Using Green Tea & Zinc to Slow Aging

green-tea-and-aging

The popularity of green tea in the skincare industry has skyrocketed over the last decade. It’s more than just a fad, as the benefits of green tea are well documented due to extensive research. Tea was used in ancient times as a natural stimulant, since it contains caffeine. Today, people drink green tea as a natural way to promote overall good health, but it is especially popular in the skincare industry, where it is a key component in the efforts to slow down the signs of aging.

Green tea contains high amounts of polyphenols, which protects the skin from damage caused by free radicals and other harmful toxins. Compared to black and white tea, green tea contains the highest amount of polyphenol, and contains anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic properties. Its anti-inflammatory nature makes it a versatile herbal ingredient used to fight acne. The antioxidant qualities help prevent premature signs of aging, and the anticarcinogenic characteristics are a major component in the efforts to find a cure for cancer.

The anti-inflammatory properties of green tea make it an effective herbal treatment against symptoms of acne. A 2003 study carried out by Dr. Jennifer Gan-Wong of Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines suggest that green tea cream is just as effective as benzoyl peroxide cream, but does not expose the skin to harsh chemicals and preservatives, according to skincell.org. It also helps detoxify the body and reduces skin inflammation, which decreases the occurrences of outbreaks.

Green tea is also indispensible as an anti-oxidant because it contains high amounts of catechins, a substance that fights against free radicals, which are harmful to cells and tissues. Catechin is especially effective in neutralizing free radicals caused by excessive exposure to UV rays.

Although green tea extracts alone cannot replace the protection provided by sunscreen, it can enhance sunscreen’s effectiveness. Simply add green tea extract to zinc oxide products, such as Vivoderm’s Zinc Cream. Using zinc oxide cream instead of a store-bought sunscreen product is recommended because zinc will not react to the green tea extracts.

Anti-oxidants found in green tea help delay the skin cell aging process and heal stressed skin. Green tea promotes healthy skin by rejuvenating skin cells and reviving the skin growth cycle. The skin is produced in the deepest of three layers, and as it ages, it moves closer to the surface, where it can develop wrinkles and fine lines. An article published in the Natural Food Merchandiser magazine states that research done by Dr. Stephen Hsu, a professor at Medical College of Georgia suggests that green tea can accelerate the skin cell production process.

Whether as an ingredient in your natural skincare products or added to your zinc oxide cream, the health benefits of green tea are plenty.

Van Le is a staff writer for the CSU Daily Titan and writing intern for Vivoderm Laboratories in Los Angeles, California. She is currently pursuing a Journalism degree at California State University, Fullerton.

For the latest findings on natural skincare and facemasks, you can also link to http://bestfacemask.com

Light-Activated Therapy and Aging Skin

A study in the October issue of the Archives of Dermatology, supports that Photodynamic therapy appears to cause molecular-level changes in aging skin that increase collagen production and improve skin appearance, a U.S. study finds. Meaning, light-activated therapy seems to rejuvenate aging skin.

In photodynamic therapy, a light-activated medication is exposed to a light source. Photodynamic therapy for aesthetic treatments typically involves application of a topical medication, such as 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA).

In this study, Dr. Jeffrey S. Orringer and colleagues at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, used photodynamic therapy to treat 25 people, aged 54 to 83, with sun-damaged skin on their forearms.

Prior to treatment, the patients’ degree of skin damage was rated, and tissue samples were taken from their forearms. A solution containing 5-ALA was applied to the damaged skin and left on for three hours. The skin was then cleaned and treated with a pulsed-dye laser. The patients were re-examined four to five times over the following six months.

Tissue samples showed that treatment resulted in a fivefold increase in levels of a protein called Ki67, believed to play an important role in the growth and development of new skin cells. In addition, there was a 1.4-fold increase in the thickness of the skin’s outer layer (epidermis) and higher levels of enzymes and other compounds associated with the production of collagen, the main structural protein in skin.

“Photodynamic therapy with the specific treatment regimen employed produces statistically significant quantitative cutaneous molecular changes [e.g., production of types I and III collagen] that are associated with improved appearance of the skin,” the researchers wrote.

The findings suggest that use of a photosensitive compound such as 5-ALA in combination with pulsed-dye laser therapy prompts more beneficial changes in skin than laser therapy alone.

“Although our molecular measurements cannot yet precisely predict clinical outcomes for a single given patient, taken together they are very much in keeping with the bulk of the clinical literature and thus lend substantial support to the conclusions reached by other researchers who have published purely clinically oriented work in this field,” the study authors concluded.

“We believe that the quantitative amount of dermal repair and regeneration induced by a specific therapeutic intervention very likely underlies the degree of clinical rejuvenation produced.” they wrote. “Thus, it is our hope that, with further development, our working molecular model may one day be used to predict the clinical value of new technologies in aesthetic dermatology.”