Skincare – The Holistic Approach

Industry Expertise

26/09/2017 by The Red Tree

This article was written by Pupinder S Ghatora MPharm, MRPharmS CEO of Colltec Laboratories which develops and manufactures ethically formulated collagen based supplements, natural skin care products, and other supplements which includes the award winning product Ultimate Collagen+ under the Ingenious Beauty brand.

Pupinder has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry for over 10 years, winning a number of national awards for his work in pharmacy including Young Pharmacist of the Year 2008.

Gone are the days of applying a cream to your skin to make it appear more beautiful. Consumers are becoming more and more educated and are looking at a holistic approach to beauty. Beauty therapy is now far more than applying a topical product to your skin.

Topical products will always be important for skin, hair and nails, but now it is possible to enhance their actions in many other positive ways.

These include:

Lifestyle Changes

Increasing exercise can have dramatic effects on skin. The increased blood flow brings essential nutrients to the skin’s surface and sweating helps to clear pores and improve the appearance and health of your skin.

Eating healthy has a profound effect on skin. What you put into your mouth is as important as what you apply to your skin. Foods are digested and then broken down into vitamins, minerals and amino acids, all essential building blocks for amazing skin. You can think of this as the fuel you put into your car, the better the fuel the more efficient and powerful your car will perform.

UV rays can cause formation of free radicals in the body, these can lead to an increase in collagen breakdown and decrease of the health and integrity of the skin. Eating foods such as salmon, tomatoes, kale and other natural brightly coloured foods rich in anti-oxidants can help reduce the damage free radicals can cause. These changes can often be seen noticeably around the delicate and sensitive skin around the eyes. Increasing anti-oxidant levels can actually reverse UV damage at a cellular level, especially astaxanthin, an incredible carotenoid.

Increasing water consumption will most definitely improve skin health by flushing out toxins from your body and helping to hydrate your body both inside and out, making your skin clearer and plumper.

The key in this case is that everything in moderation will have an overall positive impact on your body and your skin health.

Dermal Massage

The discovery of skin massage for improving radiance is relatively new. Using an evidence based approach there are now many devices available to improve skin health and appearance. Scientific research has shown using items such as a dermal roller increases blood flow to the skin and increases skin thickness over time. The action of these tools stimulates collagen production in the skin and the result is healthier, firmer and more radiant skin.

Dermal needling has now recently become more popular in the UK and Europe. This practice has been popular in the Far East and works by causing tiny lesions in the skin using a sterile roller or needling device. This stimulates blood flow, collagen production and allows topicals to gain better penetration into the skin. This practice should be carried out with caution as it does compromise the skin structure in the short term. It is therefore advisable to allow a facial therapist to carry out the treatment or ensure you follow the instructions supplied with a home use device very carefully.

Cosmeceutical Supplementation

Oral supplements to improve skin, hair and nail health has been around for many years. It is only recently that a science and evidence based approach has been used to produce some truly revolutionary products in the beauty space. Collagen is the protein essential for your body’s structure. It provides a physical structure that allows the body’s organs to stay in situ and gives your skin it’s elasticity, firmness and radiance. As we age, the body’s ability to produce collagen reduces. This leads to fine lines, wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity. It is therefore beneficial to supplement your diet with ingredients that will help to increase collagen production.

Supplementation with collagen peptides has been one of the most recent breakthroughs in skincare. However, taking a collagen peptide liquid, tablet or standard capsule will not result in enough yield in the body’s blood stream to make a significant difference. This is because these products will be digested by the stomach.

The key is being able to deliver the collagen peptide intact to the small intestine, the site of highest absorption in the body. It is therefore essential to produce a product that can be protected from the action of the stomach and deliver the maximum payload to the small intestine. The collagen peptide then enters the bloodstream through the small intestine and gives a much higher yield than an unprotected product.

Once the body ‘senses’ the collagen peptide fragments in the blood, cells called chondrocytes are stimulated to produce more collagen. The result is replenishment of the collagen matrix, this in turn increases the thickness of the dermis and helps to reduce fine lines, wrinkles and increase skin hydration. Healthier, firmer and more radiant skin.

It is clear that a holistic approach to skincare is going to be far more effective than topicals alone. The key is using products that have the science and ethos to back up the claims and are truly effective. Creams alone will not give the results people are expecting. A combination of truly effective supplements will enhance your skincare and beauty from within, of that there is no doubt.

The Red Tree is the UK’s leading international beauty brand consultancy and a powerhouse of ideas, insight and inspiration. For an informal discussion on how we might help you, please contact us.