Demystifying Skincare: The Science Behind Healthy Skin

Everybody wants healthy skin, but achieving that goal isn’t easy. Sure, there’s plenty of advice out there telling you what you should and shouldn’t be doing for your skin, but not all of that knowledge is trustworthy. The only way for you to know exactly what your skin needs is to have some understanding of its inner workings…

That’s where Introstem can help. Read on as we explain the science behind healthy skin, along with tips on how you can achieve a bright, smooth, and radiant complexion.

Understanding Your Skin’s Anatomy

Let’s begin with the basics; your skin’s anatomy. It’s easy to think of the skin as a single layer, but this is far from the case. Instead, your skin consists of three main layers, each one made up of millions of cells:

• Epidermis – this is the outer layer of your skin. On the outermost layer of your epidermis lies your stratum corneum, a waterproof barrier that consists of dead skin cells and fatty lipids.
• Dermis – this is the middle layer of skin, and it also happens to be the thickest layer. This is the layer that holds your skin’s proteins, including collagen and elastin. These give your skin structure from within – think of the protein fibers like scaffolding, holding your skin up.
• Hypodermis – also referred to as the sub cutis, the hypodermis is primarily made up of fat cells. This is the layer that absorbs shock to protect the body from injury. It’s also the layer that keeps the body insulated.

What Does the Skin Actually Do?

We’ve already mentioned how the hypodermis absorbs shock and insulates the body, both of which are extremely vital roles. 

However, the skin also serves as an all-important barrier against other forms of harm too. From UV rays to pathogens to chemicals, healthy skin will ensure that the rest of the body stays healthy too.

Of course, the skin also acts as a sensory organ too – it detects touch and temperature. At the same time, it also synthesizes vitamin D.

It’s the body’s largest organ and it’s an important one, making it essential to understand the foundations beneath healthy skin.

Healthy Skin is Well-Moisturized

One of the main components of healthy skin is moisture. This is why the skin has been designed to self-moisturize. The cells in the stratum corneum contain a mix of salts and amino acids that are known as NMF, or Natural Moisturizing Factor. They soak up water to keep the skin hydrated.

Meanwhile, the skin’s sebaceous glands also periodically release sebum onto the surface of the skin. This is the skin’s natural oil. It keeps the skin lubricated while also helping to prevent deeper moisture from evaporating into the air. 

Unfortunately, there are so many things that can throw sebum production off balance. From hormones to stress to diet, it’s all too easy for the skin to start producing too much, or too little, oil. 

When this happens, skincare is your best solution:

Oily Skin

If your skin often looks and feels greasy, then your skin type is likely oily. Chances are that you frequently experience acne breakouts too. Excess sebum quickly clogs up the pores, resulting in inflammation and pimples.

The best way to counter this is to keep your complexion as oil-free as possible. This means using a cleanser twice a day. However, don’t go overboard when cleansing either. Over-cleansing your skin will only stimulate it into producing even more oil. Ideally, you want to cleanse away excess oil without leaving your skin feeling totally stripped.

That’s something that the Introstem Stem Cell Mousse Cleanser excels at. Powered by coconut-derived cleansing agents and a long list of plant extracts, this cleanser will leave your face looking beautifully matte.

In addition to cleansing, regularly exfoliating is important too. This will give your skin an even deeper cleanse, removing any excess sebum that has started to work its way into your pores. For this, turn to the Introstem Stem Cell Facial Peeling. With mandelic acid, bamboo powder, grape stem cells, and vitamin C, this powerful peel will leave your skin feeling revived and grease-free.

Dry Skin

When the skin doesn’t produce enough sebum, this causes dryness. It often shows itself as rough, flaky, and itchy skin. Another side effect is dehydration. Without that layer of sebum to help keep moisture trapped in, the skin’s moisture evaporates at a much faster rate, leaving skin cells thirsty.

The best way to deal with this is to ensure that your skincare routine contains the right combination of hydrating and moisturizing ingredients. The hydrating ingredients will help to draw moisture in, after which the moisturizing ingredients will form a seal over the top to keep that moisture locked in.

Two of the best hydrating ingredients out there are glycerin and sodium hyaluronate. They’re both humectants, meaning that they have moisture-binding properties. This makes them fantastic for hydrating the skin and plumping up the appearance. You’ll find both ingredients in the Introstem ThermoStem Serum. It’s a breakthrough formula that also contains apple fruit extract, grape stem cells, and a multi-peptide blend. 

Then, turn to a rich face cream to lock those humectants in. The Introstem Hydro Face and Neck Cream is perfect for this. With sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, and vitamin E, it’s exceptionally moisturizing. It also contains some sodium hyaluronate to give your skin an extra dose of hydration while it moisturizes.

How the Aging Process Affects Healthy Skin

Aging is inevitable, and it’s something that will affect even the most healthy skin. There are so many lotions and potions out there that promise to reduce the visible effects of skin aging, but unless you understand a little bit about the science behind the skin aging process, you won’t be able to make an informed decision as to what to buy. 

The Loss of Elasticity

Earlier, we mentioned collagen and elastin, two of the proteins that can be found in the dermis. These two proteins keep the skin firm and elastin, with the skin continuously producing more of these fibers.

Unfortunately, as the body ages, the amount of collagen and elastin that’s produced in the skin starts to decline. Worse still, all of those existing protein fibers that are currently holding your healthy skin up and keeping it firm will start to deteriorate.

The result is the loss of elasticity, meaning fine lines and wrinkles. With the skin no longer able to keep itself smooth and taut, creases begin to form. Those expression lines that used to bounce away when your face relaxed will start to etch themselves into permanent wrinkles.

What can you do about this? 

Plenty. There are a number of ingredients out there famed for how they can firm up the complexion and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. In fact, the Introstem Stem Cell Anti-Aging Wrinkle Treatment contains several of them, which is how it’s able to immediately smooth away the visibility of facial creases. With acetyl hexapeptide-8, sodium hyaluronate, grape seed extract, DMAE, and squalane, this potent solution will quickly have you looking wrinkle-free.

Dark Spots and Discoloration

Another common side effect of the skin aging process is the appearance of dark spots. However, this isn’t necessarily due to aging itself. Instead, dark spots correlate with sun damage. Research shows that UV rays are responsible for up to 80% of the dark spots that appear on the face. They don’t show up immediately – the damage accumulates over time, which is why they’re associated with aging.

To even out the look of your skin once again, you’ll need to turn to ingredients that have been proven to lighten the appearance of discoloration. Vitamin C is one superstar that does just that, while vitamin A produces similar effects. Grape stem cells boast powerful antioxidants that can lighten and brighten the complexion too.

You can add all of those ingredients to your skincare routine with the Introstem Stem Cell Vitamin C Serum. It’s also infused with a variety of different plant oils to keep the skin feeling soft and supple.

Alpha-hydroxy acids are also fantastic for brightening the look of dark spots and dullness. If you’re new to using acids, give the Introstem Hydro Age Reforming Alpha Solution a try. Apply it directly to areas of concern and enjoy the brighter and more even finish that it will give you.

It goes without saying that you should also be trying to prevent the sun from causing further damage to your skin. Healthy skin is free of sun damage, and a good sunscreen will help you to achieve that. If you don’t yet have one, take a look at Introstem’s Stem Cell Active Defense SPF 30. Acting as both a moisturizer and a sunscreen, it makes sun protection so convenient!

A Rough Texture

Your skin is constantly working hard to produce new skin cells. As these are created, they rise up through the skin’s layers, reaching the surface once they’re mature. This is where they then die off, after which they’re naturally shed by the skin to make way for the new cells beneath. It’s an important process known as cell turnover.

When you’re a baby, your skin cells renew themselves every 14 days or so. This is why a baby’s skin is so soft and smooth. In adults, this slows down to roughly 28 days, with this figure rising even more as a person ages. 

This means that the older and rougher skin cells remain on your skin’s surface for longer since your skin isn’t able to shed them away as quickly as it should. You can help with this by regularly exfoliating your skin. This will remove that rough outer layer, giving your skin a smoother feel. 

Don’t forget – the decline in cell turnover doesn’t only occur on your face. Your body experiences this too, making it important to exfoliate from head to toe. Our go-to for body exfoliation is the Stem Cell Exfoliating Scrub. This salt scrub will leave your body looking beautifully polished and ultra-smooth, removing any old or dead skin cells that may be cluttering up your healthy skin.

Summary

It’s not easy to achieve healthy skin, especially once you start to age. However, apply the tips that we’ve shared above to your skincare routine and you’ll soon start to notice your complexion looking brighter, smoother, and healthier.

Click here to check out more bestselling skincare products from Introstem.