Sunday, August 23, 2009

Side by side serums with an overall anti-aging effect

If you want to fight wrinkles, firm your face, brighten your complexion, undo age spots, and protect your skin from environmental aggressors, you're probably going to need more than one serum. Luckily, with TNS Essential Serum, SkinMedica is essentially giving you two for the price of one.

OK, so at $250, the price is a little steep. But once you see the effect this conjoined formula has on your skin, you'll consider it a steal.

In one chamber, you'll find what SkinMedica calls the APS Corrective Complex. It's an anti-aging amalgam of peptides, antioxidants (ergothioneine, vitamin E and green tea among them) and brighteners (such as bearberry-derived alpha-arbutin) that comes at your complexion from all angles to fight every conceivable symptom of skin aging. And if it misses anything, the TNS Recovery Complex in the other chamber is ready to make a physiological impact with Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media, AKA growth factor, so skin is in optimum regeneration mode.

Kept apart until you pump them out and blend them, the two divisions of TNS Essential Serum come together for some of the most thorough and harmonious multitasking we can ever remember seeing. And that's worth the price (and the slightly unusual protein-centric scent).

How the sun damages your skin

In its early stages, sun damage manifests as subtle surface changes, such as dryness, discoloration and scaly spots. But as sun exposure continues to accumulate, the damage morphs into deeper lines, uneven color and texture, and loss of firmness and elasticity.

As a means of protecting itself from the sun, the body produces excess melanin, which can cause uneven color over time. Even though darker skin has more natural protection, it's still prone to damage. In addition to unevenness, sun exposure can lead to other types of discoloration, like age spots (found on the forehead, hands, arms, back, etc.) and labial lentigo, which are freckles on the lips.

Furthermore, when the sun damages the skin, it weakens elastin and collagen, in turn causing deep wrinkles, sagging and looseness.

There are numerous ways to treat sun damage, but the most effective solutions help renew skin's surface by eliminating damaged cells and revealing newer, fresher skin.

Increase collagen from the inside

There are tons of topical collagen encouragers out there—you've probably tried one or two or ten. Despite how effective some are proven to be, though, something you spread on your skin can only go so deep. Perhaps it's time to take a new approach: inside out.

When we first saw the box of ReserveAge Collagen Booster, we assumed it was yet another cream or serum, but a quick shake revealed the unmistakable maraca-esque sound of capsules in a bottle. And in those capsules is a rejuvenating recipe that works to smooth, firm and moisturize skin from within.

ReserveAge has formulated this supplement to perform specific anti-aging actions, such as activating Sirtuin 1 (called the "longevity gene") and keeping glycation under control. Three key complexes do the deeds: the Pro-Longevity Factors Proprietary Blend, made from organic red grapes and their vines and seeds, BioCell Collagen II, which combines collagen with chondroitin and hyaluronic acid, and a double dose of polyphenolic resveratrol, the uber-antioxidant and anti-inflammatory sourced from both grape skins and Japanese knotweed.

Taking two to four capsules a day is said to extend and improve cell life and structure, leading to not only softer, glowing skin, but a generally healthier you, through and through.