Skin is one of the most robust organs present on human body as it is able to tolerate or adjust to any type of weather or condition. At the same time, it can be considered as the most sensitive part because this is the foremost organ that undergoes changes as one gets old. Hence, it is very much essential to take proper skin care so that it retains its texture, glow and radiance.

There are several factors that influence the way your skin ages. All these factors can be broadly categorized into primary factors and secondary factors. Primary factors are those conditions that contribute mainly to skin changes due to prolonged exposure. These include diet, lifestyle, personal habits, prolonged exposure to sun, heredity and also the normal process of aging. Secondary factors are those that get associated with primary factors and intensity the process of aging. Some examples of secondary factors include increased stress levels, obesity, smoking and irregular sleeping patterns. Smoking generates highly active and unstable free radicals that can cause significant damage to the skin.

Under the influence of both the primary and secondary factors, skin undergoes several changes as a result of aging.

1. Once the skin starts to age, the most prominent change that one can observe is the roughness of the skin. Skin appears smooth and healthy only when the cells inside the skin are healthy and growing. As a result of aging, cells present in the upper layer of the skin appear shriveled and unhealthy resulting in rough skin texture.

2. Aging causes development of skin lesions.

3. The skin starts to lose its elasticity and appears loose. Elasticity of the skin is a result of two important protein fibers present in the skin. These include elastin and collagen. During the process of aging, these protein fibers breakdown causing the skin to sag and stretch.

4. Skin tends to become more fragile and transparent with age.

All the above changes appear on the outer surface of the skin. However, there are also changes or signs of aging that appear inside the subcutaneous layer of the skin. Some of these include increased bone and cartilage loss and disappearance of fat tissue below the skin thereby resulting in a skeletal appearance of the individual.

Aging is a biological process that is not possible. However, it is possible to delay the process by providing proper nourishment to the skin. Also, one needs to follow proper skin care measures so as to keep the skin healthy. Most importantly, one should avoid over-exposure to the sun and use proper sunscreen lotions and moisturizers when exposing the skin to the sun. Another useful aging skin care method is the use of good quality anti-aging and anti-wrinkle creams manufactured by companies such as LifeCell. LifeCell creams are made of ingredients that are extremely beneficial to the skin and can assist in delaying the process of aging by several years. In fact, there are thousands of customers who had used LifeCell Skin creams and are satisfied with the results.

By Dave Armstrong

Some people may be under the misconception that acne scars only occur when you’ve picked at a pimple, blackhead or other acne lesion. In fact, acne scars are a serious condition for many people, and anyone who has acne is at risk for acne scars. There are, however, some situations in which acne scars are more likely to occur. Guarding against scarring in those situations and more aggressively treating the acne becomes even more important.

Cystic acne is one of the conditions in which acne scars are a very real possibility. Cystic acne is the name for acne that appears as nodules or cysts. One of the defining characteristics of this condition is that the acne never forms a true whitehead above the skin’s surface. There’s an infection just as there is with any acne, but this time the infection gathers and erupts below the surface. It’s possible to have a few cystic acne points while still having other types of acne breakouts, or the person with cystic acne may have no whiteheads, blackheads or pimples. While those cystic acne points are painful, there’s also a real potential for scarring. The stress to the skin and discoloration make acne scars a real possibility.

The person suffering from adult acne is a prime candidate for acne scars. The reason acne scars can be more serious as a result of adult acne has nothing to do with the severity of breakouts. Instead, it has everything to do with the regenerative powers of your skin. Older people have older skin, and that older skin doesn’t spring back the way youthful skin is prone to do.

Finally, it’s true that picking at acne can increase the risk of acne scars. It’s a simple concept to understand. You make a sore when you pick at acne, and sores are prone to leave marks – in this case acne scars.

The potential for acne scars is prevalent whenever there’s a case of acne, but more so in some situations. An aggressive acne treatment program is your best defense against acne scars – you’ll be on your way to better skin in no time.

For more articles like this, bookmark this site! www.AntiAgingAcne.com

Acne scar removal in the older days can be as simple as applying salves made from plant juices on affected areas. Come to think of it, a lot of people in the early era are probably not as worried about scars as we are now. The good thing about living in the 21st century is that almost every kind of skin problem has a solution. Thanks in no small part to technology.

Modern acne scar removal techniques are now available to eradicate the marks left by severe zits with just but a few sessions. Arguably, the most popular method of removing scars nowadays is with the use of laser. Laser therapy is not only for scar eradication but is now also being employed to cure acne before it can cause scarring.

One of the procedures of scar removal using laser is the localized type. This involves a hand-piece laser which looks like a pen. The doctor uses this device to burn away the damaged part of the skin to give it a chance to regenerate and replace the burned part with a fresh, smoother surface. The advantage of this procedure is that it has a higher level of precision. The handheld device can zero-in on affected areas without much risk of damaging the surrounding skin.

Another way of using laser to remove scars is through nonablative method. In contrast to the handheld technique, this method works underneath the scar with the aim of stimulating skin tissues to produce collagen to replace the scarred or damaged part. This procedure, though, is more sensitive than the handheld laser and must not be done unless the doctor is absolutely sure that this is the treatment that a particular condition requires.

In some cases, more than one procedure is required to eliminate the scars. One commonly used combination is excision/grafting. The first step is removing the subcutaneous fat layer of the scarred area surgically. This is called punch excision. This method can leave a hole on the skin where the scarred part has been removed. The hole is then filled up or repaired by skin grafting; a method that uses fresh, healthy skin to close the hole caused by the excision.

There are types of scars, keloids in particular, that do not respond well to surgical procedures. Surgery is not highly recommended to keloidal people since any type of surgery will likely create another mark on the skin and leave a different form of scar. For keloids, one option that is often considered by skin specialists is steroids. Steroidal drugs are injected directly to the scar to lessen its appearance. However, most doctors are worried about the effects of procedures on keloidal scars and often suggest that the patient just leave it alone.

Acne scar removal is far easier now than it was, say, 20 or 50 years ago. However, we really should not let the condition reaches this stage. Early pimple prevention is still needed so that we don’t need to go through these expensive, worrying procedures.

Your hair, condition of your hair, color and style can shave years off of your chronological age, or, unfortunately, add years…depending upon how you care for your hair and how you work with your dermatologist and/or stylist to truly address hair and anti-aging hair products and styles.

First of all, as we age, it is normal for our hair to thin.  The diameter of the hair shaft gets smaller, so those thinner strands make your hair style look like it has less volume.   The number of folicles may not change, but overall thickness and volume will for most men and many women.  Furthermore, this thinner hair shaft is more prone to breaking, so damage is more prevalent and is more obvious with a thinner head of hair.

You can get medical treatments for thinning hair, as stress, changes in diet, iron deficiencies and declining estrogen and hormonal levels take their toll on our hair as well.  Talk to your doctor or dermatologist about products with a 2 percent minoxidil solution, (known as Rogaine, over the counter) as that is the only FDA-approved treatment for female pattern baldness.  For male pattern baldness there are other treatments, such as a once-a-day pill called Propecia.  However, Propecia is NOT for use for women with thinning hair.  Unfortunately, there are all too many very expensive treatments that are sold as thinning hair solutions that may only thin your wallet.  Be sure to ask your dermatologist first!

Also, as we age, our hair can lose lustre and shine.  Why?  Our scalp gets drier and drier as our skin produces less ceramides and our oil glands produce less oil.  Dyes can add to the problem, as well as other harsh chemicals or treatments that we apply to our hair and scalp.  Work with your stylist to get the right shampoo and conditioner, as well as heat protection products for blow drying and straightening, gloss products, shine sprays and other treatments and solutions that can add shine and gloss to your hair.    You can also ask your dermatologist for suggestions regarding your scalp health and how to best address any scalp issues that may be impacting your hair, hair volume and lustre.

Here are some additional solutions to dealing with aging hair:

*  Too many people dye their hair either too dark, or too light.  If you dye your hair too dark, it can make you appear much older, as the contrast is simply too harsh.  If you dye your hair too light, it will wash you out and age you very quickly.  Work with your stylist to find the right color option for your hair, hair style, hair condition, skin tone and age.  Let’s face it, while we may have been beach blonde kids, we may not be destined to be beach blonde adults!  You can still find a great, attractive, youthful color that will create an overall youthful appearance without adding years to your appearance.

*  Too many people stick to a hair style that worked for them 10, 20, even 30 years ago.  For example, I still see way too many women working the still, feathered, high volume bang look from the 80′s.  While that worked for us when we were in our teens or twenties, it does not work for us in our forties!  The overly stiff hair styles can add years, as well as severely damage the thinning hair shafts when you brush out those styles.  Find a style that is softer, current, chic and age-appropriate.  Sometimes it is a good thing to let go of the past, and move forward to a new hair style that will shave years off of your look!

Guys, comb-overs simply don’t work.  And, ladies, comb-overs don’t work for us, either!  Again, work with your stylist to find style options that can minimize the appearance of a thinner area on your scalp, or an area that is balding.  There are options such as wiglets or hair pieces that can provide a natural look, when they are selected and used properly. 

Also, many women feel that if they add layers, they will automatically and magically add volume.  That is not necessarily true of thinning hair.  Opt for longer layers, which can add volume, not several shorter layers throughout your hair style.

*  Too many women, and sometimes even men, create very severe, pulled back or slicked back hair styles.  I love to wear a ponytail, however, I am wearing them much looser than I did years ago.  Not only does that severe look add years to your appearance, but it can also cause a lot of damage to your hair shaft that is more delicate.  You can still work a fun ponytail, but wear one that is looser and add some lift at the crown to create a more youthful ponytail look.    All too often, those slicked back hair styles only accentuate how thin your hair truly is, and you can opt for a hair style that has more volume and texture.

*  Too many people leave their hair too long, limp and lifeless.  I am the first to admit to wanting to have longer hair as I associate that with a more youthful look.  However, if you are going to wear your hair longer, you should ensure that it gets proper, frequent trims and that you add some volume to your hair with volumizing products (not stiff hairspray!).  There are many volumizers that your stylist can recommend, many even from the drug or convenience store that are affordable and effective at bringing lift and volume to your longer hair styles.

I can attest to recently getting six inches cut off of the length of my hair and getting immediate feedback on how much younger I looked, better rested…even asked if I had done facial treatments!  Getting rid of the excess hair, the damaged and lifeless ends truly brought more bounce, volume and youth to my hair AND my appearance!

*  Too many women wear bangs that are too severe and blunt.  Yes, bangs can be cheaper than botox for hiding some fine lines in the forehead.  But, the wrong bang style can actually add years to your face.  Get your bangs cut soft and a bit fingy, and brushing them slightly to the side creates a far more youthful look and feel.  Avoid the “wispy” bangs, as they will look, well, wispy…and can make your hair look thinner.

Work with your dermatologist to get great suggestion on medications and treatments, and work closely with your stylist to get the right color, cut and products.  One of the best pieces of advice I can give is that sometimes it can simply be time to get a new stylist.  Find someone you know with great hair, find out who their stylist is.  I have even asked women that I have seen in restaurants, at the mall, at the grocery store who does their hair!  Often, we get caught in a hair rut…and our stylist can be in a hair rut, too!  They may think that they are doing the right thing by giving us what we ask for, however, a great stylist will professionally steer you in the right direction for color and cut and you will love the results!  Or, they may be putting you in a look that “everyone” else has that is simply not right for you at all. You CAN look years younger with the right hair color, a great cut and products that give your hair fantastic, natural volume and sheen!

I find it really irritating (and not just to my skin!) that I need a degree in chemistry to even read the ingredients on most make up or skin care products. Giving up on all of those chemicals and unpronounceable ingredients, I set out to find products that had natural and organic products that I could recognize and pronounce, and still feel confident that I would get the skin care and beauty results that I expected.

So, you can imagine my excitement for finding a great beauty website that has amazing organic and natural skin care and beauty options. Makeup.com has page after page of fantastic offerings, many of my favorite organic and natural beauty products all in ONE PLACE!

Like, Juice Beauty, a company founded to provide organic beauty solutions by a team of women who are completely passionate about organic and healthy lifestyles AND the science behind organic and natural skin care. They are committed to providing organic solutions for healthy, radiant skin while making it fun to take care of ourselves, and our planet! One of my favorite Juice Beauty products is the Green Apple Body Brilliance Kit, great for making your skin look fantastic for a special dress, night out, or just to show off your healthy, glowing skin! This collection utilizes Juice Beauty’s antioxidant technology, which combines alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, DMAE, peptides, fat soluble Vitamin C, and essential fatty acids for optimum age-defying results.

Juice Body Brilliance

Another incredible line that I use and love is Coola Suncare. I am a firm believer in using sunscreen to protect my skin from the dangers of skin cancer, as well as the premature aging and damage that the sun can do. Living in Southern California, and loving the beach and outdoors, I have used so many different sunscreen products, many that again have ingredients that I cannot even attempt to pronounce and were harsh on my face and skin.

Wanting to incorporate sunscreen into my every day skin care regimen, I found that Coola Suncare SPF 30 Organic Moisturing Suncare did the job perfectly for me. This product is not at all greasy, did not make me break out, and even provides a nice moisturizing effect. It combines antioxidant ingredients like Vitamins A, C, D, and E, zinc, and a select choice of twelve certified organic skin-healing extracts.

This unique SPF moisturizing product, easily integrated into your daily skin care regimen, will protect you from the sun’s harmful rays while keeping your skin lustrous and silky-smooth. I can easily apply my usual makeup over this product without feeling like I have heavy products on my face, and they make a fantastic body moisturizing sunscreen and sport SPF 45 that I use for swimming or outdoor activities as well! I also truly appreciate that they have an unscented line, as all too many sunscreens can have a really unappealing scent!

Coola Suncare

Last but not least, I really love it when skin care companies offer kits or products in smaller, less expensive sizes. I have so many issues with my skin that it really becomes an issue for me to spend $20, $50 or more on a product, or a few products that end up not working out and being thrown into a drawer in my bathroom, or worse, thrown away. So when I can sample a line, try a range of products in sample or smaller sizes, I am always willing to make a small investment in potentially finding a true skin care gem!

Suki offers an amazing Nourishing Mini Skin Care Kit with a variety of amazing organic products that will completely replenish and protected protect your complexion. Suki offers cutting edge science with 100% pure, high-potency organics. This is also the perfect kit to travel with, as the mini skin care product sizes will meet airline regulations.

Suki Kramer founded this line to provide high performance professional organics, promoting a beautiful, radiant complexion and good health from the inside-out. Her lines offer advanced proven, scientific ingredients integrated in 100% pure botanical, results-driven formulas and work systemically, with each individual, creating harmony and balance. Love, love, love her hair care products as well!

Suki Mini Kit

Makeup.com makes it easy for you to find the perfect organic beauty and skin care products for you. Ditch those harsh, unnatural ingredients and find a wonderful world of natural and organic products! They offer an amazing array of beauty products, and you are sure to find the right products for you, your skin type, your skin care and beauty needs, and with great savings on both products and shipping! Beauty has truly evolved at Makeup.com Boutique. Shop now for all the hottest trends in makeup, skincare, hair care, and bath products.

I have still struggled with adult acne for the last decade or so, starting after the pregancy of my last child.  I was never acne-prone as a teenager, in fact, I can remember vividly so many times that girlfriends would have flare-ups just in perfect time for pictures, prom, a first date and they would tell me how very lucky I was to never have that nasty zit or two before a big event!

Well, those days have been replaced with embarrassing acne flare ups, always at the worst time, and I have truly tried so many product lines that I just felt that I would kind of have to “live with it”, hiding and camoflauging the breakouts the best I could with great makeup.  I am too sensitive to the antibiolics that work best to address adult acne, I also deal with rosacea, so I cannot use the more “hard core” kind of products that can address acne as they would leave my skin literally raw, red, and looking even worse. 

Recently, I visited Euro Day Spa, in Laguna Niguel, California and got an amazing facial treatment and received some fantastic recommendations for products that could help to impact my skin.  At first, I thougth, “Nope…not going to do it…not yet ANOTHER product line!”.  But I took the risk, and purchased the products that she recommended for my skin type and for my occasional acne flareups.  And, the risk was really mitigated by two factors:  Euro Day Spa is a day spa founded by Dr. Lorrie Klein, my dermatologist (and dermatologist to my entire family!), and the esthetician did not recommend the entire store to me.  Instead, she truly listened to my concerns, closely examined my skin and took into consideration my skin sensitivities and the acne protocol that I have followed in the past.  She took care to select only a few key products that were effective, yet gentle, that had more natural ingredients and that she stated she could stand behind and put her professional reputation behind.  How refreshing, right?!

One of the products that was recommended to me was Epicuren’s Acidophilus Probiotic.  The Acidophilus Probiotic works by mildly, and I do say very mildly, exfoliating skin to help blemish-prone skin and skin types.  While it exfoliates, it also moisturizes so you do not get the red, dry, flaky skin from other types of exfoliators.  The ingredients also help to create a healthy “flora balance” on the skin so the bad acne-causing bacteria does not have an environment in which to thrive. 

Please note that this product can make you sun sensitive, and you should always follow up with sunscreen and limit sun exposure.  But we are all careful with sunscreen and sun exposure anyway, right?!

I have truly seen a profound difference in my skin, the condition of my skin, and how dramatically fewer breakouts I do get.  When I do get breakouts, they are much smaller, and certainly not the cystic type of acne that I was experiencing.   Overall, the condition of my skin felt smoother, more clear and almost brighter.   The gentle effects of the exfoliating were truly impacting my skin overall.

I am not here to say that I am like completely cured, my skin is now completely flawless or that any product has worked some amazing magic, and I would not believe that hype if I read it somewhere else.  However, I am thrilled and excited to say that indeed this product has surpassed my expecations, and I have had friends and family comment on how fantastic my skin looks. 

While I still get the occasional breakout, I have found yet another product to address that beautifully!  Another product that was recommended to me is NeoCeuticals by NeoStrata’s Acne Spot Treatment Gel.  Love, love, love this gel!

I have used many acne spot treatment products, most of which completely dry me out and I end up with a huge dry spot on my face instead of a small, manageable pimple!  Ugh!  Not this treatment gel, this is a total gem.

The Acne Spot Treatment Gel has 2% Salicylic Acid and works more gently than any other spot acne treatment that I have ever used.  I apply it on a problem area both morning and night, and typically I can see results the very next day.  I have even put this onto problem areas before going to bed, or a spot that looks like it is going to become a breakout, and upon waking up, I have no breakout, I have no problem area.

So, I have found that I have been able to really manage the majority of my adult acne issues with two fantastic products.  I recommend that you discuss these products and other options with your dermatologist as there are products out there that can truly work, without any hype, and help to impact the effects of your adult acne symptoms.  There is no “miracle cure”, however, there are products that can work for your skin, your skin type, your lifestyle and your expectations.  Good luck, and feel free to share your success stories, so we can all help each other find real world skin care solutions!

Here is a description of Halo, from Smashbox:

A powder that reduces fine lines & wrinkles in 10 minutes? It’s not magic, it’s new HALO HYDRATING PERFECTING POWDER. HALO is the first anti-aging powder with the science of skin care built in. It’s advanced formulation of pure gold, 48 minerals, 11 amino acids and a powerful peptide deliver powerful anti-aging benefits while the patented hydration system continuously revitalizes skin for a brighter, more radiant complexion all day. HALO’s innovative built in shaver gives you the perfect amount of luminous loose powder every time with no mess. Finally, a powder that multi-tasks as much as you do.

I can attest to the claim that within minutes you will see a decrease in wrinkles.  I am the first to doubt any such claim, as I find that so often the product never quite lives up to that promise.  However, Halo DOES deliver.  I was truly amazed with how my skin looked, wrinkles were less visible, my skin did not feel tight or dry as it can with some powder products, and I truly felt I got a flawless finish.   I truly felt that my skin glowed, without getting greasy, nor flaky as the day wore on.  In fact, running into a few friend was quite the ego boost…one of them quietly pulled me aside and asked me if I had gotten Botox or some kind of laser treatment.  She confirmed that my skin looked radiant…and obviously she, too, saw fewer lines!

I have my compact on order, and I recommend you get Halo as well.  I love products that multi-task and live up to their promises!  Click on the image below to take advantage of great savings on Halo and other fantastic makeup for Spring!

So, I put it to a few friends for their opinions, and the overwhelming response was, "Yes, you CAN smell old!". Even one of my girlfriends told me that she recently had to have "that talk" with their mom, discretely telling her mom that she kind of smelled a bit like a grandma! She asked for the website and said she will order her mom a bottle for an Easter gift. I thought about it and realized that it is true, there is something to be said about a certain "grandma" kind of smell. For some of us, that can be quite lovely…maybe we think of the smell of baking, or old fashioned perfumes. For some of us, however, we may associate it with more of a smell that is not so pleasant…stuffy and…well…old.

More on Ageless Fantasy, from beautystat.com:

"I sat down with the founder, Kumar Ramani, and asked him if he really believes "youth" has a distinct scent. "Absolutely," he says. "The easiest way to think of this is to imagine a nursing home…doesn’t it have a distinct "older people" smell? The same applies to youth."

Ramani’s proof is in the pudding. Simply stated, as men and women age, the body produces a chemical that breaks down and causes "an unpleasant greasy odor," according to Harvey Prince. This is the "natural body odor of aging." Ageless Fantasy masks the skin’s natural age-revealing scent. Research has "proven" that men around women who use Ageless Fantasy believe them to be at least 8 years younger.

How exactly does this work? "Clinical trials" conducted with 75 men revealed that the participants associated the smell of grapefruit with youth. So Harvey Prince combined pink grapefruit with a smidge of mango, pomegranate, jasmine and musk-said to be other youthful notes-and voilà: a fragrance was born. Let’s put it this way, when I wore the fragrance, people sat up and took notice."

I even did my own experiment. I have a perfume that has similar base notes, mainly grapefruit, and sprayed it on to see what comments I might elicit from my loved ones. I just sprayed a bit on and went about my usual routine.

Husband: "Looks like you slept well last night" and big hug and peck on the cheek.

Daughter: "Good thing you are not grouchy, you usually hate Mondays." (did I mention she is a teenager)

Son: "Mom, you smell like juice." (ahhh….love that little guy!)

So, my conclusion? From my husband’s perspective, smelling fresh and citrus-y is associated with looking and seeming well-rested. That works! From my daughter’s perspective, perhaps that scent conveyed that I was upbeat, happy, optimistic. To my son, I smell like juice, and I guess that just means I smell like juice!

I highly recommend you check it out, and treat yourself to a great ant-aging perfume. Ageless Fantasy is available at http://www.agelessfantasy.com.

Anti Aging and Acne Solutions presents the following article regarding how certain enzymes impact hair and skin health.  As science continues to find amazing breakthroughs for anti-aging, we will find in the future that we are able to maintain a more and more youthful appearance even as we age chronologically! (at least that is MY hope!)

Showcasing that the health of the skin and body are truly intertwined, a recent study of a fat-synthesizing enzyme provides information on how the body processes and reacts to retinoic acid.
Read more…

Anti Aging and Acne Solutions presents the following thoughts about how to get the best acne solutions from your dermatologist.  I, too, suffer from adult acne and know that my relationship with my dermatologist, how we discuss my concerns, and how I come into her office prepared with questions and challenges have helped us to work together to create an acne solution that has truly changed my skin and my outlook.

Want to get the best possible treatment for your acne, and become your dermatologist’s favorite patient at the same time? Here are five things your dermatologist really wants you to know.
Read more…