The paradigm of the new millennium in terms of beauty is definitely: natural is better. Movie stars have begun to convey on a larger scale a non-artificial concept of beauty, in which without surgery or forcing, but with constant and daily care of one’s body, one faces the inexorable passing of the seasons with a positive and purposeful attitude.
The bond with one’s body changes, it is no longer perceived as a prison, but becomes a shelter to be safeguarded and protected.
The concept of natural beauty is accepted, which must be preserved from factors that can damage it, but which inexorably goes through cyclical phases of life, which can be addressed with a new awareness and a new cosmetic approach.
Why do we age?
First of all, it is important to remember that there is endogenous ageing, genetically determined, and exogenous ageing, influenced by external factors and lifestyles. While the genetic imprint, which is unique to each individual, cannot be significantly influenced, there are a number of co-factors that speed up the phenomena leading to biological decay.
IFirst and foremost are lifestyle factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, unhealthy eating and lack of sleep. All factors that are characteristic of the society in which we live, where stress is the companion during most of the day. Stressful situations trigger pro-inflammatory mechanisms and abnormal production of free radicals that, by virtue of their instability, degrade cellular structures, including those of the skin, thus speeding up the reduction of the synthesis of dermal elements such as collagen and elastin, favouring the reduction of the physiological barrier function or altering the mechanisms underlying the regulation of skin balance.
The alteration of physiological structures and the decay of the concentration of skin components is inexorable, but it is possible to slow down this phenomenon by taking care of and respecting one’s own skin.
Well aging vs anti aging
While surgical intervention generates a situation that is in any case not permanent and that often creates a sharp contrast between the different parts of the body (as in the case of face lifts: the older one gets, the greater the contrast with the décolleté, where, due to the reduced muscular presence, the skin structures tend to give way more easily), with the cosmetic approach the harmony of the different skin components is maintained in a gentle and non-invasive manner.
What are the ingredients that favor well-aging?
First and foremost, sun protection. It is essential to protect oneself from the sun because UVA rays are the main culprits of photo-aging, leading over time to dehydration, the formation of free radicals and damage to skin structures. After decades of ‘wild’ exposure, the importance of sun protection is being rediscovered to avoid damaging the skin and increasing the risk of melanoma formation. A greater sensitivity to one’s own well-being and health that translates into skin beauty and respect for skin structures. A protected skin ages more slowly and better, without losing the pleasure of sunbathing.
Green light then to all antioxidant substances, capable of interrupting the sequence of free radical formation by donating electrons to unstable molecules. It is important to emphasize that human beings are continually exposed to agents that cause free radical formation, so the intake of functional antioxidants must be understood as a continuous and not an occasional approach.
In addition to an unhealthy lifestyle, blue light from electronic devices (to which we are constantly exposed, including mobile phones, PCs and tablets) and environmental pollution are two strong triggers of radical reactions. Well-ageing cosmetic formulations are rich in hydro- and fat-soluble vitamins with antioxidant action, plant extracts rich in flavonoids and cyanidins, antioxidant systems that mimic endogenous physiological mechanisms.
How to rediscover natural beauty
To combat the formation of wrinkles, the latest-generation ingredients include peptides, which act as physiological messengers with a ‘botulin-like’ but non-invasive skin-relaxing action to reduce the formation of expression lines caused by the large muscular presence on the face.
For the body, all plant extracts that promote skin circulation and toning, accompanied by a correct lifestyle such as a good diet and regular exercise.
Growing old is therefore no longer a taboo, green light to healthy, cared-for, pampered and natural-looking skin, this is the true essence of well-aging.