Best Time to Take Care of Your Skin
There's a popular Chinese proverb that says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
The same can be said for your skin. The best time to take care of your skin was yesterday. The second best time is today.
One of the most common questions our skin experts are asked is “is it too late to take care of my skin?”
One of the biggest damaging forces to the skin is the sun. For both protection & repair, we need to be aware of UVA & UVB radiation.
These days, most people are aware of UVB . This is the suns radiation that primarily causes skin redness, sunburn & photocarcinogenis. The strength of UVB on the skin is affected by latitude, altitude, seasons, time of day, cloudiness & ozone layer. UVB radiation is strongest between 10am and 4pm & the closer you are to the equator.
UVA is a sometimes a lesser known destructive force on the skin. UVA is less affected by altitude or atmosphere but penetrates deeper than UVB. UVA is not filtered out by window glass & skin can still be affected up to 50% in the shade. While you may not see the affects of UVA immediately like UVB, UVA is responsible for the more delayed skin damage like delayed tanning, dark spots & pigmentation.
We now have regularly hear terms such as antioxidant, bio-available & free radical damage mentioned when discussing sun damage & repair. But what does it all mean?
Like the old Chinese proverb, it is never too late to start protecting your skin from UV damage. And amazingly, you can also repair past sun damage as the human body has incredible healing & restorative potential.
Let’s break it down ..
Common skin antioxidants are Vitamin E, flavanoids, lycopenes & polyphenols. Vitamin C is one of the best known skin antioxidants.
Antioxidants prevent oxidation.
Oxidation is a chemical reaction that produces free radical damage.
Free radicals set of chain reactions in the body that are responsible for cellular breakdown.
When skin cells break down at a higher rate than the body can repair you see skin damage signs such as lines & wrinkles, pigmentation, premature aging & in severe cases, skin lesions & cancers.
Free radical scavengers do exactly what their name suggests, the gobble up free radicals. Antioxidants can be free radical scavengers.
But it isn’t as easy as just applying Vitamin C or E to the skin. It needs to be bio-available, meaning it needs to be able to be absorbed & utilised by the body before it can assist in any protection or repair.
Names like Kakadu Plum, Rosehips, Aloe, Green Tea & oils like Evening Primrose & Avocado oil when commonly mentioned when discussing sun damage & repair. That is because they offer antioxidants, like Vitamin C, in a form that is readily utilised by the body. Nature offers very complex nutritional compounds that help antioxidants be absorbed & utilised by the body.
Australia has one of the harshest environments for UV damage but to our botanical skin experts here at Jasmin it is no surprise that Australia also natively grows many of the most effective protective & repair plants on the planet.
When choosing organic, plant based skincare you know you are giving your skin the best nutritional protection & repair. Plant based skincare offers antioxidant protection & repair that is highly bio-available & delivers the results you are looking for.
So to answer that question – no, it is never too late for quality skincare.
