Environmental pollution can have a damaging effect on our skin. Exhaust fumes, smog, cigarette smoke, dust debris and even pollen can all introduce destructive free radicals that attach themselves to healthy cells, damaging the skin’s protective barrier, degrading collagen and contributing to premature ageing.
To put this into perspective, dust, debris, exhaust fumes and pollen are micro-particles that range in size from 10 microns to 2.5 microns.The size of our pores is approximately 50 microns, so you can see how easily these micro-particles can enter the pores and really cause some damage.
This is where they transform to particles known as free radicals, which are unstable particles that attach themselves to healthy cells in order to stabilise, in the process damaging the healthy skin cell. Left unchecked, these free radicals can cause serious inflammation, congest the skin and result in blemishes, pigmentation and uneven texture.
According to Yevgeniy Krol, scientific director at SkinCeuticals, this oxidative stress directly damages the skin’s underlying structure as well. The inflammatory response is your body’s way of fighting off the free radicals, however, it not only damages the free radicals, it also degrades the collagen and elastin that is supporting your skin, leading to premature ageing, or Pollu-Ageing.
How can we manage and prevent Pollu-Aging? With an effective cleansing and exfoliating routine, practiced twice daily. This not only sets the path for your serums and creams to effectively penetrate and work, but also marks the first step in counteracting the damage done by the daily onslaught of pollution.
Quite simply, a great cleansing and exfoliating system is the first step in Anti-Pollu-Ageing. We recommend that you not only cleanse and exfoliate, but use a system that takes it a step further, nurturing, restoring and protecting your skin against the destructive elements it encounters on a daily basis.
A pure, gentle and highly results-driven cleansing and exfoliating routine is the antidote to our hectic, modern lives and it is what is required to reboot the skin and encourage it back to optimal health.
Be religious with this and never sleep with your make-up on (experts say that it can take up to one month to remedy the effects of just one night of sleeping in your make-up).
Start today and within days, you will see remarkable benefits. Think: healthy, supple, radiant skin that has a strong protective barrier and can better ward off the elements that contribute to Pollu-Ageing.