Ageless Skin Health : ACE Vitamins

Ageless expert Nikki Potter joins in on Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Mardi Gras coincided with my best friend’s 45th birthday. I arrived without a gift and thus, full of apologies. I told her I would be shopping in her honor as soon as I could...the response I got can reasonably be expected; "All I want from you baby, is some Vitamin C cream and some of that other strong stuff that you have...I just need you to keep me looking as young as I feel...I have these lines around my eyes that horrified me in a photo I saw of myself...you need to keep me young!" It was at that point that I resolved to send her some Active Vitamin moisturizer and some C-boost in the mail. That is what she really wanted, and who am I to deny her?

Lisa is just one example of the women that I meet on a daily basis who have been led astray by false advertising and soft promises. I can relate as I used to be in her position. How can we be expected to keep up with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to a youthful appearance? This industry is not yet regulated and we as consumers are tantalized on a daily basis in the print and television media as to what the secret formula is to keep us looking our best. We are led astray by models and movie stars who readily sell their images to the highest bidders when it comes to recommendations for our skin care regimes. Enough is enough.

So here I am! I too have no time left for misinformation. I too have no time left for theories and experts who get to change their minds...uh – uh, no! I have one skin, one face, one body, and I struggle to save it all while looking to donn a bikini on my once yearly vacation to a warm waterside destination.

Let this serve as your introduction to me, one of your MODWOMEN ageless experts. I currently work as an educator in skin science and skin health. I study the cosmetics industry and I have been satisfied with the discovery that, beneath all of the sordid and veiled enticements, there really does lie a solid and scientific truth. Thank god for the science that most of us gave up early on in high school thinking that we would never need it again...little did we know that science would come back to haunt us in our very beauty regimes!

Making your choices today in what you cleanse, tone, and moisturize with comes down to exactly that – science - cosmetic chemistry and cell biology. When you look at it like this, it becomes comfortingly simple. If you have the interest and the time to figure it all out that is! I guess this is where I come in having landed in a position whereby I make it my profession to discover, explore, and uncover all there is to know about how to make the best choice when it comes to skin care.

This being my inaugural article I intend to lay it down for you simply and explicitly – as I did for Lisa. This is it in a nutshell: No matter what is discovered as new in time to come, there are things that shall forever remain indisputable in topical cosmeceutics. You need to make sure that your daily skin care routine includes the topical application of Vitamin A, C, E, and other antioxidants. Bottom line. Period. Great to add things like biopeptides. And of course never leave the house in the morning without applying a sunscreen with all the necessary ingredients (I’ll address this in a future article). What are known as the ACE vitamins are the true and undisputed reigning demigods of anti aging. Un-re-place-able.

Vitamin A comes in a number of different formulations but, for an ageless skin, I highly recommend using only the pre-cursers to retinoic acid i.e. the fat soluble forms of vitamin A called retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate, and in the correct dosages. These are the forms of Vitamin A that your body feels the most comfortable with. It is how your body stores vitamin A and it doesn’t make you sun sensitive or thin your skin, on the contrary. It must be applied twice a day, morning and night, all year round.

As for Vitamin C, you should look for the best topical form of Vitamin C available. This is called Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate and is a fat soluble form of vitamin C that has the ability to remain stable for many months and to penetrate the skin in a very effective way. It is gentle on your skin, helps reduce pigmentation, and gives you a beautiful 'GLOW'. Don’t get fooled by the most common form of Vitamin C, ascorbic acid. This acid is highly unstable and irritates the skin. It does not penetrate as well so your cells do not get their "moneys worth".

There is only one cosmeceutic range of products that has these ingredients in the correct formulation and abundance, as they should be.

Let’s take the first steps to skin health together.

• Step 1: Commit to a lifelong strategy of damage prevention and true skin rejuvenation.
• Step 2: Have your skin properly analyzed by a qualified skin care professional, not necessarily your beautician.
• Step 3: Drink plenty of water, and ensure enough antioxidants and omega 3’s are in your diet.

"I look forward to writing some more healthy aging news for you in the next issue of MODWOMEN. I will assist you to continue your learning about caring for your largest and most visible organ – your skin. Education is power. We will understand what to look for in your skin care that makes your routine effective enough to actually reverse the real signs of an aging skin. Do not expect over the counter cosmetic products to be formulated with enough dosage of the necessary ingredients to make a difference to the health of your appearance. We have embarked on a valuable journey to skin health, and I look forward to continuing on together from here."

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