Skin Ageing Starts In Our 20s
But world-first serums will help to reduce the signs of premature ageing
Scientists say our skin goes through some unavoidable and unwelcome changes in our 30s and sometimes even in our late 20s.
Says Dr Travis Badenhorst, scientist at Snowberry skin care (and President of the NZ Society of Cosmetic Chemists), there’s a ‘before-and-after’ process for most people’s skin around the age of 30.
“’Before’ is when your skin was fresh and soft, and your only concern was teenage breakouts,” says Dr Badenhorst, “while ‘after’ is when you look in the mirror one morning and find expression lines… commonly known as lines and wrinkles.”
That, he says, is the first real sign of natural ageing processes in our skin, changes that will occur regardless of lifestyle and care.
Those fine lines are evidence of a reduction in the activity of important, short proteins called peptides and glycans. The peptides stimulate the skin to produce the strands of collagen and elastin that form what’s called the cellular matrix. Glycans are proteins with extraordinary moisture-retaining capacity – up to 1,000 times their own weight.
Sadly, as we pass 30, we produce fewer peptides and glycans, so the skin begins to sag and dehydrate, and that’s when many of us search for help.
That’s why Snowberry’s skin science team extended its research well beyond simple natural emollient oils and antioxidants. According to Dr Badenhorst, the mission was to discover how those unique peptides and glycans could be boosted from a topical face serum.
After five years of original research, Snowberry created two, world-first serums that can do exactly that – an advance so notable Snowberry was invited to present one of those serums (the New Radiance Face Serum with CuPEP™) – to the 23rd World Congress of Dermatology.
Dr Badenhorst says: “We took first one, and then three powerful peptides with known skin renewal benefits and we worked out how to have those peptides welcomed by the skin.
“By welcomed, I mean in contrast to what normally happens when you put complex molecules on the skin – they don’t go anywhere because the skin is a very effective barrier. We found not only how to have the skin accept these peptides but also the precise quantity the skin needs. It is very, very small, but the effects are profound.”
So, can these serums help reverse the signs of ageing? Dr Badenhorst: “We can’t stop skin ageing. At least, not yet. But we can, with these serums, help to slow down what we describe as premature skin ageing – especially lines and wrinkles but also redness and roughening of skin that occurs as the skin renewal processes become disorderly.”
Snowberry’s skin science adds to its focus on premium natural skincare. In Snowberry Gardens, north of Auckland, thousands of native plants are cultivated to discover even better natural ingredients for its creams and serums – one of the few skin care companies in the world doing that.
“Snowberry’s aim is quite simple,” says Snowberry’s founder Soraya Hendesi. “We are combining the best of nature with the best skin science. We don’t like pretence and that’s why Snowberry is also one of the only skin care companies anywhere, that proves its serums to the only standard accepted by dermatologists – the gold standard clinical trial. We think of it as a lifelong commitment to every woman’s skin.”
To slow down the signs of ageing, visit Snowberry.co.nz
