I have my fair share of skin-care products, and like most beauty obsessives, I’m haunted at night if I forget one part of my multistep skin-care routine. For the past year and half, I was plagued by dry patches and occasional breakouts. After months of trying out products, I finally had healthy skin. My skin was smooth and soft, and 98% clear. I also switched to products that are gentler for sensitive skin. Despite my best efforts, there was still one area of my face that would occasionally flare up despite my best efforts. My T-zone was always red, no matter how many anti-redness sprays or calming products I tried.
I was fed up by my constant redness and decided to do some research. I spoke with Shuting Hu (cosmetic chemist, Acaderma founder), who introduced me the term. inflammaging.You may have seen the TikTok message, which has flooded feeds with tips and tricks to help prevent this skin condition. Yes, I have inflammaging (a.k.a. chronic redness, and it turns out I’m not alone. Although inflammaging is usually a problem for mature skin, I was shocked to discover how simple changes such as diet and lifestyle (thanks, COVID!) can lead to inflammation in my skin.
Dr. Hu and Ebru Karpuzoglu (Immunologist), explain everything you need about inflammation, including its causes, how to fight it, and what you can do to prevent it.
What is inflammaging?
“Inflammaging is known as a chronic, low-grade inflammation that is a crucial contributing factor to various age-related pathologies and natural processes in aging tissues and skin,” says Dr. Hu. Inflammaging can be described as the process of aging caused by chronic inflammation. “In the dermis, which is the thickest layer of our skin, inflammaging will break down the architecture of the skin,” Hu explains. “[It can] lead to the loss of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and other glycosaminoglycans (antiaging molecules) including chondroitin, which causes wrinkles and loss of elasticity in the skin.”
Maybe you’re thinking this is no big deal. Everyone’s skin ages over time, right? But here’s where inflammaging is different. “The micro chronic levels of inflammation (inflammaging) can damage skin cells and collagen, and weaken the skin’s barrier functions resulting in more senescent cell accumulation than normal,” says Dr. Karpuzoglu. “As the skin is battered with more and more damage, the skin barriers and microbiome are weakened and our immune system has to work harder to defend the body as well as repair the skin barriers. This also means that we will have less protection against inflammation-causing invaders like bacteria and viruses as the skin immunity is overwhelmed with this process.”
Your skin is in dire need of some TLC because it’s stressed to the extreme. Similar to the way a muscle would become sore and form a bruise after an injury to notify you something’s wrong, inflammaging is your skin (and its cells) saying, “Hey, there’s something wrong here.”
What does inflammaging do to my skin?
Inflammaging causes skin damage at the foundational level. This can lead to wrinkles, faster aging and a weaker skin barrier. Some skin changes, like collagen reduction, are normal. However, inflammation speeds up the process, making it more severe. Collagen loss typically starts in your 20s and continues to decrease by 1% to 2.2% each year. Inflammaging can cause it to begin earlier and make you lose collagen more quickly.
What causes inflammation?
I was surprised to learn I suffered from inflammaging—I take good care of my skin, use a gentle cleanser every night, never go to bed with makeup on, and wear sunscreen every day. Inflammaging can be caused by many things. The pandemic has made it worse by increasing stress and lifestyle.
Source: Glamour