"The only two certainties in life are taxes and death, with the latter being the final act of the ageing process. Ageing cannot be cured by topical cosmetics; it is a very complex process comprising of intrinsic and extrinsic components. The intrinsic process is the realm of the telomere – a specialised structure at the end of each of our chromosones. The length of this cellular sub unit determines how soon we age and is beyond our interference.

Extrinsic ageing however is something we can all do something about not only in lifestyle terms but also by using topical therapies that are proven to work and are available to all of us at sensible prices. I guarantee that if you want to spend stratospheric sums of money for the latest fad cream you will be wasting your money. The effective therapies are all less than £20 and the most effective therapy - sun avoidance, if you want to take it, is free!

The skin changes of extrinsic ageing, dull sallow skin, brown spots, fine lines and the like are principally due to ultraviolet light and are all preventable. When we go out in the sun our skin behaves like an ice cream; it starts to melt. In our case collagen starts to unravel and die with the end result being loss of skin volume, support and spring back - forming wrinkles. Sadly we cannot replace collagen easily, as in a cream form it is too large a compound to get into the skin – irrespective of what the marketeers say.

In order to replenish these valuable components we must use other agents that assist in stimulating collagen
both topically and orally. Notably vitamin A containing products, such as retinol and retinoids, as well as topical and oral vitamin C – the nurture inside outside approach.

Lastly reducing skin infl ammation caused by UV light is important in preventing collagen loss. Antioxidants such as vitamin E, C and co-enzyme Q10 all mop up the free radicals produced by the direct effects of UV light on the skin."

My mantra remains – establish a daily regime of:

• Moisturisation applied to skin when slightly damp immediately following a bath or shower
• Sun protection even in winter when there is a glare in the sky using a minimum of SPF30 with a good sunblocking activity against UVA
• Vitamin A applied at night, initially every 3rd night to the skin
• Taking skin vitamins with antioxidants such as vitamins C and E
• Avoid all hype and fad products costing above £20 until their benefits are confirmed on actual human skin and not just in a laboratory test tube
• If the product says it can reduce, correct or spirit away the appearance of wrinkles, photo-damage and the like immediately, walk on by and save your money – it cannot be done

back to the top »