Everyone wants to prevent or get rid of his or her wrinkles. But how do you go about doing it? There are a plethora of products on the market that claim to help fight wrinkles. How do you know what to use and will it really work? Read on to find out what is really required in the fight against wrinkles.

Vitamin A products, such as retinoic acid, have a molecular structure that's tiny enough to get into the lower layers of skin, where it finds the fibroblasts. Retinoic acid stimulates these fibroblasts to produce more collagen and elastin. It is proven to improve mottled pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, skin texture, skin tone and color, improve hydration levels and rebuild healthy layers of the skin. It works by speeding up the cellular turnover rate, which allows the healthier cells to work their way up to the surface faster and by decreasing the activity of the destructive enzyme collagenase. Of course good nutrition including antioxidants is imperative to produce healthy cells at the bottom levels of skin.

Collagen makes up more than 75% of our skin. It gave us that youthful look before it's deterioration, which on the outside is visible as wrinkles. More than a third of the body's protein is collagen. Collagen is the fibrous protein constituent of skin, cartilage, bone, and other connective tissue. It has a greater tensile strength than steel. Maintaining it is the key to keeping a more youthful appearance. We offer products such as Toki, a supplement drink, which tremendously increase the level of collagen in your body. It increases it much more than applying it topically. Toki can increase your collagen levels more than 100%. It also contains hyaluronic acid to help cells increase their moisture content, and vitamin C to feed and nourish collagen.

However, there is an entity out there that can undo everything we do to our skin. Collagenase is an enzyme that at low levels helps to stimulate fibroblasts to produce collagen formation, but at high levels actually break down collagen and it causes the most damage to our collagen levels. The trick with skin care and nutrition is to keep the enzyme collagenase activity low to help stimulate new collagen formation. The enzyme collagenase is stimulated by free radical formation which is caused by UV exposure and diet (mainly fatty and high sugar foods). More than 80% of wrinkles and skin damage is caused from the sun. The enzyme collagenase is particularly activated by sun exposure. Just think how much of your skin can be saved by simply using a good sunscreen on a daily basis. Not just on your face, but your neck, upper chest and arms as well. These are the areas that receive the highest level of sun exposure on a daily basis and therefore, show the signs of aging first.  Only 5% of your aging is determined by your genes.  The remaining 15% is from diet.

Antioxidants and retinoic acid block the pathways of enzyme collagenase formation to protect collagen. In addition, antioxidants also strengthen the collagen in the vascular walls and prevent free radical formation from sugar consumption. Using skin care products such as retinol/retinoids, antioxidants orally and topically, a sunblock and a diet low in sugar and starchy foods is one of the best ways to keep your collagen intact and wrinkles at bay. The earlier you start in life, the better. It’s much easier to prevent wrinkles than it is to erase them.

You may also hear about retinol and retinyl palmitate. These fall into the same family, but if the skin care product you choose contains retinyl palmitate, you will need to use more of this product at high levels than one that contains retinol to get the same effect. While prescription retinoid creams, such as Avage, easily put retinoic acid directly in the skin, good quality retinols convert to retinoic acid in the skin and they are less irritating. Keep in mind that products purchased in the store that say they contain retinol usually have such a minimal amount that won’t have any real effect. Pharmaceutical grade products have a much higher concentration of active ingredients and are usually only available from a doctor’s office or by prescription.

You will notice a big difference in your skin when you start using these products. The skin texture will really smooth out while is starts to heal the photo damage and even out skin tone. You may go through a short phase of itchiness, minor breakouts (bumps, not really acne) and peeling, but if you start using it only a few nights a week in the beginning, this can be avoided.

Mesotherapie is another way in which you can help turn back the clock.  Small injections just under the skin of hyalauronic acid, trace elements, B vitamins, DMAE and alpha lipoic acid help the skin to regenerate and smooth away wrinkles.  Fine lines and wrinkles just simply start to fade away.  It is the perfect complement to Botox and dermal fillers.

Did you know that your hormones are also directly related to collagen formation and wrinkles? Is it any wonder why we age so much faster after menopause? As hormones decline wrinkles spread rapidly, skin quickly loses elasticity and smoothness. To a large degree this seems to result from the decline in estrogen levels before and after menopause. Of all hormones that decline with age, estrogens have the most dramatic effect on the skin. Estrogens are known to protect women from heart disease, and now it seems that they also slow down skin aging. Several studies indicate that postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy develop fewer wrinkles and have better skin texture and elasticity than those not taking bioidentical estrogens.

One way to help skin retain the estrogen it needs for collagen production is by topically applying low levels of natural bio-identical estrogens on the face. Depending on the level of estrogen depletion after one to six months of treatment, there is a marked improvement in skin elasticity and firmness; wrinkle depth and pore size is dramatically decreased. Skin moisture and collagen synthesis is increased significantly. The physicians at Longevity Centre of Houston have developed a specific blend of different natural estrogens to replace what time has depleted. It is one of our most popular products.

The Longevity Aesthetics in synergy with Longevity Centre of Houston has the products, knowledge and ability to help your anti-aging goals become a reality. Call to make an appointment and find out how we can help you.   713-522-4037