Nutraceuticals for youthful skin

Modern science provides more and more evidence of the role of nutritional supplements in skin health. And this opens up new horizons for aesthetic cosmetology. It has long been recognized that our lifestyle and especially our diet have a strong influence on the physiology and health of the skin. Good nutrition is reflected in good skin - the outward sign of a woman's health. In addition, beauty practitioners are increasingly focusing on a holistic approach to skin health and rejuvenation in terms of techniques and procedures used to optimize results. In recent years, a good cosmetic course has necessarily included a personalized oral supplement plan aimed at reducing the effects of aging on the skin.

The multifactorial processes associated with internal and external aging cause enormous changes in skin structure over time. The most notable of these are the destruction of collagen and decreased skin hydration. Over the past 10-15 years, it has been found that a group of oral supplements known as nutraceuticals can prevent or even reverse these devastating changes.

What is a nutraceutical?

Nutraceuticals have had various definitions since their introduction over two decades ago. The word itself was coined in 1989 by Stephen de Felice, founder and chairman of the Foundation of Innovation in Medicine, an American organization that supports medical research in the field of health. At the time, nutraceuticals were defined as medically or nutritionally functional foods - foodstuffs or parts thereof that provide a medical or health benefit. In the UK, there was a slightly different definition, according to which nutraceuticals are food with an included component that provides a medical or physiological benefit in addition to being purely nutritional. To this day, nutraceuticals still include natural biochemicals that are used to supplement endogenous levels of the same components. Over time, the specificity with which these substances are thought to act has changed, as initially their action was largely attributed to improving overall well-being.

Antioxidant effect

Due to the interest in this area in terms of prevention and even treatment of diseases, it has become clear that antioxidants are key nutraceutical elements that prevent skin aging. Antioxidants are molecules that inhibit the oxidation of other molecules, oxidation leading to the formation of free oxygen radicals, which further cause cell damage. By preventing this process of oxidative stress, inflammatory and degenerative processes are modulated. There is now even evidence that increased dietary intake of antioxidants may help prevent certain types of skin cancer. Thus, although systemic anti-aging agents may include several different ingredients, antioxidants are the most important component.

Collagen

In aging skin, a decrease in collagen density is observed, which increases with age. The dermal collagen network becomes increasingly fragmented, with a large volume of shorter, less organized collagen fibers. It is believed that this is due to the increased content of matrix metalloproteinases. Destroyed collagen fibers accumulate, and the synthesis of new components of the extracellular matrix by dermal fibroblasts becomes sluggish, which means inadequate replacement of the destroyed collagen.

The elastic fibers in the papillary dermis also lose integrity, and the resulting loss of both strength and elasticity causes the typical signs of skin aging, namely sagging and wrinkles.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan that plays a key role in retaining moisture in the skin structure. Its ability to do this decreases with age, resulting in the typical "dry skin" seen in older women. This dryness is often associated with sensitivity caused by a dysfunction of the skin barrier.

< /p>

A question about collagen

Relations to the role of oral collagen supplements have been mixed in the past. Collagen peptides are natural bioactive compounds found in most marketed oral supplements for their health benefits , beauty and skin rejuvenation. However, there is now increasing evidence of the effectiveness of oral collagen peptides in improving and reversing the physiological changes associated with skin aging. Oral collagen compounds are usually a combination of certain peptides - mainly proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline, the latter being unique to collagen. They are produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of animal collagen. This hydrolysis results in lower molecular weight particles that are more easily absorbed, appear in the bloodstream one hour after ingestion, and with evidence from studies involving radiolabeled collagen peptides, these absorbed particles are expressed in the skin and retained there for up to two weeks.

Clinical evidence 

Previously, scientific challenges have been associated with identifying qualitative evidence that collagen as an oral supplement has a demonstrable effect on skin physiology under test conditions. However, evidence from recent randomized controlled trials is increasingly confirming that oral hydrolyzed collagen improves skin health and halts age-related degeneration. This happens due to skin hydration and collagen.

Test data show that collagen peptides induce collagen synthesis and significantly reduce age-related collagen fragmentation in the reticular dermis. The mechanism by which this is achieved is down-regulation of MMP-1 and up-regulation of its inhibitor TIMP-1. Effects on collagen synthesis inevitably involve modulation of dermal fibroblasts, but this mechanism of action is still poorly understood. In addition, data support an increase in the content of hyaluronic acid in the dermis, which is associated with an increased level of hydration. This is due to an increase in the expression of a key enzyme in the synthesis of hyaluronic acid.

Modern science is providing us with more and more evidence that oral supplements, especially those containing antioxidant compounds and hydrolyzed collagen, have a clear benefit in improving skin physiology to slow down aging and rejuvenate. The rise in popularity of nutraceuticals in the context of a healthy lifestyle and complemented by appropriate cosmetic facial treatments only emphasizes the increasingly holistic nature of the aesthetic treatment provided by modern cosmetologists.