My Name is Free Radical and I Suck!

All you hear people talk about are free radicals, and antioxidants.  So what are these pesky little blood suckers?  I decided to write this post because a lot of every day consumers have no idea what free radicals are.  All they know is that FR are bad.  I was also surprised to find that many estheticians only know a small bit about FR.

Brief Information About Atoms(I know, I know, trust me this will help you understand)
The basic building block of all cells is the atom.  All Atoms have protons, neutrons, electrons and a nucleus.
Electrons hold atoms together to make a molecule and orbit the atom in one or more shells (rings around the atom)  The inner shell is full when it has two paired electrons. When the first shell is full the electrons move to the second shell.  The number of electrons in the outer shell determines the chemical behavior of an atom. The goal of an atom is to always be balanced.

How Free Radicals Form
Molecules create cells.  Free radicals are created at the molecular level and then when the damage is not repaired it affects living cells.  A free radical is any molecule that has one or more unpaired electrons, they react with a healthy molecule in a destructive way.
The goal of an atom is to always be balanced. Free radicals are molecules that have at least one unpaired electron and then go around just taking electrons from other healthy molecules causing damage (oxidative stress).

Did You Know: The body produces free radicals naturally.

- Breathing- Oxygen is a potential free radical accelerator.

- Inflammatory Immune Response

- Production of Energy- when the universal energy  molecule used by the body is produced, free radicals are

released.

A healthy body can naturally neutralize free radicals, but a body under stress must have help to neutralize them.  The damage that free radicals cause can be minimized by antioxidants.

How Do Free Radicals Damage The Skin

Free radicals cause damage to the DNA in the cells and the fibroblasts that produce collagen.  Free radicals also produce biochemical damage that can lead to eventual skin cancers and abnormal growths.  The end products of this inflammatory biochemical reaction can cause the skin to produce self-destruct enzymes such as collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase, which destroy collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid (hydrates our skin and cells).   This destructive assaults to the skin happen every day.  When enough of this damage accumulates, we see signs of wrinkles, elastosis (sagging skin), dehydration, and skin cancer.

A Short Film About Free Radicals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn8TvZxTqow&feature=g-upl

Theories of Aging

There are many theories about how we age. Is aging a disease or an inevitable process that all biological creatures must experience, or can it be prevented?

Intrinsic aging defines the natural signs of aging as a genetic process.
Extrinsic aging refers to the visible signs of aging as a genetic process.

Internal and external factors directly relate to two separate groups of aging theories.

1) preprogrammed Aging that is due to genetic factors.  It suggests that aging is determined by a predetermined biological clock that starts at conception, and that genes play a strong role in the aging process.
Theories associated with preprogrammed theory include- Programmed Longevity, Telomerase Theory, Immunological Theory, Pacemaker Theory, Genetic Theory.

2) Damage-Based Theories- These theories refer to aging that is influenced by environmental or lifestyle factors that cause damage to cells and body systems.  These theories focus on the damage that happens at the molecular level then move outward.

• Free Radical Theory- states that aging is caused by accumulated free radicals attacking the DNA, proteins, and fats of living cells, causing cell death.
• Membrane Theory- states it is the damage done by free radicals in the cell membrane that causes change in the cell's ability to transfer chemicals, heat, and electricity.
• Cross Linking Theory- (Glycation) Relates to the binding of protein and simple sugars (glucose) to protein.  When cross linking occurs, protein is damaged and unable to perform as intended.  The result is thick, dry,sagging, yellow skin.
• Wear & Tear Theory- indicates the war and tear on our whole body system accelerates the aging process.  This theory lead the way to the free radical and cross linking theory.
• Inflammation Theory- This theory is new.  It states that chronic inflammation result in accumulated damage to the body.  The theory explains that the inflammation cascade is a long strenuous process on the body, cells and tissue.  Once the inflammation cascade is started it should end when the immune response is activated without an invader or does not receive the signal from T-cells that tells the immune cells to stop.

Conclusion
If we take a cross-section of all the theories you can see that no one theory is independent of the other.  They all lead to aging.  We cannot always see the decline of our bodies, but eventually all damage will become apparent.  Depending on your theories about aging changes how you approach treating clients.  If you believe in the pre-programmed approach, you have to ask yourself can we even help aging skin?   The reality is that no one theory can stand on its own, they depend upon one another.
What is your opinion?
Resource-  Milady's Aesthetician Series, Aging Skin, Susanne Schmaling.