Keeping the skin firm, plump and wrinkle-free, collagen is the principal structural protein of the skin. Like many components of the body, collagen undergoes continuous turnover, being produced and recycled on an ongoing basis throughout your life. When you are younger, your body makes more collagen than it loses, but after about the age of 40, collagen loss can accelerate, leading to a decline in the health and appearance of your skin.

Glucose is the sugar your body uses as its main source of fuel. If not metabolized properly, glucose can bind to your skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, forming abnormal chemical bridges that cause tissue damage. This process, called glycation, causes your skin to become rigid and lose elasticity.

Glycation also impairs your skin’s ability to regenerate, which leads to skin laxity, cracking, thinning, redness, and inability to self-repair.

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun accounts for 90% of the symptoms of early skin aging, skin damage, and skin cancer. Every time your skin is exposed to UV light, skin damage occurs. The cumulative effect of repeated sun damage causes epidermal DNA damage, persistent inflammation, and oxidative stress, negatively affecting the health and appearance of your skin.

Research at SkinDNA ™ has shown that the amount of antioxidants in your body is directly proportional to the healthy long term appearance of your skin! Free radicals are highly reactive short lived molecules that can damage virtually any molecule in our body – including the important cellular structures found in the body’s largest organ – the skin.

Ever wonder why your skin becomes sensitive in the winter? Or why your skin breaks out in the heat? How about developing skin rash or rosacea after applying perfumes or skincare? Many of these redness and sensitivity issues are instigated by your bodies first primal defence – inflammation.