| Author |
Message |
|
|
 |
Sun Oct 05, 2014 4:36 pm  |
Pay attention to this please.
If you want to help your skin please don't write this off.
First, even if you avoid sun, you get small amounts of it over time that add up. A few minutes here and there will show up later even if you Think, oh I was only out for 10 minutes but I avoid it most of the other times. Nope, the sun doesn't work that way, you are being bombarded with damaging UV radiation everyday.
Even indoors wear sunscreen and here is why. Glass blocks UVB radiation, but Not UVA radiation wavelengths, which are the wavelengths of UV radiation that cause skin aging. Even if you re not close to the window and are many feet away, this radiation literally bounces off the walls, ceilings, floors of your home, and will inevitably get to you in doses almost as potent as if you were outside.
DO NOT really on high SPF as SPF is only an indicator of UVB protection (which is the one that causes sunburn) NOT UVA protection necessarily. For UVA protection I suggest titanium oxide or Zinc oxide, BUT I more strongly recommend Zinc oxide, as it is the only sunscreen protection that offers protection across the ENTIRE UV spectrum (meaning UVB and UVA light both. Zinc oxide is usually whitening, but there re tinted ones as well.
Having just zinc oxide in your sunscreen is not enough either. You need it in a percentage of over 17.1% to get adequate UVA protection. The higher the %, the more UVA protection. I end up using Raw Elements tinted sunscreen stick, which has a Zinc oxide protection of almost 23% percent. It is non whitening.
DO NOT use "invisible zinc" as this Zinc oxide uses smaller particles known as "nano particles". Don't use these at all. This is why:
Nano particles, simply because they are smaller, provide considerably less UVA protection overall. There are two spectrums of UVA light called, UVA 1 and UVA 2. "Invisible zinc/nano particles" only cover ONE of these spectrums efficiently, so avoid it.
Raw Elements of Kaban skincare (also with a tinted Zinc Oxide sunscreen at 25% Zinc Oxide) are not nano particles. There are other choices as well.
UV light causes these changes as it causes cells to express genes which activate enzymes that cause the destruction of elastin and collagen in the skin (elastin and collagen are major components of healthy youthful skin)
Elastin can NOT be produced after childhood. It has to last a lifetime. Any existing elastin damage you have is there to stay BUT collagen can be helped, by upreguating the amount at which it is synthesized..... Agents that help collagen synthesis are Retinoids (Retin A, etc, Vitamin CE Ferulic from Skinceuticals, foods with vitamin C and A. Also eat foods with Vitamin E to reduce inflammation and help against sun damage.
Now that I have discussed that certain enzymes that destroy collagen and elastin fibers due to cells reacting to UV light, let's talk about what we can do about them.
First off, these enzymes are known as Elastase and Collagenase. Things to inhibit them are
Retinoids, most notably Retin A. Some agents for lowering the activity of Elastase are White tea, Green tea (about 4 to 6 cups a day total for any meaningful effect, Butcher's broom (a very cheap supplement) and Horse Chestnut extract (also very cheap)
Next, second to UV damage, there are other enemies not as damaging but will cause roughly 20-25% (meaning a damn good deal of damage over time) called Advanced Glycation End Products which we will just call AGEs.
In short there are exogeneous AGEs (outside of the body) and Endogeneous AGEs (which are AGEs formed Inside of the body depending what you eat)
AGEs cause the elastin fibers and collagen fibers in your organs and skin to irreversibly bind and harden, leading to inelastic, crap skin (Just a side note off topic here, UVA light is the light that causes your body to tan... Tanning is your body's imperfect attempt to very mildly protect against further sun damage.... tanning is not good. Do NOT listen to those who say "You need that sun for vitamin D production" Yes you do, but expose your legs with no sunscreen a few minutes a day if you want that, not your face)......... Anyway, back to AGEs So how do we avoid these AGEs?
WELL, that is actually hard to do but let me tell you.
AGEs form basically when ANY form of sugar is consumed, including natural sugars from fruit... basically carboydrates, a nutrient, are sugars. You can't cut these completely away it will kill you, but excessive consuming of these, and you Will pay the price.... How do we avoid these?
Well first off lower your intake of sugar (which will cause Endogeneous AKA "inside the body AGEs). Any sodas and juices, knock them out. Awful for skin. Try to add healthy vegetables that are highly nutrient dense such as Kale, spinach, and broccoli to your diet in AMPLE amounts. Try carrots too, Extremely high in Vitamin A (Vitamin is very important for Elastin maintenance).
Exogeneous AGEs tent to cause more attempt to avoid. Everytime you are grilling food and see that browning or blackening on that hamburger you are eating, that is noted as the Mallaird reaction which, as I stated above, is the "crosslinking/binding" of proteins/elastin/collagen that you are watching take place on that juicy burger or on french fries, or on chicken fingers. On those foods that taste so good off the grill.... or in the oven, pizza, etc, all VERY high in AGEs.
Again one you have those AGEs in your body that equates to permanent skin damage. It is irreversible. Also, butter and margarine is VERY high in AGEs as well. What causes the Mallaird reaction (which basically takes place in your body when Endogeneous AGEs are formed? In short, heat dry heat is the biggest contributor...
When cooking we cannot avoid ALL heat but high impact heat such as from a grill, by the end of cooking WILL cause a lot more of this damaging reaction than say slowly boiling chicken in water which WILL cause Exogeneous (outside of the body AGEs even if you don't see the browning or blackening, it will be at a microscopic level, but still there and causing damage BUT less damage than browned food)
A few substances that lower the production of Only the Endogeneous AGEs in your body by a decent amount 30-40% which is the best you can get............ Benfotiamine (can buy on amazon sort of expensive but very much worth it.... 120 capsules at 250 mg taking 500 mg a day/2 capsules, that is 2 months worth... A relatively small amount to pay for such an effective substance... Also, other substances that are thought to help are again, Green and white tea (but to a much lesser extent), and pyridoxamine (which is only available in Europe but you can buy online). And lastly, L-carnosine seems to reduce these pesky ENDOGENEOUS AGEs by about 20%... If I had to choose one, I would go for Benfotaimine as it is the most studied, but the others show promise as well. I highly recommend Benfotimine........ Just try to find a good manufacturer of it, there are several.
In all, you need to wear a daily sunscreen I can NOT stress this enough. To put it into perspective let's put it this way.
Let's say that there are 2 50 year olds.
One that has been using sunscreen daily (ON CLOUDY DAYS TOO... ANY DAY even with a bunch of clouds blocking lot of light, more than 80% of UVA rays pass through clouds AND through glass)
Anyway back to the fake 50 year olds. Let's say 50 y/o #1 has spent $1500 on sunscreen over the last 30 years.
Then 50 y/o #2 has not used Any OR has only used it a few days a week but has several days a week is unprotected but then spends $1500 on filler to replace the lost volume in her face from sun damage, bad diet, etc.
50 year old 1, is easily going to look a good deal younger...... Why? Because sun damage is DAMN hard to fix and our current technologies to fix it are still in infant stages....
(I'd rather spend my money on Preventing a good deal of aging, than try to fix it later, with no guarantee of a sufficient outcome)
It's amazing to me how many don't realize how important daily sunscreen is. Put it this way, look in a mirror, sage your cheeks down with your hands a whole inch, imagine walking around like that. Now sag your cheeks down with your hands downna quarter or half an inch... still bad, but a lot better than before...
So in short, avoid AGEs through diet (which obviously means a big change in lifestyle to achieve a diet like this, but one you are into it a few weeks, it is pretty damn easy), take some supplements I listed to further enhance the protection against those pesky enzymes that cause skin damage (including those teas which are quite arguable some of your cheapest and most effective substances outside of sunscreen and avoiding AGEs)......
Lastly the UVA spectrum starts at 320 nm (nanometers) and goes up to 400 nm...... No sunscreen we have can effectively block a good portion of the most damaging part of the spectrum which is 380 nm to 400nm BUT at least Zinc Oxide CAN protect up to roughly 381 to 382 nm but usually only 379-380 nm....... What does this tell you, even WITH sunscreen on you will be recieving a decent deal of damage, but still, a good deal less than what you would have without it.
I have UV protective films on my car windows. Specifically you want tht, since driving is honestly where you will get a TON of your daily UV exposure from.
I use LLUMAR films. Most of them block 99% of UV rays. But there is ONE type that is rarer and a bit more expensive called the AU 85 which blocks 99.9%, which is obviously almost 100%..... to put that into perspective, you are only getting exposed to 1/1000th of the UV you would be exposed to if you di NOT have the film on your car. With the less protecting film it cost my entire care about $400. For the further protecting one it cost me $550 (I only got the more protective one since they had it in stock as I asked for it, the other would have been cheaper but I want as much protection as possible.....) there you have it........... damn that was a lot of writing
Your best bet for photoprotection is a high % |
|
|
|
|
|
Sun Oct 05, 2014 5:23 pm |
WOW now that is a world class skin care post. 
A few comments about it. How do you achieve the the full 2mg/cm2 required application amount of sunscreen using the stick form? Which is around 1/4 tsp for the face and same amount for the neck. A couple of other supps to consider for AGE's are Beta-Alanine which is related to Carnosine, and P-5-P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate).
Berries are a great fruit to eat due to their low sugar high antioxidant ratio.
Some glass such as office buildings does block a certain percentage of UVA rays and the further away from the glass the better but you should still prepare like they block zero UVA rays.
Thanks for the great post. |
|
|
|
|
| Mon Oct 20, 2025 12:37 pm |
If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.
Click Here to join our community.
If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site. |
|
 |
|
|
