won’t rise.  Doesn’t matter how much your pour in, it won’t do any good.

Of course, I also believe that any anti-aging skin care has a lot to do with what we put into our bodies; we can’t expect sugar, chemical additives and who knows what to be good for our skin!  So think about that when you yearn for a sweet; don’t you want to love the skin you’re in?

I mentioned a few posts back that I was curious about if dieting (losing weight) could effect how sensitive your skin becomes to sunlight.  I trolled around the internet looking for a connection.  I kind of found one, and it has to do with the effect that your blood sugar has to do with the skin on your face.

If you’re a yo-yo dieter, you’re probably on a diet and off a diet.  If you suffer intense food cravings between meals, your blood sugar is probably spiking and diving.  And it’s this that ends up showing up on your rface.

High blood sugar in particular (and not just diabetes) can cause changes in your capillaries.  These changes can show up on your skin as inflammation — rosacea being one of the more commonly-seen inflammations.  These inflammations turn around and accelerate the aging process.  Yikes!

You can read the entire article, published on Discovery Health, here.

I guess it’s one more reason to limit the amount of sugar (directly linked with blood glucose spikes) in our diets, weight loss or not!  No need to look older before our time.

One thing I found out by accident earlier this week.  I don’t know if it’s the same for you as what I saw, but I thought it worth mentioning.

While you are losing weight and your skin is changing, it seems a little more sensitive to things like sunlight.  Now I’ve always tanned fairly easily, so perhaps I am a little lazy with slathering on the sunblock.

Looks like I need to be more careful now.

Sunlight and Your Skin Losing Weight

So, I put on the same amount of sunblock I would normally have used (pre-weight loss).  By the end of my little hike, I could tell I had gotten too much sun.

By the time I got to a mirror to survey the damage, it was both better and worse than I expected.  Better in that I was less red than I felt.  Worse in that the skin on my face seemed a little more painful, even though not as red.

It’s been 2 days now and I’m close to back to normal.  However, I haven’t been able to do my facercises the last couple of days, so my new set of photos may need to be a couple days later.

So why could the sun affect me more now, that I have had a good diet these past few months?  Why would a bad diet see less in the way of irritation?  Is there something in sugar and "the whites" (white bread, white rice, etc.) that affects the skin?

I’m going to do some investigating on that front, so stay tuned!

Just a quick post, because I got excited about this.  A few days ago I started the Facercise challenge, where I took the before picture, would do the Facercise exercises for 2 weeks, then take more photos — hopefully there would be a change.  (Here’s the original post.)

There’s a change alright — after just 3 days!  Let me explain how I can tell.

There are three exercises for "hooded" eyes — you know, the kind of problem you want an eyelift for.  Saggy upper eyelids is another way to put it.

Of the three exercises, I have a problem doing two of them well with my right eye.  I can do them, but just barely (left eye is fine).

I looked in the mirror this morning.  I see a definite difference between my left eye and right, as far as the sagging/hooding.

After just three days of Facercises!

Of course, I still have a problem — how to coax my right eye muscles  to be able to do the exercises properly without involving my left eye muscles.  Gotta work on that.  But now I’ll be excited to show you the difference when I reach the 2 week mark!

A friend of mine one time said something along these lines:

"I figure if I’m skinny all my life, when I get older, I can just gain weight and I won’t show the wrinkles.  You know, kind of like a balloon — fat will stretch the wrinkles out."

That was almost 20 years ago, and I think she’s had time to reconsider that statement.  But is there a nugget of truth in what she said?  If you lose weight, will the skin on your face sag and get wrinkly?  There’s no one way to answer that, because everyone is different, but here are some things to consider.

Your Age

The younger you are, the more likely your skin will spring back.  For example, if you’re in your 30’s or 40’s, you have a better chance of not having much skin sagging, if at all.

The older you are, the more possible it is for a sag effect — but keep reading, as there are ways to fight back!

The Number Of Pounds You Have to Lose

The fewer pounds you need to lose, the less adjustment your skin needs to make.  Conversely, the more pounds, the higher possibility of some sag.

There’s a way to fight back here, too.  By losing weight slowly (no more than 2 pounds a week), you give your skin time to play "catch up" with your weight loss.  You’re less likely to show a saggy look.

Your Skin Type

If you have very dry skin, it has less of an ability to adapt to your weight loss.  Your best bet here is to splurge — with every 5 or 10 pounds gone, have a professionally-done facial.  And between times, use a good exfoliant and moisturizer suited to your skin.

If you have oily skin, you’re more in luck, as it tends to spring back faster.  But you can also benefit from a professional facial after every 10 or 15 pounds gone.  Meanwhile, exfoliate regularly and use a water-based moisturizer.

Combination skin — your have the best and worst of both.  Yep, a professional facial would also benefit your skin every 10 pounds or so and (you guessed it) exfoliate and moisturize appropriately.

Fight Back!

Obviously you don’t want to add wrinkles to sagging, so common sense applies here — limit sun exposure and alcohol, and quit smoking — these all help.

So what can you do for the sag?  How about facial exercises?  The whole idea is that the face exercises strengthen and build up your muscles (cheeks, forehead, eyes, chin, throat) so that they hold up your skin better.

They are quick (usually about 20 minutes) and you can do them anywhere — at home, in the car, lying in bed before you go to sleep.

One book I’ve read and think is excellent (and am putting into practice) is by Carole Maggio called Facercise.  Carole has packed a lot of information in this book, and the exercises cover every spot on your face — from forehead to throat.

A neat part of the book is in the beginning where she shows some real women’s before picture, and then after just 7 days — the book is worth it almost worth just those pictures, but Carole shows us how they did it!

And it’s not just about sagging — the facercises can also combat wrinkles.  While they may not totally go away, they can certainly be less noticeable and give you a younger appearance.

Oh, another way the facercises work is that they increase the blood flow to your face and that nourishes it…and helps to give your skin a bit of a glow.

I got excited when this book finally arrived and I was able to read it and then actually do the exercises.  Now I’ve only really done it once so far, and I’ve put my "before" pictures on the "Facercise Challenge" page.  I think then I’ll give it two weeks, get another photo, and then again 2 weeks after that.

Warning, though — they aren’t quite as easy as they initially seem from the book.  I just finished a set and my face is kind of sore — I didn’t realize how out-of-shape the muscles actually were!

So get a copy of the book and join me.  Let’s fight back with Facercise.
  The book isn’t expensive at all (less than $11) so it’s cheaper than some of the face moisturizers you use!  Buy the book once and you have it the rest of your life.

Let’s get facercized!