Fish Oil Can Improve Skin Elasticity

Fish oil which contains rich omega-3 fatty acids is well known to be good for cardiovascular system. But do you know that it's also good for our skin?

According to a recent study, purified fish oil supplement could help improve skin elasticity in women:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the question of whether supplementation with an oral oil formulation rich in natural stable fish oil can alter skin elasticity, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and skin roughness in healthy women.

METHODS: Twenty-four healthy women aged 40-60 years participated in a single-blind randomized trial for testing the effect of a proprietary oral supplement for skin nutrition (Eskimo Skin Care) on skin elasticity, TEWL, and skin roughness. Skin elasticity was measured by an optical cutometer, TEWL by a water-loss module based upon the vapour gradient principle, and skin roughness with a three-dimensional microtopography imaging system.

RESULTS: Skin elasticity increased by 10% after 3 months of treatment with the supplement, a statistically significant increase in comparison with the control group (p=0.0298). There was a trend, though not statistically significant, towards a positive influence on the skin's barrier function. No effect on the skin roughness was observed.

CONCLUSION: Eskimo Skin Care, an oral preparation rich in natural stable fish oil, can improve skin elasticity. (Source)

The experiment above has shown that not only the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil also enhance one's mood and helps in the development of embryos in pregnant women, it also improve skin elasticity. So here's one more tips for anti aging skin care -- add more supplements that are rich in natural stable fish oil to your diet!

Anti Aging Skin Care

Anti aging skin care is a one of the most popular concept in skin care. Let's face it, everyone in this world wish to look young forever if possible. However, as one gets older, the natural defense of his/her skin weakens, and this makes our skin becomes blotchy, rough and dull. This is a natural process and there is nothing that can stop aging from happening. What we are able to do, however, is to delay the process of aging, and maintaining a young and fresh look for a longer period of time. This is what anti aging skin care is all about.

Although the awareness about anti aging has increased over time, there are still many people that are not aware of the skin aging symptoms, and hence fail to start taking additional anti aging skin care treatments.

Aging symptoms may varies for different people, and may appear differently at different ages. Some people start to show skin aging symptoms in their mid 20s. At these ages, their skin are generally still in good condition, but may start to show symptoms like uneven skin tone, dry or rough skin, darkened and dull skin, or blotchy skin.

In late 20s or 30s, the symptoms of skin aging will start to appear more obviously. More skin aging signs such as larger pores, loose skin, and even fine lines and wrinkles may start to show up.

When a person reach his/her 40s, skin will become sallow and less firm. Other signs of aging such as frown lines on the forehead, deeper expression lines, and crow’s feet may appear.

And when comes to 50s or 60s, skin will becomes even more rough and dry, and deep wrinkles and folds start to show up on skin. Also, age spot may also appear.

Depending on the lifestyle of a person, the symptoms of skin aging will varies. That being said, a person's lifestyle start to affect the condition of his/her skin much earlier before the symptoms of skin aging appear. So it's important for one to start building and following a proper skin care routine in his/her early life (say in teens).

Skin aging factors could generally be catogarized into 2: Intrinsic and Extrinsic.

Intrinsic, biological or internal aging is basically the natural aging of the skin. It's about The aging skin “genes” you inherited. The way you age is "programmed" in the genes, and you have little control over it. By looking at the older generations of your family members, you could see patterns of aging skin in their faces and bodies (e.g. Furrows in the brow or forehead, Drooping eyelids, Loose skin along the jaw line, etc), and expect to inherit at least some of them.

Extrinsic or external aging is caused by external factors such as the sun and the environment, and also your lifestyle. Sun damage for example, is an extrinsic aging factor, which accumulated over time whenever you are exposed to the burning rays of the sun. Ultraviolet light acts to break down elastin and collagen in the skin and interferes with the production of new collagen. The damage is not immediately noticeable, but the accumulation of daily sun exposure leads to premature aging of the skin. Other external aging factors includes Cigarette smoke, Stress, lack of sleep, alcohol use, etc.

The extrinsic factor of skin aging is what we have more control over the intrinsic factor. So if one is serious about anti aging skin care, he / she should start with a healthy daily routine to minimize the damage cause by extrinsic factors. Here are a few habits in your everyday life that will make your skin age faster. Avoid them as much as you can.

• Sun exposure: Sun exposure is one of the most damaging factors to our skin. Unprotected skin that is exposed to the sun becomes more mottled in appearance. Wrinkles and sagging will increase, the skin turn into a dry, leathery appearance, and freckles can turn into brown sun spots. If sun exposure is unavoidable due to your daily activities, use sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher. It will protect you against UVA and UVB rays.

• Exposure to cold weather: Other than sun exposure, cold winds and low temperatures will also make your skin age as your skin will become dry under such condition. So using mosturizer is essential if you venture out in the cold to keep your skin comfortable and reduce the aging skin effects.

• Cigarette smoke: Research has shown that not only smoking is bad for health, cigarette smoke is damaging to your skin, just like sun exposure. It depletes your body of Vitamin C, which is a key ingredient for keeping skin plump and moist, which then significantly increases skin wrinkles and dryness. So stay away from smoking, and stay away from smockers (well at least when they are smoking).

• Alcohol: Alcohol increase blood flow near the skin surface, and dilates small blood vessels in the skin. This will cause the blood vessels to become permenantly damaged over long term of alcohol usage, and create a flushed appearance and broken vessels on the skin’s surface.

• Stress: When you are stress, your body will automatically release increased amount of androgens, and other stress hormones. This will cause increased oil secretion through the skin, and the oil will get trapped below the skin surface because it's blocked by dead skin cells. This will cause acne and other skin problems. SO the more you stress out, the worse your skin will look. A good anti aging skin care program should include meditation, yoga, gentle exercise or other relaxation techniques.

• Lack of exercise: Exercise helps to release stress, and clean your skin by flushing out the toxins in the form of sweat. In addition, regular exercise makes you look and feel younger by having a bright smile and lots of energy. So exercise at least 3 times a week, or daily if possible. It's an important part of every anti-aging skin care program.

• Lack of sleep: Not enough sleep makes you looks tired. You will have sagging skin and dark circles and bags under the eyes when you have not enough sleep. A normal adult needs 8-9 hours of sleep each night to stay in the best condition.

After having a healthy lifestyle as fundamental, the next approach to anti aging skin care is to choose the right skin care products to help fighting skin aging. Here are a few ingredients to look for when buying anti aging skin care products:

• anti aging skin care products should comes with effective natural ingredients that counter the 3 primary causes of skin aging: reduction in the balance of hyaluronic acid, loss of collagen and elastin skin proteins, and damage caused by Free Radicals and oxidative stress. And the few natural ingredients that have proven to works effectively on each of the 3 paramenter includes:
  
  
  • Cynergy TK: a natural ingredient pioneered in New Zealand that helps in enhancing the production of collagen and elastin in the body.
  
  
  • Phytessence Wakame: a Japanese sea kelp extract that preserves the balance of hyaluronic acid by inhibiting the action of the enzyme hyaluronidase.
  
  
  • Coenzyme Q10: one of the best skin antioxidants that counter free radical damage effectively. Together these three combine to form the most effective ingredients in the best anti aging skin care products.

• anti aging skin care product should contain natural moisturizers to maintain skin hydration. Natural mosturizers, different from synthetic moisturizers, are non-addictive and will not cause problems like rashes, allergies, acne eruptions, irritation and skin dryness.

• anti aging skin care product should contain vitamins and minerals that are very effective in combating skin aging. Vitamin C based products work by enabling the synthesis of collagen, while Vitamin B group is well known to be very effective in soothing skin inflammation. Other minerals such as sodium, calcium, iron, and potassium, is also essential to help revitalizing aging skin.

• anti aging skin care product should contain essential oils that help to replace the loss of vital skin oils during the course of the day and protect the skin from aging. Some wonderful natural oils used in the best anti aging skin care products are grapeseed oil, avocado oil and macadamia oil.

• anti aging skin care product should contain emollients to keep the skin soft and smooth without blocking the pores. Besides this, they help to keep the grime and dirt out of your skin. Some excellent types of emollients are olivem and crodamol.

That's about all we want to cover about anti aging skin care in this post. One should remember that aging is a natural process that no one can avoid. Any antiaging skin care measures can only slow down the process. And always start from improving your lifestlye as the first step to fight skin aging. It's the most effective and also the most inexpensive treatment for aging skin.