Dermalogica Age Smart Anti Aging skin care products: Wrinkles, altered pigmentation, loss of skin tone... we all associate these changes with aging skin.

Age-related skin changes are the result of genetically-programmed changes (intrinsic factors) and environmental wear-and-tear on the skin (extrinsic factors). While both influence the skin’s structure and function, extrinsic factors cause more pronounced changes.

Estimates state that 80-99% of what we see on our skin as adults is the result of exposure to daylight, which is referred to as photoaging. Manifestations of photoaging include an increase in wrinkle formation, a loss of tension and elasticity, degeneration of the vascular supply and skin thickness, a reduction in the water-binding properties of the skin, dilated capillaries (telangiectasis), hyperpigmentation and other skin discoloration.

While aging skin care research scientists attribute the majority of these structural changes to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, it has only been in recent years that they have come to understand the actual biochemical triggers that instigate these changes.

These are chemical reactions that occur within the skin and include:

• Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), also known as free radicals.
• Activation of metalloproteinase enzymes (Matrix Metalloproteinases or MMPs) with a subsequent decline in collagen biosynthesis.
• Glycation leading to Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs).

Aging skin care treatments used to rely on addressing the structural manifestations of photoaged skin, such as wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Today, we can more effectively treat this skin condition by applying appropriate anti aging skin care products and concentrating on the actual biochemical reactions that trigger these structural changes. The Dermalogica anti aging products (Age Smart) range is specifically targeted toward mature or prematurely ageing skin.