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There are two types of aging: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic aging is the natural aging process, where our genetics determine when our skin becomes thinner and drier, loses some of its youthful fullness, or get visible lines on our face. Extrinsic aging, however, is based on one’s environment and lifestyle choices, and can lead to early signs of aging. While you may not be able to control your genetics or your natural environment, you can control your skin’s appearance and prevent further signs of aging.
Dr. Lancer’s anti-aging program and practice are rooted in the belief in restoration instead of alteration.
The Lancer Method was developed by studying the skin’s regenerative process for over 30 years, resulting in a non-invasive daily skincare routine that will maintain youthfulness or reverse first or advanced signs of aging. Here, you will learn what causes aging, what these causes look like on your skin, and how to properly rejuvenate the skin from head to toe.
Causes
When we are young, our skin renews itself at a cellular level in a continuous 28-day cycle. This process of creating new cells and sloughing off old ones gradually slows down as we get older, leading to common signs of aging. The reproduction of skin cells is affected by the intrinsic aging system. As you get older, your body produces different enzymes that contribute to the breakdown of collagen and elastic tissue, the protein that gives skin that it’s plump bounce. This extracellular matrix is what provides skin’s structure, but it eventually diminishes as a part of the aging process.
Although everyone eventually experiences the common first signs of aging—fine lines, enlarged pores, changes in skin’s texture and appearance —their appearance occurs at different rates in different people. Genetics play a major factor in how our individual bodies age, but the onset and severity of the signs of aging is hugely impacted by extrinsic aging factors, lifestyle and environment.
Here are a few examples:
Sun Damage
One of the primary causes of advanced aging is too much time spent in the sun without proper protection. Protecting the eyes with sunglasses, wearing a hat to protect the face from light and generally staying in the shade are all important facets of an anti-aging lifestyle.
Ultraviolet (UV) light counteracts protective antioxidants, peptides, and other ingredients in your anti-aging skincare regimen. Protecting skin is important if you want to keep skin looking smooth and youthful.
The pigment melanin provides some protection against the sun, and can be seen in our skin when we tan due to the increased production of melanin. While those with darker complexions have more melanin and will not burn as quickly, they are still at risk for hyperpigmentation, skin cancer and an overall aged appearance.
While you may focus on your face as the tell-tale for first signs of aging, advanced signs of aging are a possibility when it comes to the delicate skin below your jawline, most notably your neck and décolletage. These areas are exposed to just as many damaging UV rays as the face, and at an increased risk for signs of aging. For this reason the skin of the neck and décolleté becomes lined and saggy around the throat, collarbone, and cleavage.
Caffeine Intake
When used as a topical ingredient, caffeine is an antioxidant that can reduce wrinkles, like crow’s feet; however, excessive caffeine consumption in your daily diet is drying and damaging to your skin.
Drinking caffeine or highly caffeinated beverages, like soda or coffee, launches your body into a stressed-out state.
When in a stressed-out state, skin becomes more reactive and sensitive, leading towards acne flare-ups, dryness, and the breakdown of collagen and elastin. Stress also interrupts the healing process of skin contributing to a dull, sallow complexion.
Smoking, Drinking, Partying
Many people engage in social drinking, the occasional cigarette, and other indulgences without realizing the damage it can do to skin. The truth is, avoiding these behaviors entirely is the best thing you can possibly do if you are serious about caring for your skin. Here are some things to keep in mind to ensure that you’ll look your best for years to come:
Smoking deters overall health, and is very damaging for your skin even if you aren’t smoking but find yourself around cigarettes. Secondhand smoke triggers biochemical changes that lead to signs of advanced aging.
People who routinely smoke will notice a loss of firmness in the skin due to the depletion of vitamin C in the body, which is one of the key antioxidants helping to keep skin plump and moist.
The result in terms of physical appearance due to this loss of firmness is wrinkled, leathery skin with a yellow tinge.
Drinking alcoholic beverages is something to also be cautious of in terms of how it affects your skin. When you drink liquor, small blood vessels in your epidermis dilate, resulting in a flushed appearance. This “glow” is not the healthy glow you should have, and instead can lead to permanent ruddiness and broken capillaries.
Alcohol dehydrates the body, which can cause skin to look scaly and taut with superficial lines and premature signs of aging due to low levels of water and oxygen in body.
While a flushed appearance may not affect your physical appearance, signs of dehydration do become more prevalent with age and can be dangerous to overall health. It is important to regulate hydration levels to avoid skin and health problems over time.
Excessive partying is the potential culmination of both of the aforementioned activities, and the two lifestyle choices below. While you may indulge in the atmosphere of drinking, eating food that may be higher in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar than you’re used to, or stay out later than you normally do, remember that these lifestyle choices will affect how your skin looks and feels for days and potentially weeks to follow.
Remember to monitor your activities whenever you can, as moderating these behaviors will help to prevent early signs of aging or advanced aging.
Sleep
Sleep gives your body time to repair and rebalance itself. Our Bodies cycle back and forth between deep, restorative sleep and dreaming, a stage known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Each cycle lasts around 90 minutes and repeats throughout the night. While both cycles are important for overall health, the most damaging effects of sleep deprivation are from insufficient REM sleep.
The skin cell regenerative process does most of its work while you sleep, and thus is less effective when our bodies are deprived of sleep. Skin experiences a loss in firmness due to reduced collagen production when we do not get adequate sleep, caused by inflammation in the complexion. When inflammation is a continuous factor in skin’s health, acne breakouts and increased sensitivity become common occurrences.
During sleep, hydration in our skin rebalances, and without adequate sleep, inflammation breaks down hyaluronic acid, skin’s natural source of moisture. This loss of hyaluronic acid weakens the skin’s barrier function, leading trans-epidermal water loss, where skin appears dry and dull.
Without proper hydration, cell and tissue repair and growth hormones cannot be adequately stimulated, resulting in common signs of aging.
The importance of sleep does not simply amount to how many hours you get, but the position in which you sleep. Sleeping on your stomach presses your face into the pillow, resulting in the creation of fine lines and creases, while sleeping on your side may cause the chest and cleavage areas to also crease, causing fine lines and wrinkles over time. Sleeping on your back is best for preventing signs of aging.
Diet
A diet focused on skin health should contain as many fresh and whole foods as possible. Junk food is predominantly fatty, greasy, and salty; made with saturated fats, trans-fats, and hydrogenated oil all of which are detrimental to our overall health, and create free radicals which can age our skin and body from the inside out. Simple carbohydrates like bread, rice, pasta, and pastries are converted to sugar when digested. High sugar levels triggers glycation in the skin, the process by which sugar molecules come into contact with collagen and cause an immediate chemical reaction in the form of AGEs, which damage the protein fibers of collagen and elastin and signal inflammatory processes in skin cells.
Glycation results in wrinkling, loss of firmness, stiffness, and accelerated aging.
Weight cycling or yo-yo dieting is also important to avoid for the health of your body and skin. When weight continuously fluctuates, our skin is repeatedly stretched resulting in potentially saggy skin. Yo-yo dieting, also throws hormones out of balance, resulting in an increased production in cortisol, which is highly damaging to our bodies and our complexions.
SKINCARE SOLUTIONS
The causes of aging are primarily extrinsic, so changing your daily habits to support an anti-aging lifestyle will help prevent the early onset of the common signs of aging. Now that you know how to help prevent wrinkles, fine lines and dull skin, what should you do about signs that are already visible? Read on to find out what Lancer Skincare products can help you revive your skin for a more youthful glow:
The Lancer Method
The Lancer Method is a 3-step anti-aging skin care system which helps support the skin’s natural cycle of cell renewal to leave skin smooth, healthy and glowing. The Method is based on three essential steps: Polish, Cleanse and Nourish. Each product in the three steps relies on Interlocking Chemistry to boost the effectiveness of the other products. By encouraging cell renewal, gently cleansing without stripping the skin and providing intense hydration, The Lancer Method helps to skin to “act younger.”
The Method is available in formulations for three skin types: Normal, Blemish Prone and Sensitive. All three versions of The Method help to treat and prevent common signs of aging; each version is made with exceptional ingredients to suit individual skin concerns.
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Polish is the first step of The Lancer Method. The Method: Polish works by exfoliating the epidermis with quartz and sodium bicarbonate crystals that are uniform in size and shape. These finely grained crystals deeply clean pores and polish away any surface debris. Depending on the line you choose, The Method: Polish also contains ingredients like pumpkin and pomegranate extracts or salicylic acid to additionally help remove dead skin cells.
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The second step in The Method, Cleanse, is a gentle, lightly-foaming cleanser that removes daily impurities, and any lifted debris from polishing. This important second step ensures that skin is truly clean and prepared to receive anti-aging treatments.
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The Method: Nourish moisturizer contains a unique blend of hexapeptides, Nasturtium Flower Extract and a blend of potent anti-aging ingredients to give skin a healthy, youthful glow. |
Whether you’re dealing with the first signs of aging or advanced wrinkles, you will notice a difference when you begin using The Lancer Method as your primary skincare regimen.
Sheer Fluid Sun Shield SPF 30: To protect yourself from UV rays and the sun damage they cause, daily use of sunscreen is a must. Lancer Skincare Sheer Fluid Sun Shield SPF 30 is a weightless sunscreen that protects skin from UVA/UVB rays while delivering a payload of hydrating, anti-aging ingredients. Sheer Fluid Sun Shield is an ideal primer to ensure you receive complete sun protection that feels both hydrating and weightless. Remember that just because a sunscreen has a very high SPF doesn’t mean that you don’t need to reapply throughout the day; there is a marginal difference between SPF 100 and SPF 30. With Sheer Fluid Sun Shield you can feel secure that you are not only choosing a sunscreen that can fully protect you from the sun, but also the best sunscreen to combat signs of aging.
Eye Contour Lifting Cream: Eyes are especially susceptible to signs of aging due to the very delicate and thin skin of the area. Eye Contour Lifting Cream was formulated to help treat multiple signs of aging, like dark circles, puffiness, and the appearance of fine lines. As mentioned earlier, caffeine can be used as a topical treatment, and our ultra-rich eye cream contains caffeine liposomes that help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and puffiness. Palmitoyl oligopeptide and hexapeptide help to combat signs of aging, while brown algae extract increases moisture content so eyes look hydrated and refreshed.
Younger: Pure Youth Serum: A luxurious, high-performance anti-aging serum formulated with Mimixyl, Dr. Lancer’s proprietary retinoid blend. This vibrant treatment dramatically resurfaces skin improving the appearance of tone and elasticity, while helping wrinkles look less numerous and less deep. Skin radiates a youthful vitality. From Dr. Lancer, “The retinoids provided in this product offer powerful results with none of the drawbacks associated with retinoid use. It is my most advanced anti-aging treatment thus far and the perfect companion product for its namesake book Younger: The Breakthrough Anti-Aging Method for Radiant Skin.”
Lift Serum Intense: Lift Serum Intense is the answer to aged skin that needs smoothing, lifting. This elegant serum uses pure 24K gold and Stem Cell Complex, an exclusive plant stem cell compound, to deliver firming and lifting effects. Electromagnetically-neutral gold and moisture-holding molecules support skin’s natural cycle for skin that looks smoother, firmer and younger. This acid-free product serum supplements any anti-aging.
Contour Décolleté: Since the delicate skin on the neck and chest has less collagen than other areas of the body, it is important to treat early in order to prevent signs of advanced aging. Dr. Lancer formulated Contour Décolleté, an innovative firming concentrate, to quickly absorb into skin, plumping and smoothing the appearance of wrinkles, and improving skin tone and texture over time. Contour Décolleté’s unique formula includes marine cone snail venom, which is a bio-identical peptide that reduces the appearance of fine lines and chest wrinkles, and a liposomal delivery system of five peptides to mimic skin’s natural growth factors, creating a youth-building effect in the skin.
Advanced C Radiance Cream: Vitamin C is abundant in the skin, and when vitamin C is used in concentrations of 5% or higher, it works to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation. Additionally, vitamin C helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Because the Advanced C Radiance Cream is a water-free formulation, the vitamin C remains stable and active, allowing your skin to receive maximum therapeutic benefits.
Intensive Night Treatment: An ultra-hydrating cream, Intensive Night Treatment contains Hylaplex®, a cross-linked form of hyaluronic acid with anti-aging peptides which helps skin look softer, smoother, and younger. Marula oil helps to nourish skin with essential fatty acids and antioxidants. As part of the Advanced Treatment line, Intensive Night Treatment dramatically increase the skin’s ability to retain moisture while treating the skin with essential fatty acids and antioxidants.
If you want to create the ultimate anti-aging skincare regimen, you need to be aware of the causes for the first signs of aging. Dr. Lancer has studied how intrinsic and extrinsic aging affects the skin, and formulated his anti-aging products with this knowledge. Lancer Skincare combines modern science and proven anti-aging ingredients with a non-invasive approach to radiance. Skin will look and feel younger thanks to the Lancer Method and the Lancer Skincare Advanced Treatments.
By adjusting your lifestyle and consistently following an anti-aging regimen, you’ll have younger-looking skin for years to come.
SOURCES:
American Academy of Dermatology. “What causes our skin to age?” AAAD.org
Lancer, Harold MD. Younger: The Breakthrough Anti-Aging Method for Radiant Skin. 13-4, 37, 48-9, 88, 111, 117, 175-7, 184-5
