Effective Skin Care Products:

Most skin care products are all flash and advertising with very little substance.  Good quality skin care is the basis of maintaining a healthy complexion and giving your skin the nutrients and strength to create healthy tissue.  Our products are pharmaceutical grade and all natural.  Our line is extensive in antioxidants and growth factors. You will notice a difference in your skin texture.

To minimize the risk of facial skin irritation to all skin types, we use products with super-refined natural ingredients to assure that all possible irritants are removed and the products are as pure as they can possibly be. We carry several lines of natural and pharmaceutical grade skin care products that contain no unnecessary ingredients!

Sun Protection:

It is a fact...80% of your aging can be prevented by wearing a high-quality, broad spectrum sunscreen.  UV rays create free radicals that stimulate the collagenase enzyme to start eroding away the collagen bed.  This will accelerate the aging process.  5% is controlled by your genes and the other 15% is how you take care of yourself.

I have only seen a few patients that are in their 30's with good, firm, smooth skin.  Their secret?  They have completely avoided sun exposure from childhood.  While this doesn't seem like much fun for some people, it is the key to maintaining good skin quality.  Wearing your sunscreen, rain or shine, can help to accomplish the same results.  However, don't let SPF 60 mislead anyone.  It will never last in your skin long enough to get you to that time length.  Sunscreen should be reapplied after four hours or earlier if you are sweating or exposed to water.  What you put on your skin in the morning is most certainly gone by the end of the afternoon.

Only visible light is blocked by clouds.  UVA/UVB rays still pass through clouds to damage your skin.

Repair Existing Sun Damage:

By the age of 30, due to declining hormones, the collagen bed is normally starting to deteriorate at the rate of 1% per year.  If your skin is sun damaged, this rate increases to 2% per year.  We live in Houston, so by regularly removing unavoidable sun damage, you prevent the accelerated aging process. 

Hormone replacement can help to maintain more youthful levels, hence the deterioration is slowed even more to help you maintain a more youthful look longer.  Even skin that has deteriorated can be greatly rejuvenated with the right tools.

Chemical peels, IPL photofacial, laser resurfacing and mesotherapie are excellent ways to reverse sun damage in the skin and slow the aging process.  While surgery is desired by some, keep in mind that it does not do anything for the quality of the skin.  Proper care is still an important step in maintaining the effects of surgery longer to rejuvenate the skin.

Colon Cleansing:

The colon is the sewer system of the body.  Over the years, a poor diet can lead to build up of undigested food, toxins, bacteria and fungus in the colon.   The colon is responsible for absorbing excess water from digested food, if a toxic environment exists in the colon, then these toxins are also being absorbed. This can lead to many health and skin problems not to mention cancer.  The American diet is sorely lacking many of the essential nutrients necessary for digestive health. Making matters worse, we do not digest and absorb the nutrients well because our digestive tract is clogged and damaged. Cleaning the colon eases the digestive process by eliminating toxic buildup from our diets and restoring the "good" bacteria vital to colon health. With the use of essential fiber, our invigorating blend of herbs and probiotics, cleansing works to improve immunity and nutrient absorption, resulting in increased energy, even skin tone and healthy glowing skin.  If you have stubborn acne and blackheads, this is an essential part of the treatment to reverse these problems.

Detoxification:

Your skin is the third major outlet for toxins right after the liver and kidneys.  When toxins build to a level that the liver and kidneys cannot effectively remove anymore, the body just pushes them out to the skin.  This results in enlarge pores, oily skin, acne, rosacea, acne, hypo and hyperpigmentation, loss of skin tone and premature aging.  The detoxification process will normalize oily skin as toxins are inflammatory to the body and inflammation increases oil production.  Drinking plenty of water will enhance the body's own natural detoxification process.

An effective detoxification program can help reverse skin problems.  We have several different means of detoxification programs to fit different lifestyles and budgets.

Digestive Support:

Human beings do not make all the enzymes necessary to properly digest the food we eat.  Our diets require raw fruits and vegetables to assimilate these enzymes.  As we age we make even less and less of the enzymes we need.  Undigested food that passes through the body literally rots and produces an environment where bacteria and fungus can proliferate causing toxic buildup, slow digestion, weakened immune function, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, build up of free radicals and ultimately disease.  Impaired digestive systems ultimately lead to skin problems and premature aging of the skin and body.  There is a direct correlation to the level of free radicals in the body and the biological aging process.

Digestive enzymes are catalysts which allow us to break down foods into absorbable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids.  Enzymes also help these nutrients get to the cells and tissues for utilization.  Supplemental enzymes coupled with a healthy diet ensure that they body will get the necessary nutrition it needs for optimal healthy and slows the aging process.

Probiotics replenish and maintain healthy intestinal flora while improving the health of the colon.   Acne and rosacea patients respond very well to this therapy.

Antioxidants:

Skin doesn't just age...it oxidizes.  The same way an exposed apple turns brown or iron turns to rust, the skin also changes due to exposure to free radical oxygen molecules. 

White sugar and white flour will age you faster than any other food.  Sugar is very inflammatory to the body and creates a high number of free radicals.  How does your body handle free radicals?  Are they efficiently removed or allowed to create havoc on your cells?  Components of flour products such as bakery goods will stick in your skin and prevent nutrients from nourishing the cells.  This leads to poor skin quality and a weakened immune defense system to free radicals.

These oxygen molecules are missing an electron from natural metabolic processes and go around to other cells of the body looking for weaker cells to give up one of their electrons to them.  Once a healthy cell has lost an electron it becomes weakened.  The damaged cell is now more susceptible to attacks from bacteria and other factors that cause the aging process.  How your body deals with free radicals is an important factor in the health of your cells.

Antioxidants are chemicals that protect cells by neutralizing external forces (such as damage from the sun, pollution, wind, and temperature) and internal factors (for example, emotions, metabolism, and the presence of excess oxygen). Common antioxidants are Vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene. These special chemicals assist in skin repair and the strengthening of blood vessels.  They combat free radicals and prevent the chain reaction under the skin's surface.  Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age.  Antioxidants strengthen cells and make them more resistant to free radical attacks on their electrons.  They protect the collagen and elastin cells from being damaged and eroded away.  Antioxidants also help to prevent cell and tissue damage that could lead to cellular damage and disease.  They scavenge these free radical cells countering their attacks and eliminating them from the body.

Human being are one of the few animals in the world that through a genetic mutation, has lost the ability to make our own vitamin C.  Vitamin C is necessary for cells to secrete collagen, it boots the body's ability to support other antioxidants and it creates hydrogen peroxide at a cellular level.  Hydrogen Peroxide provides numerous benefits to the body. 
Click here for the Benefits of Hydrogen Peroxide

How do I get them?

I.V. nutrient therapy of either vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid or glutathione can provide therapeutic doses to greatly increase your levels by by-passing the digestive system and getting them directly to the cells where they are more readily utilized.

Nutritional supplements support i.v. infusions as a home care.  Alpha lipoic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E and other antioxidants can all be taken as oral supplements for skin care.

Think colors when eating foods rich in antioxidants.  Colorful fruits and vegetables are a good source of antioxidants.

Skin care products with idebenone, vitamin c, coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid, vitamin c, a and e will all help protect the skin from oxidizing.  This is when you will notice an improvement in those fine lines and wrinkles. 

Supplements:

Vitamins and Minerals: Your skin cannot function without the basic nutrients to create healthy tissue and heal itself.  Poor nutrient absorption can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies even if you take vitamins and minerals regularly.  Poor quality products can lead to a toxic build up in the body.  Pharmaceutical grade products ensure you are getting what you are taking.  Phytonutrient based tablets prevent toxic buildup in the body and are free from impurities.

Essential Fatty Acids: With the significant role in the structure of every cell and the regulation of cell function it is apparent that a lack of essential fatty acids can adversely affect every cell and organ in the body. It is therefore not surprising that an EFA deficiency may lead to abnormalities in the skin, reproductive system, the cardiovascular system, the immune and inflammatory systems, the nervous system – in fact every system in the body is susceptible to the negative effects of an EFA deficiency.  If you have very dry skin, you are probably deficient in fatty acids.

There are two main families of EFAs and we need both of them. Omega-6 fatty acids which include linoleic acid and its metabolites such as GLA and Omega-3 fatty acids, alpha linolenic acids and its metabolites such as DHA.

GLA is very quickly converted into prostaglandin series E1. Prostaglandis are hormone like messengers which play a role in the regulation of a wide variety of body functions. Prostaglandin E1 are the desirable prostaglandins, which affect cell growth, the reproductive cycle, help maintain our immune system and healthy skin.

Fatty acids are very abundant in fish oil.  However, fish oil should never be purchased as a non-pharmaceutical grade product.  There are no regulations for over the counter fish oil so the amount of mercury can very from product to product.  Only pharmaceutical grade fish oil has been purified and tested to meet strict government standards for your health.

Algae: Because algae are without roots, they must catch nutritive substances in seawater and concentrate them. Therefore, algae are ten times more concentrated in oligo elements than earthly plants. Algae contain vitamins, minerals, trace elements, carbohydrates, amino acids, enzymes, and phytohormones which are biochemical elements that have distinct functions in the body.

Algae is easily digested, helps to support and repair the liver, aids in purification of the blood and supports the body's natural detoxification by binding with toxins and bacteria.

Problem skin responds very well to supplements to help repair and heal the damage.

I.V. Nutrient Infusions:

By bypassing impaired digestive systems and barriers such as the liver and kidneys, high therapeutic doses of vitamins and minerals can be provided to the body for dramatic effects.  I.V. nutrients will enhance the immune system, detoxify the body, provide essential fatty acids, nourish and replenish cells and help hormones build healthy tissue.  It is simply one of the top lines of defense for your body.

Hormone Replacement:

Hormones start to decline in the 30's.  By evaluating your hormone production and utilization, aging can be greatly delayed.  Declining hormones lead to the loss of collagen.  Maintaining levels with bioidentical hormones provide the foundation for collagen to be maintained into the later years of life. If you are older and have spent money on expensive treatments without much of the desired results, you may not have the hormone levels to build on and stimulate new collagen production.  Hormone replacement and even skin care products with minute amounts of estrogen can greatly make a difference in the way your body responds to skin care therapy.

Growth hormone, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone are all essential components of a slower aging process.  Bioidentical hormones are a safe natural way to slow aging and increase your health.  It's not just for menopausal women.  Half of our hormone replacement patients are men and they are reaping the benefits of health and well being.

All the therapies described above are available through Longevity Aesthetics.  Our advanced concepts in skin care can provide complete care for your skin to help you reach your desired results.