Future-proofing your complexion!

For many, caring for their skin is a passion, and spending time, money and energy on their daily regimens is a worthy investment. For others, the same value is not placed on skincare products or routines, simply because they cannot see any immediate change or visible outcome. And for those lucky enough to be born with naturally great skin, whose complexions continue to glow into their 20s and 30s, this perspective is understandable. Why fix something that isn’t broken?

The “my skin looks fine as it is” sentiment is very commonly shared among those with either a very simple skin routine or a non-existent one, who do not currently experience any specific skin health concerns. But did you know that many types of damage can occur below the skin without showing any signs on the surface, before one day suddenly appearing in full force? It is at this point where conditions such as these, like UV damage or collagen degradation for example, are much harder to treat than they would have been to prevent from the outset. The saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ is certainly true when it comes to skin health, and this is exactly how Advanced Nutrition Programme can help, staving off damage before it occurs and future-proofing your complexion!

Care for your collagen before it’s too late

In our early 20s, the amount of collagen and elastin fibres our bodies produce naturally begins to slow down, with the rate of production decreasing at around 1% each year. You will still continue to produce new fibres, however it will be less and less each year until eventually, in most cases during our 50s, it stops altogether. All the while, your existing collagen and elastin are under constant attack, slowly degrading in response to stress, inflammation, environmental damage, and UV exposure. Collagen and elastin are both essential in providing volume, support, structure, suppleness, and elasticity to our skin. As they degrade, you will notice signs such as wrinkles, sagging, stretching, slackness, and hollowing. You may not notice this damage right away, but it will become very apparent once your collagen production depletes entirely.

The most effective way to combat this inevitable occurrence is to utilise quality skincare products and skin health supplements designed to protect your collagen and elastin fibres from damage as much as possible. In addition to this, your aim should be to feed your skin with nutrients that; backed up by scientific data, have shown to speed up production of collagen and elastin fibres, and improve the health and function of the cells responsible for producing them. Vitamin A has a demonstrated ability to do just this, acting on fibroblast cells to stimulate collagen, as well as assisting in protection of cells from UV damage - and these are just two of its many benefits! This is why retinol, a form of vitamin A, has become such an incredibly popular anti-ageing ingredient. You can harness these benefits with our Skin Vit A+, delivering a powerful, bioavailable dose of vitamin A. We’ve also added vitamin D, to additionally support bone, muscle, and immune health.

Could oxidative stress be silently ageing your skin?

Another prominent destroyer of skin cells and proteins (such as collagen) are free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive, unstable molecules that roam the body in search of electrons to snatch from other molecules, so that they may stabilise themselves. Antioxidants refer to molecules that can donate electrons to these free radicals, thereby stabilising/neutralising them. The term oxidative stress means there are more free radicals than there are antioxidants, and this is when destruction can occur, leading to inflammation and increased ageing. We receive antioxidants from many of the fresh fruit and vegetables in our diets, but we generate more and more free radicals through stress, pollution, alcohol, smoking, and several other factors. To combat this, we may need to boost our body’s levels of antioxidants. Our Skin Antioxidant contains a multitude of powerful plant phytonutrients to provide this. Ingredients including turmeric, bilberry, lutein, grapeseed, lycopene and green tea have been clinically proven to offer extremely high levels of antioxidants, protecting your cells from oxidative damage and helping to reduce inflammation.

I want it all!

If taking multiple supplements throughout the day is not for you, we’ve come up with the perfect solution that does it all. Whether you’re forgetful or time-poor, our Skin Ultimate provides a super convenient daily pod housing all the skin vitamins you could need. No more forgetting which supplements you have or haven’t taken throughout the day, just open a pod, which contains a one-month supply of our top five skin-boosting vitamins, and take simultaneously for a no-fuss approach. Each pod contains:

1. Skin Antioxidant: To protect from destructive free-radicals and environmental aggressors.
2. Skin Vit A+ (with added vitamin D): To assist cell renewal, skin rejuvenation, and bone, muscle, and immune health.
3. Skin Omegas+: To treat dryness and irritation with omegas 3 and 6, which are crucial for healthy cell membranes and healthy barrier function.
4. Skin Asta-boost: Which offers phytonutrients shown to improve overall skin health and function and protect from inflammation.
5. Skin Co-Q10+: Which provides a powerful antioxidant that has also shown to improve cellular energy production.

Many of the vitamins and nutrients we’ve mentioned above are now commonly found in leading cosmeceutical skincare ranges, which can offer remarkable results, not just on the slowing of ageing, but for the improvement of countless skin conditions from acne to rosacea. This is why you’ll also find them included in our Advanced Nutrition Programme supplements. Using these evidence-based ingredients can have an immensely greater result when used internally as well as topically, feeding your skin from the inside out. After all, our skin is a reflection of what is occurring on the inside, so doesn’t it make sense both to remedy symptoms on the outside and treat the cause from within?

Words by Mala McAlpin.