In skin care, there are two words that you want to avoid like the plague. FREE RADICALS.
Free radicals are bad. Really bad. They cause all sorts of problems for skin, and are the primary cause of aging.
What exactly are they? It’s hard to conceptualize. But in the simplest terms, they are unpaired electrons that attack everything around it, rendering them dysfunctional: proteins such as collagen and elastin, epidermal lipids, membrane lipids, mitochondria, other cellular organelles, and worst of all, DNA. The very last thing you want to do is expose your DNA to damage.
The DNA is the ‘brain’ of your cells. It contains the genetic code that dictates what proteins get made (proteins pretty much run everything in the body). When your DNA is attacked, mutations can form, causing cancer. Most of the time, our cells repair DNA damage. When they can’t, they die (it’s called apoptosis, self-inflicted cell death). The ability of cells to repair DNA slows down as we age (this goes back to why our organs age).
So where do free radicals come from? UV radiation in sunlight is a major trigger of free radicals. When UV radiation contacts skin, it reacts with oxygen in the air, which causes a free radical chain reaction.
Sun + Oxygen + Skin –>
Nasty Free Radical Chain Reaction in Skin –>
DNA/Protein/Membrane Damage or Cell Death –>
SKIN AGES!
So there you have it. Nature’s way of ensuring we get old and degenerate. But you can mitigate those nasty radicals. Just wear sunscreen.
