Dermalogica's AGE Smart® range is designed to control the biochemical reactions that lead to skin ageing by introducing antioxidants that fight Reactive Oxygen Species (free radicals), stimulating Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) that control tissue degradation in the dermis, and creating "sugar traps" that inhibit protein damage due to glycation.
Wrinkles, altered pigmentation, loss of skin tone… we all associate these changes with skin ageing.
Age-related skin changes are the result of genetically programmed changes (intrinsic factors) and environmental wear-and-tear on the skin (extrinsic factors).
While both influence the skin’s structure and function, extrinsic factors cause more pronounced changes. Manifestations of photoageing include an increase in wrinkle formation, a loss of tension and elasticity, degeneration of the vascular supply and skin thickness, a reduction in the water-binding properties of the skin, dilated capillaries (telangiectasis), hyperpigmentation and other skin discolouration.
Today, scientists attribute the majority of these structural changes to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, it has only been in recent years that they have come to understand the actual biochemical ageing process and many diseases. For example, diabetics have characteristically high levels of sugar in their blood and suffer from numerous health issues (including cataracts, atherosclerosis, etc.) which emanate from the formation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) in the body. Hence, diabetes is considered a disease of accelerated ageing due to the inflammation that arises from the formation of AGEs. This is not restricted to diabetes; muscle weakness, heart disease and many diseases of the brain are associated with glycation.
Scientists now believe that reducing glycation is a means of slowing the ageing process and disease formation. And it is this research that has resulted in the development of AGE Smart®, a system of retail and professional products designed to specifically treat and control the structural manifestations associated with skin ageing and the biological triggers that lead to these changes, as well as treat the visible signs of skin ageing so skin is smoother, firmer and healthier.