If the skin plays a role in aesthetics, it also reflects the body's state of health and constitutes a physical and immunological barrier against external aggressions. Over the years, the living cells of the epidermis renew more slowly, and it becomes thinner. The epidermis also dehydrates because the quality of the hydrolipidic film deteriorates, its superficial layer of corneal cells increases, and the overall effect gives the skin a drier, duller, and rougher appearance.
The dermis, the support and nutrition tissue of the skin, also undergoes changes: capillary circulation becomes less efficient, the skin appears paler and more yellowish, dermal cells responsible for collagen and elastin production are less effective. Waste and toxins from various cellular metabolisms are less effectively cleared. This combination of factors affects the skin, which loses its suppleness, firmness, elasticity, and gradually wrinkles.
The Process of Skin Aging
From the age of 25-30 in women and around 40 in men, a slow process of skin aging begins. While this process is genetically programmed, it is primarily influenced by the combination of external factors (climatic aggressions, solar radiation) and internal factors (health status, psyche, diet). Among the genetic factors involved in aging processes, enzymatic alteration and DNA alteration due to radical aggression play a crucial role. The outer membrane of our cells is made up of fatty acids, especially unsaturated fatty acids. These, because of their unsaturation, are easily attacked by air or light. Oxygen molecules, called free radicals, attach to the fatty acids at the point of unsaturation. This has the effect of denaturing the fatty acid, known as oxidation. Antioxidants or free radical scavengers oppose the fixation of oxygen molecules on fatty acids. With age and time, but also under the influence of the sun and air, the skin ages and oxidizes. This increased skin aging is due to free radicals.
Applied to the skin surface, certain carotenoids, especially beta-carotene from carrot roots (Daucus carota) and various orange-colored plants (pumpkin, apricot), or lycopene from tomatoes, also act as oxygen and free radical scavengers (antiradical effect), responsible for premature aging. Research has shown that internal administration of carotenoids reduces the risk of skin cancer caused by UV rays. They promote skin keratinization, restore the quality of sebum secretion, and increase sun tolerance, perhaps by also absorbing some of the waves emitted by UV rays.
Skin aging is also accompanied by a decrease in hyaluronic acid content, with a very significant decrease observed after 50 years. In 100 mg of baby skin, there are 700 µg of hyaluronic acid. This quantity decreases to 300 µg in a 60-year-old woman, and in a man of a comparable age, the content is only 150 µg per 100 mg. Hyaluronic acid is an intercellular cement that opposes the diffusion of foreign substances and pathogens. It is depolymerized and hydrolyzed by an enzyme-based diffusion factor: hyaluronidase. It is therefore necessary to neutralize this enzyme, which phytotherapy can do.
Phytotherapy Solutions
Tannins, mainly ellagic tannins (pedunculagin) present in Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris), Sea Buckthorn berries (Hippophae rhamnoides), saponins from Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), as well as certain flavonoids (rutin).
Silica, present in Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), delays the atrophy of dermal tissue that occurs with aging. It stimulates the formation of elastin. It is also involved in the synthesis of mucopolysaccharides, important components of connective tissues that maintain elasticity. Hence the interest of silica in preventing wrinkles and stretch marks, as well as maintaining skin elasticity.
Phytotherapy offers many other possibilities in cosmetics: many shampoos, creams, body lotions make use of it. However, internally used plants can be of helpful assistance.