Anti-Aging and Preventative Therapy
Anti-aging is an overused term these days regarding all the techniques and therapies that might prevent the aging process of the human body. Aging is a very complicated biologic process and has become a recent fad in the medical community the last three decades. The scientific and medical community has been interested in anti-aging practices since the beginning of time. Suggested therapies have included:
Even “snake oil” has been recommended as an anti-aging therapy.
Dermatologists also fall within the realm of anti-aging experts but are mainly concerned with how aging impacts the skin and soft tissues. Aging of the skin is a known entity to dermatologists and is primarily related to ultraviolet radiation, genealogical, and chronological age. Skin aging is a complicated metabolic, environmental and genetic process. This occurs visibly as wrinkles, brown spots or hyperpigmentation, blotchiness, vascularity, and sagging caused by skin laxity. Even the supportive structures change, such as bone, muscle and fat. This affects how the skin looks because it is no longer supported by foundational structures.
The first thing one can do to prevent aging of the skin is to:
Using a daily sunscreen and avoiding direct sun exposure, which is directly related to the development of skin cancer and signs of skin aging, is the most important action to prevent skin aging. By avoiding the sun with sunscreen and shade, you are protecting the skin from DNA damage and collagen loss. As ultraviolet light damages our DNA, oxidative damage leads to broken blood vessels, pigmentation, brown spots, and protein loss, such as collagen. This entire process results in older-looking skin, so wearing sunscreen and avoiding the sun is the number one thing you can do for anti-aging.
You can use other techniques to slow down the skin’s aging process, such as devices that stimulate collagen. There are many ways to stimulate the collagen of the skin, for example someone can slap their cheek every night before going to bed, and that stimulates your collagen a little bit just based on the light trauma. But in cosmetics, aesthetic medicine, and dermatology, light sources such as lasers or other devices are used to stimulate collagen with low-level heat or micro-injury.
Any laser that delivers heat to the skin can stimulate your fibroblast (collagen-producing) cells to produce more collagen and boost their productivity. However, the type of light and laser used on your face must be determined by an experienced provider or physician so that your skin is not damaged during the laser process.
Other non-light devices, such as radiofrequency, can also be used to stimulate collagen at the deeper level. This type of energy penetrates the skin and passes the epidermis into the papillary and deeper dermis. Devices that use radiofrequency, like Thermage® or Genius RF, a device that simultaneously uses RF and microneedling, penetrate the skin to boost collagen production by bulk heating the tissue at certain temperatures. This bulk heating targets the spongy layer of the skin and results in tighter, “fluffier” skin. Thermage® is an effective anti-aging treatment that enhances collagen production and thickens the dermis with radiofrequency energy.
Microneedling can also be a collagen induction technique. Microneedling involves tiny thin needles that penetrate the epidermis at varying depths. Aestheticians in the state of California can be licensed to do superficial microneedling, but nurse practitioners and physicians can perform microneedling at deeper depths. Microneedling involves creating tiny micro channels of injury with needles, creating an opening in the tissue (this procedure uses no light or heat like lasers). Often times active ingredients are poured over these tiny pores to deliver nutrients directly into the tissue via the new channels. As a result, the micro-injury of the needle and the ingredient delivered over the channels enhance collagen production and improve tone texture. Microneedling is typically considered a superficial treatment. Like lasers and radio frequency, it can be considered an anti-aging technique to boost and enhance the overall appearance of your skin.
Anti-aging of the skin is primarily related to ultraviolet radiation but is also due to genetic and metabolic processes. From a dermatologist’s perspective, using sunscreen and avoiding the sun is paramount, but in addition, there’s research that supports the use of some supplements that can enhance skin health and vitality. Vitamin D, omegas, and astaxanthin (a highly potent antioxidant) have all been studied and related to skin health.
Astaxanthin has an extremely high antioxidant potential and is actually known to decrease the Minimal Erythema Dose (MED) in our skin tissue. A minimal erythema dose is used to measure the effectiveness of sunscreen. For example, if you put an SPF 30 on your arm, it would take your arm 30 times longer to get sunburned, or pink, or “erythematous”. So a cream with an SPF 30 simply allows you to be in the sun longer before you get a sunburn. Astaxanthin is an oral nutraceutical that can be taken 20 minutes prior to sun exposure to increase your minimal erythema dose, basically allowing you to stay in the sun longer before getting sunburnt, so it’s almost like an internal sunscreen. This is commercially available and can be found online.
There are countless nutraceuticals that purport to be anti-aging. Some have valid research while others we are still learning about. At the time this article was written some of the recent advances include: telomerase inhibitors, nicotinamide riboside, glucophage, rapamycin, caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, growth hormone, oxaloacetate and many more. Much of this research is focused on boosting cellular metabolism and optimizing cellular function and repair. Molecular and cell biology is an elaborate and complex science that has redundant and interrelated systems. It is also intricately related to gene expression and our individual genetic code, including the overlay of epigenetic factors. Therefore, this area of study is both fascinating and growing rapidly with the understanding of the human genome project and other laboratory advancements in molecular biology. We encourage everyone to be their own advocate, seek medical, professional advice and study what goes into your body before adopting a new trend or fad.
How Early Can I Start Anti-Aging Therapy?
The aging process begins the day we are born, and no one can stop the process altogether. Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and living a low-stress lifestyle are all proven anti-aging behaviors. Avoiding toxic exposure to chemicals such as cigarettes, vaping and sun can lead to skin health and vitality. Anti-aging is not a one-hit wonder. No magic pill, magic device, or magic treatment will stop the aging process. The human body is a complicated biological organism interacting with a changing environment. Everything that happens to us is influenced by our genetics, immunology, metabolism, and the interface with the environment, such as our gut and skin.
I urge all our patients to read voraciously. Be a scientific thinker. And don’t believe everything that you learn about anti-aging because there’s a lot of hype in this industry, and the fear of death looms over everyone, so people are willing to do things that aren’t proven and have no scientific basis. Having agency over your body is probably the most important thing that we can do as humans.
From a dermatologist’s perspective, our goal is to provide you with researched, proven anti-aging techniques that directly impact the skin and limit the risk of other side effects and adverse events. First and foremost, avoid the sun, don’t smoke and see your dermatologist for appropriate procedures. You can never start too early. Even children should wear sunscreen and avoid direct sun exposure for long periods of time.
Starting with antioxidant topicals can begin as early as 18 years of age. In the 20s and 30s, we recommend light lasers and collagen induction techniques. And into your 40s. 50s and 60s, we recommend regular treatments to boost collagen production and erase sun damage. Always speak to your dermatologist about the best treatment for you and what would be appropriate for your skin type. Call for a consultation to see if we can help you achieve your anti-aging goals!
