Hi there,
I recently posted the following. I read an article in a national newspaper and it directly relates to women of your age.
The headline leapt out at me –
“ Many young women today use creams to slow the ageing process. But could they actually be speeding it up?â€
The thrust of the article was
"too many young women are already using anti-aging products. According to very recent research, a third of women under the age of 25 are regularly applying products meant for the over-40â€2122s"
.
Some experts say that not only are these young women wasting their money on things they donâ€2122t need, but horrifyingly, they could actually be damaging their skin permanently.
For a start, creams designed for older skins can be heavy and, when applied to younger ones, cause problems.
These heavier creams can clog the pores and cause itchy red lumps. While this sort of mild infection is temporary and can usually be cleared up with an over-the-counter topical antibiotic, itâ€2122s when young women use creams that have high concentrations of ingredients such as retinoids [derivatives of retinol, a form of vitamin A and AHAâ€2122s [alpha-hydoxy acid compounds like glycolic acid and lactic acid] that the problems really start.
These compounds are included in anti-aging products because they basically break down the top layer of your skin, increasing the rate at which skin renews itself.
In older skin, the benefits of inflicting deliberate damage to the outer layers of the skin outweigh the negatives, as it helps you speed up cell turnover, a process that slows with age, and evens out uneven skin tone.
But with younger skin, which is less resilient, youâ€2122re corrupting the skinâ€2122s natural water-retaining protective function for no-good reason.
Younger skin will react badly to these active ingredients because it much more sensitive. That can result in irritation – redness, itching, flaking and so on.
However, more worrying than simple irritation is the long term damage that could result from uninformed use of retinoids and AHAs. For example, because these compounds damage the outer layer of the skin, they increase skin photosensitivity, leaving the skin far more susceptible to sun damage.
I'm sure that a lot of the regular contributors to the Skin Care Forums are continually seeing younger women writing in and asking for advice on the issue of using anti-aging products on their young, delicate skin.
Sorry to everyone for repeating myself but the simple answer is don't. Keep things simple if your young.
Best wishes,
redrose