Age Prevention: When's The Perfect Time to Start

When is the right time to start focusing on age prevention? We associate the signs of aging with later life. But science and logic say it must already be there, active inside most of us long before we even notice the first signs of aging.

The truth is that aging essentially starts at the moment of birth. Our youthful skins are just much more resilient when we’re younger, able to fend off attacks on the skin and bounce back to a state of balance very quickly. So, we assume that aging is not a problem when we’re younger. But is that true?

THE BIG AGEING LIE

Glossy magazines will often perpetuate the myth that aging only comes later. You know, those “beauty through the years/decades”-style features, where they say “in your 20s use this, in your 30s this” and so on. You’ll notice that the anti-aging stuff only comes in at around age 40. While in your 20s, you’re usually encouraged to try all kinds of colourful and crazy make-up instead.

That’s because they’re tasked by manufacturers showcase a whole range of products, designed around what people on average want and respond to at a certain age. Not what the skin really needs.

Aging actually starts a lot earlier than we’d like to think. Lamelle developed the Nourish range specifically for preventing aging. To understand why we need to look at how aging works.

WHAT CAUSES SKIN AGEING

Let’s call aging what it really is: accumulated changes in how your skin cells function over time. That’s right, aging is not something that happens to you. It’s rather that your cells stop doing certain things as you get older. For example: your cells stop producing enough collagen, they produce less of their own hyaluronic acid, and you become more prone to collagen damage by MMPs from years of living in sunlight (read up on MMP inhibitors here).

Why? Because cells get damaged by your environment all the time. The sun, toxins in the air, chemicals, stress, free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). All of these things – and many others – “attack” your healthy cells, all the time. Youthful skin repairs that damage well. But through the years it all starts adding up and the signs of aging begin to show. Get more info in our post on anti-aging secrets.

ANTI-AGEING SUPERPOWERS AND STAGES OF LIFE

Your body’s just better equipped and more focused on healing damage when you’re younger. For example: did you know that a fetus in the womb can heal their wounds without leaving a scar? Just imagine. Scarless healing is basically a superpower. If you could do that as an adult, you’d be a superhero. They’d give you a cape and ask you to help fight crime. But you can’t, because we lose that ability when we’re born. (Incidentally, reintroducing the enzyme that gave you that ability is one of our most advanced age-preventing technologies.)

Also, your body’s focused on different things at different stages of life. When you’re a child, it’s main focus is your growth and development. So no wonder your skin’s so good at correcting damage. But, when you hit puberty, for example, the focus shifts to getting your body ready for reproduction. So, there’s a change that starts leaving the skin open to attacks from skin damagers. And it’s the same with every new stage in life – your body starts focusing on something new, leaving it more susceptible to damage.

It’s natural, but the damage your skin sustains builds up over the years. Until the accumulated damage starts impacting how your skin cells behave. That’s aging: the years and years of sun exposure or free radical damage that eventually show up on your skin as wrinkles and fine lines. And the whole process really starts from the moment you’re born.

SO, WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO START AGE PREVENTION?

Well, if it starts from birth, it’s never too early or too late to start age prevention. A 2014 Canadian study by J Thompson et al.  showed that the decline in mental function we associate with “brain aging” can show up as early as age 24. With the rest of the body expected to start following shortly after.

And we don’t all age at the same rate. Belsky et al.’s in-depth study on the biological aging of over 1 000 adults at age 38 showed that we age at wildly different rates. Just about 20% of 38-year-olds had aged in line with their birth dates. Many were biologically much younger, but some showed extreme biological aging – one person had the biology of a 61-year-old at age 38.

So, when it comes to skin, we might not know your genetic make-up or how fast you’ll age. But we do know one thing: the damage that leads to aging is always present: free radicals, UV damage, DNA damage, collagen breakdown, stress, toxins. And one way to ensure you’re covered is to make age prevention part of your skincare regimen as early as possible. So Lamelle developed a skincare range specifically designed to help you do that.

ULTIMATE AGE PREVENTION BY NOURISH

Specifically designed to prevent and repair DNA damage, Lamelle’s Nourish is a range of products – cleanser, SPF, moisturiser, eye cream etc. – that’s simple and easy to incorporate in your day to day life knowing your skin is taken care of.

Nourish not only protects against harmful ageing UV and free radical damage. It’s also chockful of some of the most potent antioxidants – from astaxanthin and alpha-tocopherol to Pycnogenol® – that neutralises ROS to prevent DNA damage.

And, on top of that, Nourish is made with advanced compounds that boost your body’s P53 gene and NER systems, which is what your body uses to repair existing DNA damage. This unique ability makes Nourish powerful enough to use even later in life, when the signs of aging have already started to show. It’s really one of the most important skincare secrets for youthful skin.

You can ask your doctor or therapist today about getting the age preventative benefits of Lamelle’s Nourish range.