THE EXPERT’S GUIDE TO TAKING YEARS OFF YOUR FACE

She’s one of Britain’s top dermatologists — and here she reveals the facts (and fiction) about anti-ageing your skin

EVER since I was a teenager in the early Nineties, I’ve been obsessed with skincare.

I was desperate to find a cure for my dreadful acne — my terrible skin was a source of deep embarrassment, and for years held me back.

In the end, it wasn’t apple cider vinegar, home-made sugar scrubs, toothpaste, TCP or peel-off masks that eventually improved it; it was seeing a dermatologist.

These days, I’m no longer a spotty teenager, I’m a qualified dermatologist myself and a spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, specialising in both beauty and medical skin problems with a particular fascination with anti-ageing.

The process of getting older outwardly can be seen in the skin before any other organ of the body. Growing old cannot be hidden, unlike many other medical issues. We are living longer than ever before and the antiageing market grows ever bigger, bombarding

The easiest way to convince my kids that they don’t really need something is to get it for them. JOAN COLLINS

us with celebrity endorsed potential ‘cures’, some of which are utter rubbish.

It drives me mad, the amount of bad information out there. Over the past ten years, I’ve seen hundreds of patients, many of whom, faced with a barrage of anti-ageing advice, are crying out for clarity.

so here, based on science rather than hearsay, is what I believe every woman needs to know about combatting the signs of time . . .

CRASH COURSE IN AGEING SKIN

as skIN ages, the number and size of skin cells reduces, which means it functions less effectively as a protective barrier, temperature regulation is less efficient and there is a decline in the production of sweat, sebum (oil) and vitamin D.

The skin itself becomes increasingly thin over time owing to a steady reduction in collagen and elastin (the proteins that make skin bouncy and stretchy) and hyaluronic acid (which keeps skin plump and moist). The slow turnover of cells also means your skin heals less effectively.

The result? Dry skin, fine lines, deep furrows and wrinkles. skin starts to sag as it loses its support and textural changes appear. Broken blood vessels, thread veins and uneven skin pigmentation become more prominent. Frighteningly, some of these changes can set in as early as your late 20s or early 30s.

This sort of ageing happens for a variety of reasons — some of which we cannot really control, such as DNa and cellular damage, and hormonal changes — and external factors, such as exposure to UV, pollutants, smoking and diet, which we can control.

BEWARE MIRACLE CREAMS

apaRT from eating a healthy, balanced diet, not smoking and doing everything you can to protect your skin from UV and pollution, what can you do when it comes to skincare?

The elixir of youth has yet to be bottled and sold. Despite impressive marketing and celebrity endorsements, very few creams, gels and serums have robust data behind them for anti-ageing.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but creams will not help skin sagging or laxity. These changes occur due to loss of volume of fat and bone under the skin, which happens to all of us as time passes. No topically applied cream can replace that.

That said, certain agents can be used to reduce pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, and slow down the signs associated with skin ageing. These include retinoids, antioxidants, botanicals and sunscreen.

Current anti-ageing strategies are focused on limiting long-term damage from sunlight, which is the most significant factor in skin ageing.

... BUT RELY ON RETINOIDS

THE retinoid family consists of a group of compounds that are derived from vitamin a. These have been available in skincare since the seventies and are the only topical agents that repeatedly demonstrate antiageing effects in scientific studies.

Retinoids are able to minimise the appearance of wrinkles, slow the breakdown of collagen and fade pigmentation or age spots. They work by improving skin cell renewal and stimulating collagen production.

There are prescription versions available (tretinoin or isotretinoin) but over-the-counter versions (such as retinol and retinaldehyde) are also effective and often don’t come with the same side- effects as tretinoin and isotretinoin (burning, stinging, redness and scaling).

When buying a retinoid, look for a minimum concentration of 0.1 per cent retinol — and remember that it can take three to six months of regular use before any improvement can be seen in the skin.

USE PREVENTION TACTICS

aNTIOxIDaNTs block oxidation, the damage caused by unstable compounds known as free radicals. Free radicals are generated by exposure to the sun (the leading cause of external skin ageing) and by certain biological processes in the body that generate energy.

There are a number of antioxidants available in skincare products, and