Whatever course of aging that’s behind your fine lines and wrinkles, you probably want to do something about it. If you’re trying every kind of serum and moisturizer under the sun and not noticing any results, maybe it’s time to start thinking about
the factors you can’t control that may be the root of the problem. Delivering hydration and nutrition to the deeper layers of skin isn’t so easy when the environment is constantly working against it. Even though we are seeing people living longer today than ever before, we are also seeing signs of aging in much younger people because of repeated exposure to stronger and more harmful environmental factors compared to previous generations. Instead of our biology gradually aging us as we naturally mature (simply known as
biological aging), we are prematurely aging because of external factors. This is the twenty-first century plague known as
external aging.
Biological vs. External
There’s three different types of aging that our skin, and therefore our face, experiences: biological and external aging, which we just went over, and mechanical aging. This is the type of aging that gives us crow’s feet around our eyes and smile lines around our mouth. Mechanical aging is a side effect of our expressions — how else would we make known our decades of smiling and laughing? We can’t simply stop our facial expressions for the rest of our lives, so our best bet is to address the remaining two courses of aging: biological and external. Traditional skincare only targets biological aging to prevent the natural onset of elasticity loss and the breakdown of collagen. This is why all the serums and moisturizers that you go through annually aren’t panning out. It’s overdue that we start thinking about the way the environment affects our bodies, especially our skin! External aging is accelerating the visible signs of aging, especially in major cities with heavy pollution. All around the globe, climates are becoming more aggressive, and skin has a more difficult time of constantly transitioning and keeping up. With extreme spikes and drops in temperature, severe dryness or humidity, strong UV rays, and heightened levels of pollution, skin is often unable to keep itself properly hydrated and healthy. Unprotected exposure to these elements triggers the appearance of sun spots, age spots, fine lines, discoloration, and sagging.
The Culprit: Earth’s Favorite Star
Without the Sun, life on Earth wouldn’t be possible. But what if the very star that powers the planet we call home is partly to blame for our premature aging? A little vitamin D will do you good, but overexposure to the Sun causes UV-related
photoaging. Repeated sun exposure on unprotected skin allows UV rays to penetrate skin and cause cellular damage by unstable
free radicals, which are known to cause dull, saggy skin, age spots, and wrinkles. Our relationship with the sun is a love-hate one. We love that the Sun promotes life on Earth, but don’t love the visible effects on our skin. Sunscreen has profound benefits to impede the skin-damaging rays, but Pour Moi believes that sunscreen is its own step and not an ingredient in skincare. Our Balancers, Serums, and Day Creams are packed with free radical fighting
antioxidants like Vitamins A, C, and E, so even before you apply your sunscreen, you feel protected from the harmful effects of UV radiation. [Keep reading:
6 Cold Weather Problems and How to Avoid Them]
Pollution is the New Radiation
As a society that has accepted
air pollution as a negative side effect of our high-tech, convenient lifestyles, we are beginning to talk about and understand how the toxins in our atmosphere affect our wellbeing. When it comes to the appearance and health of skin, air pollution might as well be the new radiation. Skin is a semi-permeable barrier tasked with determining what elements are allowed to pass through to the body. When the skin absorbs these harmful airborne chemicals, it works much in the same way as exposure to the sun, causing damage at a cellular level. It likewise causes premature signs of aging due to unstable and destructive free radicals. When cells are damaged by air pollutants, skin has a harder time regenerating new cells due to a low-functioning lipid barrier. Pour Moi targets the ill effects with film-forming Day Creams. Our skincare is non-comedogenic so as to not clog pores, but forming a protective film over the skin prevents pollutants from wreaking havoc on your beautiful skin.
What You Can Do
It’s impossible to control how many UV rays the sun hits you with on any given day or what pollutants are in the air around you, which may lead you to feel as though there’s nothing you can do to prevent premature aging. However, with climate smart skincare, you can fight back against these environmental factors and avoid being a victim of premature aging. Pour Moi skincare not only provides your skin with what it needs to thrive, but also helping to build up its natural protective barrier to keep out these environmental factors. Finally, you can have beautiful, radiant skin regardless of the climate.
