Ameleon Skincare

We all know that as we get older, there can be dramatic changes in the way our skin looks and the way it looks often causes us worry and stress which can be detrimental to skin condition

The reasons why the skin of a child looks so healthy are that the epidermis is highly translucent, it works very efficiently, and it retains water. More importantly, at this age there has been little or no obvious damage to the dermis from the effects of the sun (although this is the time when we seek the rays of the sun to brown / tan ourselves and most of the damage is being done of which, effects will start to become visible within a few years).
As we grow out of childhood our skin naturally changes. During the teenage years hormonal changes account for an increase in sebum secretion which may develop into what we commonly know as spots and or acne. Later in life, this extreme hormone production declines. As we age, the rate of loss of the old skin cells from the stratum corneum slows down.

As well as this, the epidermis gradually gets less translucent and does not retain water so well. All the skin functions take place more slowly in mature skin. To add to this, as most of us have been exposed to the sun to a greater or lesser degree over many decades, the 'damage' to the dermis can now be seen even through the dry epidermis.
This is why older skin looks dry, lacks radiance, luster, firmness and can look plumped out. This affects all races, but those who deliberately avoid the sun will tend to preserve their skins for longer.

The rate at which our skin changes is dependent to some extent on what we inherited in the first place, how we treated it and how we looked after it and equally as important, life’s stresses and unhealthy lifestyles all play a part. The effect of aging on skin is one of the features of skin that trouble us most.

Intrinsic and extrinsic ageing
Some of the skin changes that accompany ageing are natural and inevitable, and together make up the process called intrinsic ageing and or sometimes chronological ageing.

More significant for most people are the changes arising from external causes - called extrinsic-ageing - and in particular the damage caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun and sun beds, known as photo-ageing.

Skin cell regeneration With increasing age, the skin's cell renewal process becomes less efficient. Tissue repair and cell regeneration slows down. The amount of natural moisture present in the skin reduces. Because collagen production is less, the skin becomes thinner and loses its flexibility.

Changes in the protective function
The most obvious sign of intrinsic ageing is a decrease in the overall thickness of the epidermis as a whole, with a reduction in the number of cell layers. The number of cells in the stratum corneum does not diminish with age, however; this is important, because of the vital role of this layer as the skin barrier. On the other hand, the numbers of melanocytes and other cells do decrease with age. So do the numbers of the Langerhans cells, which are involved in the body's response to allergens could be one reason why people tend to experience fewer allergic reactions as they get older.

The rete pegs become less prominent, and the junction of the dermis and epidermis becomes flattened. This means that the epidermis is not so securely held down, and becomes more vulnerable to damage by friction.

Metabolism in the skin slows down. So too does the rate at which epidermal cells are produced, which may interfere with wound healing. The time necessary to repair the stratum corneum barrier increases considerably with age: the replacement of skin cells takes about twice as long for people over 75 as for those around 30.

Although the sebaceous glands themselves do not change much with increasing age, sebum production declines in many older people, especially after the age of 70, though in some the glands on the face actually enlarge in extreme old age.

With age, the number of active sweat glands falls and their output of sweat decreases too. As a result, perspiration is less in elderly skin. This explains why older people often find it hard to adapt to hot weather.

Most mature people have dry skin and therefore have a special need to avoid the over-use of harsh soaps and detergents, in order to prevent problems associated with dryness. Aged skin retains its fundamental ability to control water loss, but may partially lose this ability if the stratum corneum barrier becomes damaged by physical or chemical agents which can also be found in many skincare products often fused with the mention of natural ingredients. Many substances will penetrate aged skin more easily than young skin.

The sun
The cumulative effects of invisible rays on our skin can dame and age our skin very quickly

In parts of the world where the sun is very strong the local people usually avoid exposure, particularly when the sun is high in the sky. Also you will find that people who tend to live in hot climates where exposure to the sun is part of daily life will have dry skin and signs of premature aged skin in comparison to their counterpart in less warmer climates.

Sunscreen – photo-protective products Exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation can seriously damage skin. As well as aesthetic damage linked to premature skin ageing, it also carries the risk of skin cancer. The problem is made worse by the fashion for sunbathing in summer in certain cultures. In winter, skiing can also lead to high UV exposure.

Photo-protection - protection of the skin from UVR - has an important role for all skins

SPF The ability of a sunscreen product to absorb radiation is defined by its sun protection factor (SPF). The SPF of a product is determined by measuring the time it takes to develop skin redness (erythema) to a known amount of radiation. This time is termed the minimum erythema dose (MED). The MED for a product containing sunscreen can be measured against one without, on the same area of skin. for example -

An SPF of, say, 20 or even 50 SPF is no guarantee, however, one can stay in the sun 20 times longer than when not wearing a sunscreen.

Sunscreens The regular, daily use of modern cosmetic products can potentially be very important for the long-term health of the skin. Among the most useful ingredients are sunscreens, which block ultraviolet radiation absorption by the skin, either wholly or in part. (Clothing, hats and sunglasses can all act as effective sunscreens.)

General guidelines for skin care Whatever our nationality or race, our skin care habits have some similarities of objective, even if the degrees of sophistication of the products we use are different.

In theory 'normal' skin does not need any modification, since it is already well balanced with respect to its physiological and mechanical integrity. However, this balance can be unstable to some extent, and therefore two essential approaches to the care of normal skin must be considered:

maintenance of this balance protection from external injury.
The first aim is a passive one: it is more particularly concerned with avoiding products that are not active treatments as such, but may be harmful to the skin for example; certain soaps, certain moisturizers and anti-ageing systems that have ingredients which are not completely natural, many such ingredients may be chemical based, or combined with natural ingredients to disguise chemical compound which is not always agreeable by all skin types, artificial / chemical based compounds should not be your first choice to place on to your skin.

Unfortunately many people are so desperate to revitalize and rejuvenate their skin they do not consider and in many cases care what creams or lotions go upon the skin, nor how the skin may become reliant upon unnatural compounds, it is important that natural skincare products are applied to skin and not artificial chemical compounds that are most often mixed with natural ingredients. The second plays a more active role, involving the use of photo-protective products and hydrating agents.

Skin care, from the skin scientist's standpoint, means preserving the integrity of the stratum corneum while removing sebum and soiling and maintaining adequate moisturisation.

Skincare has always been the forefront of maintaining youthful healthy looks, this has been the case throughout time, even as far back as 3000BC, we can see Egyptians, Persians, Chinese, Greeks, Roman woman and men using natural products onto the skin, such as vegetable & fruit extracts and oils, root extracts and many more, the purer and more natural the better. They fed their skin with natural foods, vitamins and minerals, AMELEON ethos is based on the same natural approach to healthy skin that helps to reduce the visible effects of ageing, rejuvenate and lift.

Mature Adult skin -

Example skin type - normal to dry:
remove make-up cleanse twice daily with a mild cleanser tone by day, use A M E L E O N ΣIII– Rejuvenation Day Cream, with sunscreen ingredients which protect the skin from 90% (UVA/UVB/ UVC) Radiation (SPF) 4

by night, use a heavier night cream A M E L E O N ΣIII– Rejuvenation Night Cream