When it comes to oily skin,it’s all about genetics. But when it comes to controlling excess oiliness and maintaining a matte finish, it’s all about a daily regimen with the right products for your skin.
Overactive sebaceous glands are the culprit of oily skin. This condition isn’t just for teens: oiliness can be triggered by genetics and hormone fluctuations, making even adults susceptible to excess oiliness and shine.
Sebum (oil) production is controlled by androgen hormones. Oils help lubricate skin, protecting it from environmental assaults. Excess androgen hormones (due to puberty, monthly cycles or menopause) can trigger sebaceous (oil) glands to produce too much oil. This excess oil spills onto the skin’s surface, creating a slick, greasy appearance.This excess oil acts as a binder, holding on to dead skin cells meant to be shed.
While those with oily skin don’t necessarily experience breakouts, oily skin is one of the triggers behind the development of acne.
Because excess oils act as a binder, skin cells are not properly shed. The follicle becomes clogged with a mixture of oil and dead skin cells, prohibiting oxygen from entering. This creates the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, which leads to swelling, redness and inflammation around the follicle, resulting in acne.
The oily skin myth…
Many believe stripping skin with harsh, drying ingredients (such as alcohol) can control excess oils. Ironically, this can cause skin to produce even more oil than before, as the sebaceous glands go into overdrive in order to replace what has been lost! For those who self-treat with these products, skin is often left dehydrated, irritated and sensitized.
Find out about our Acne clearing Facial(Medi Bac).
Wrinkles, altered pigmentation, loss of skin tone. We associate these changes with skin aging. A proactive approach to managing skin aging triggers can keep skin smoother, firmer and healthier – for longer.
Age-related skin changes are the result of genetically-programmed changes and environmental wear-and-tear on the skin . While both influence the skin’s structure and function, extrinsic factors cause more pronounced changes.
What causes Aging skin Conditions?
Reactive Oxygen Species are dangerous forms of oxygen molecules generated by UV rays and pollution. They attack and react with stable molecules within skin cells, causing irreversible damage to the cell, triggering wrinkles and lessening skin’s natural ability to repair itself. They form as a natural by- product of the normal metabolism of oxygen.
During times of environmental stress, ROS levels can increase dramatically, causing significant damage to cell structures. This is known as oxidative stress, which is the major cause of degenerative disorders including aging and disease. Studies have shown that UV-induced damage to the skin is in part caused by Reactive Oxygen Species. Lipid peroxidation also results from ROS damage to cell membranes, leading to premature aging, skin cancer and cell death.
Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes activated by UV exposure or inflammation. They contribute to the breakdown of existing collagen while inhibiting the formation of new collagen.
The formation of MMPs may be stimulated by internal growth factors and inflammatory modulators, as well as exposure to UV radiation. Within hours of UV exposure, the MMP genes are activated, resulting in the biosynthesis of collagenase and other MMPs. Because collagenase degrades existing collagen and inhibits the formation of new collagen, long-term elevation results in disorganization and clumping of skin cells – key characteristics of photoaged skin.
Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) The same glucose that provides energy for our cells can react with proteins (such as collagen), resulting in the formation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), which lead to wrinkles, inflammation, inhibited skin cell growth and accelerated aging.
Why is this so important?
Because we now know that inflammation is the catalyst critical to the aging process and many diseases. For example, diabetics have characteristically high levels of sugar in their blood and suffer from numerous health issues (including cataracts, atherosclerosis, etc.), which emanate from the formation of AGEs in the body. This is not restricted to diabetes; muscle weakness, heart disease and many diseases of the brain are associated with glycation. Scientists now believe that reducing glycation is a means of slowing the aging process and disease formation.
Frustrating flare-ups and redness signal inflammation and a damaged barrier layer. New scientific research has unearthed a new trigger behind sensitized skin.
Millions of people perceive their skin as sensitive. The American Academy of Dermatology reports that 50% of the United States population experience some form of sensitive skin. Globally, it is of increasing concern, especially among women. In Europe, the United States and Japan, the prevalence of sensitive skin is about 50% in women and 30% in men, with younger adults reporting more sensitivity than older adults.
A true sensitive skin condition is caused by a genetic predisposition. Someone who is truly sensitive is born with this condition and tends to be prone to blushing, asthma and allergies. This skin is considered more delicate with less melanin or pigment, a thin epidermis and blood vessels close to the skin surface, hence the obvious appearance of redness. Sensitive skin is often the result of a defect in the skin’s protective outer layer – known as the epidermal lipid barrier layer – allowing irritants, microbes and allergens to penetrate the skin and cause adverse reactions. A disturbed epidermal lipid barrier is an important component in several inflammatory skin diseases such as rosacea, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema.
Rather than a result of genetics, sensitized skin is a reflection of your environment, lifestyle and physiology. Pollution, stress, hormonal fluctuations, smoking, alcohol, poor diet, medical procedures and even over-processed or over-exfoliated skin can all lead to sensitization. Cosmetic ingredients including alcohol, lanolin, fragrance and D&C colorants can also lead to sensitized skin. While those with fair skin (usually of Northern European ancestry) traditionally experience sensitive skin, sensitized skin can be triggered in any person regardless of racial background or skin colour. Approximately 36% of the population in China has declared themselves to have sensitive skin, a condition that may in fact be attributed to the high level of pollution in both rural and urban parts of this region.
The common link behind irritation, flushing and stinging is inflammation. Paired with the loss of skin’s protective barrier, skin health is compromised and becomes highly reactive.
Triggers
Triggered by the immune system, skin inflammation is caused by a foreign substance such as pollen or artificial fragrances.
Triggered by the nervous system, sensitized or inflamed skin may be the result of the environment, chemicals or physical and emotional stress.
Both immunogenic and neurogenic inflammation can yield the same redness, itching and swelling that result when the body is injured or irritated. In the end, it is the combination of genetic susceptibility, immune disruption, nerve activity and epidermal barrier function that contributes to skin sensitivity and inflammation.
Excess exfoliation, exposure to soap and water, even psychological stress can compromise the skin’s protective barrier, lowering tolerance against potential stressors resulting in sensitization and irritation.
Tightness and dryness are the telltale signs of dry and dehydrated skin. But, these two conditions with similar symptoms have very different triggers at a cellular level. Learn the difference and find your products for hydrated, healthier skin.
What’s the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin?
Dry skin, or alipoid skin, generally refers to skin that is lacking in oil. Dehydrated skin is characterized by lack of moisture (water) in the Stratum Corneum. This explains why even oily skin can experience dehydration. As mentioned, dehydration is a lack of water, not oil. This means sebaceous oil activity can still be normal or even overactive in dehydrated skin. Both dry and dehydrated skin can experience:
- irritation, inflammation and itchiness.
- a feeling of tightness or tautness.
- a look or feel of roughness.
- slight to severe flaking and scaling.
- fine lines, cracks that can sometimes bleed and severe redness.
One of the biggest consequences is an increase in sensitivity, as dryness and dehydration are precursors to sensitized skin.