Anti aging center:Dealing With Direct Signs of Aging With New Technologies by Lorne Caplan

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While wrinkles may be annoying, many other visible signs of aging would have to include dark circles around our eyes, gray hair, the sunken facial structures of those who have lost sub-dermal fat (as support for our skin) and the associate under chin turkey “gaggle”, yellowing teeth, excessive hair growth from the nose, ears and on the face for women, age spots (melasma and other skin discolorations) to name the top seven items to eradicate for achieving anti-aging beauty.

You’ll note that there are a number of items that aren’t solely focused on the skin, but deal with the focal points of the face. We won’t deal with crepey hands and elbows, decolletage and other areas of visible signs of aging and photo-damage for this article. Here, we need only deal with the image that is first impacting anyone you meet, the face that is.

Each day, we read about research that is ongoing to resolve the many age related side effects, all of them giving hope to the companies that look to profit from them and the people who crave to benefit from the therapies. Most recently, we heard about the blackcurrant berry that has had a historical context for improving blood flow in humans (limited studies have actually been undertaken to prove this) and now, a small Japanese study confirms that the improved blood flow in the orbital area of the eye, all but eliminates the dark circles that build up from slow moving blood in that area (including limited oxygen and nutrient transport). What the researchers don’t discuss is whether or not low iron, high salt or other mineral irregularity also contributes to their subjects  dark circles. In fact, only 33 subjects were part of this study, something akin to a cosmetic company study that I’ve commented on before. A UK based research center has found these findings interesting enough to replicate this study and I’m sure we’ll be hearing about the benefits of blackcurrant berries in the near future from this UK facility.

Apart from Hirosaki University and the Scottish Crop Research Institute investing time and money in eradicating dark circles, we also find a deluge of other anti-aging beauty therapies for each of the conditions that I laid out in the first paragraph. Many with the same limited studies but hopeful remarks that engender a full specter of interest to cynicism because of their limited time, number of subjects and ultimate goal of profiting from the evidence.

Other fruits and vegetables have also gotten the beauty consumer excited. We’ve been inundated by reports on the exotic fruits like acai, goji berry and others as well as native and delicious berries like the blue berry and cranberry. All representatives of these fruits are lobbying for the benefits of their ORAC levels (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), not to mention the North American “super-fruit” as touted by one of the ingredient supplier.

As with the most heavily favored anti-aging beauty ingredients in the past year, resveretrol, it seems all we have to do is boost our antioxidant (A/O) intake and all of our problems will be solved. Of course, that is the farthest thing from the truth. Each person requires a balance of A/O in order to protect ourselves from the free radicals our bodies produce everyday from simply breathing, eating and being exposed to the environment. Some interesting studies have even shown that too much A/O can actually work in a counterproductive way to our health as does an overactive immune system.

In essence, what we are learning is that there is no one solution to the problems that we physically encounter as we age. For those of us with lengthy turkey necks, no amount of low light laser therapy will help resolve the problem. A surgeons knife will be the answer. However, the trend toward dealing with these conditions earlier has shown us that various laser technologies, topical ingredients and exercise can limit the effects of aging on our skin, but we have to be vigilant.

That vigilance comes well before our 40’s when our skin starts to show the breakdown in our support systems that being hyaluronic acid, collagen, fibroblast nets and related fat contents of our skin. This deterioration is most evident when you look at someones teeth that haven’t been cared for, yet so many folks choose to ignore their smile when considering anti-aging treatments when the mouth is one of the three main focal points of the face. This, I’ll never understand. So while we are familiar with the under-eye area as one that should be kept clear and free of dark circles, the smile is one left up to the more staid and less dramatic dental profession which has no Allergan (the Botox manufacturer) equivalent. We don’t hear about people going to tooth veneer parties do we after-all?

Old Man Growth is one subject that many giggle in private about, but few actually deal with. Certainly it is easily remedied by clipping the patches coming out of mens ears and noses, but women also suffer from increased hair growth as they age because of their reduced estrogen production. Why does this happen in men? Their testosterone actually decreases with age and yet their unsightly hair patches start growing everywhere. Beyond saying it’s an age thing, researchers and doctors haven’t got a clue, so we’ll have to wait to see what super fruit solutions are in the future for this “condition”.

Ultimately, the cynics and consumers will continue to play their love hate relationships with research companies, cosmetic suppliers and skincare ingredient manufacturers and only those who actually try the products will know if the newest and most hyped products from guano to watermelon actually work. Although, the volume of research and monies that are being spent on discovering the next greatest technology to deal with signs of aging is substantially higher and more sophisticated than in the past, I still wonder why no group has spent that same money reviewing the ages of anecdotal evidence found around the world for natural therapies to turn back the aged appearance clock. I know of some companies that have tried and failed. Yet when we find the suggestion that blackcurrants, red grapes or some other dark fruit or berry can turn back the clock is novel, I scratch my head and look to lifestyle and exercise as keys to looking and feeling good. I simply role my eyes when a skincare brand like La Mer, La Prairie, SK II or some other luxury purveyor of anti-aging beauty products sells their one ounce cream for over 0. True breakthroughs will show themselves as just that. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll just have to keep experimenting and reading with curiosity.