This may come as a bit of a shock, but you may be paying to prematurely age your skin.
Not only that but many anti-ageing skin care products don't even address the main causes of skin ageing, says Dr Travis Badenhorst, Scientist at Snowberry and President of the NZ Society of Cosmetic Chemists.
"Premature ageing, is when your skin begins to age before it's time. You may be thirty, but already your skin looks like it belongs to a forty-year old. And some cleansing and toning products are part of the problem.
Dr Badenhorst says that by using strong foaming agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, or volatile Isopropyl alcohol, your face might feel squeaky clean but that's actually the last thing you want.
Healthy, youthful skin has what's called a 'natural barrier', and that barrier is a combination of natural oils called lipids, and an 'acid mantle' which is an invisible blend of sweat and sebum, at exactly the right acidity or pH, to keep bad things out. Remove either part of this barrier and premature ageing will result.
"Redness, irritation, increased sensitivity, brown spots and dryness are all symptomatic of premature ageing caused in part by a damaged natural barrier," he says.
The solution? Dr Badenhorst advises us to check our cleansers and toners to ensure they do not contain these types of ingredients. Snowberry’s cleansers, he says, are formulated to support the natural barrier.
Second, he recommends confirming that any serum can help support the cellular matrix as it begins to thin and sag – which it does naturally around the age of thirty. The lines and wrinkles that are evidence of this change, occur because the skin produces less of the structural proteins called collagen and elastin that keep the skin as plump and smooth as possible.
"The problem is that simple natural formulations can't do much to help. Certainly, we use the finest natural ingredients to be found anywhere in the world, but we turned to skin science to make the difference, and after several years of original research by our team at the University of Auckland, we were able to create two world-first serums containing the extraordinary peptide complexes, CuPEP™ and eProlex®."
Most importantly, he says, Snowberry proves the effectiveness of its serums to a level that means we don’t have to rely on our favourite beauty blogger, or the claim on the box. It’s called the gold-standard and it is why Snowberry’s New Radiance Face Serum was the only anti-wrinkle serum globally, to be invited to be presented to the 23rd World Congress of Dermatology.
“We call it Nature boosted by Science, but it’s real science rather than ‘let’s pretend.’ And gold-standard proof is the best guarantee anyone can give.”
Asked why the New Radiance Face Serum is just $40 ($42 on-line)? “Sentiment really. Our mission was to offer consumers a serum proven to work, that most could afford.”
This article was created for Snowberry
