Our skin is a barrier between the body and external elements, and plays a significant biological role in protecting the body from damage caused by exposure to the environment, such as sun radiation, environmental pollutants, bacteria and viruses, dehydration and more.
This means that the skin absorbs many of these harmful effects and over time, the damage is reflected in the appearance and texture of the skin. The skin becomes dry, loses its moisture and glow, gradually becoming dull and lifeless.
The accumulative damage to collagen and elastin fibers makes skin less supple and wrinkles begin to appear. Damage inflicted by the sun causes changes to dispersion of the melanin pigment resulting in dark spots on the skin.
Signs of aging, damaged skin and wrinkles are caused by two primary processes:
• Chronological aging, skin naturally ages because of hormonal and biochemical processes, including decreases in collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production.
• Photo aging, damage caused by exposure to the sun, is caused primarily by the free radicals found in ultra-violet rays that cause changes and ongoing damage to all layers of the skin.