ANTI-POLLUTION SKINCARE
There’s a beauty product for everything, from acne to clogged pores – and now air pollution! Research spanning decades has evaluated the increase in skin pathologies such as skin cancer, skin sensitivity and pigmentation. Pollution is also linked to inflammation and premature ageing!
‘Our body’s antioxidant defence system naturally declines with age, but this decline is also attributed to solar radiation and atmospheric pollution, both of which lower the skin’s endogenous levels of vitamins C and E,’ Dr Webster explains. Antipollution skincare is meant to combat the combination of tiny particles called particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and other chemicals. These particles penetrate and clog the pores.
Dr Webster says the only way to address this problem is to boost the body’s antioxidant defence system against UV light and air pollution by applying a topical antioxidant cocktail together with broadspectrum sunscreen.
Antioxidants such as vitamin C block the formation of free radicals (atoms that damage the skin, which can lead to premature ageing).
WHO SHOULD USE IT?
City dwellers are at greater risk of experiencing pollution-related skin damage than those in the suburbs.
HOW TO USE IT
‘The best way to prevent oxidative damage caused by pollutants is by applying a correctly formulated antioxidant serum on a daily basis,’ says Dr Webster. He recommends SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic.