00:00:00
here is the full protocol to reverse the
00:00:01
signs of skin aging based on the latest
00:00:03
science and this is not for vanity
00:00:05
reasons how our skin looks reflects our
00:00:07
chances of living a long life if we see
00:00:10
a young person in the mirror we're more
00:00:12
likely to identify as young and practice
00:00:14
those healthy life habits and I've
00:00:16
structured these strategies to follow a
00:00:18
typical daily routine so after a shower
00:00:20
the first of eight strategies is
00:00:22
sunscreen but it's critical to pick a
00:00:24
sunscreen with certain ingredients that
00:00:26
are list shortly because they are safet
00:00:28
to concerns with some sunscreens to show
00:00:30
you the power of sunscreen here's a
00:00:32
striking photo of a 92-year-old who used
00:00:34
sunscreen on her face but not her neck
00:00:37
for 40 years in a landmark 2013 trial of
00:00:40
93 adults the group who used sunscreen
00:00:43
every day didn't show any signs of skin
00:00:45
aging after 4 and a half years and a
00:00:48
follow-up study in 2016 showed that
00:00:50
sunscreen not only stops aging but it
00:00:52
can even reverse the signs of skin aging
00:00:55
sunscreen is critical but there are
00:00:56
legitimate safety concerns with some
00:00:58
sunscreen ingredients so broadly
00:01:00
speaking there are two main types of
00:01:02
sunscreen mineral sunscreens and
00:01:04
chemical sunscreens while chemical
00:01:06
sunscreens often give better protection
00:01:08
against UV rays they're easier to apply
00:01:10
and are water resistant many of the
00:01:12
ingredients can be absorbed through the
00:01:14
skin and a study in 20120 showed that
00:01:17
all six tested active ingredients were
00:01:19
absorbed into the blood and were above
00:01:21
the fda's safety levels the American
00:01:23
Academy of Dermatology acknowledges this
00:01:26
in their guidelines where they state
00:01:27
that the FDA wants more data on 12
00:01:30
ingredients before deciding if they're
00:01:32
safe and effective so my own personal
00:01:34
decision is to avoid those 12
00:01:36
ingredients until that safety data has
00:01:38
come through and these concerns have
00:01:40
stered many people away completely from
00:01:42
chemical sunscreens which is not what I
00:01:43
do by the way but more on that later and
00:01:46
toward mineral sunscreen ingredients
00:01:48
which are not absorbed but even though
00:01:50
some sunscreens are marketed as
00:01:51
mineral-based sunscreens many of the
00:01:53
labels are sneaky and we'll get to that
00:01:55
shortly as well by looking at a famous
00:01:57
example of a mineral sunscreen the only
00:02:00
two mineral sunscreen ingredients that
00:02:02
the FDA says are generally safe and
00:02:04
effective are titanium dioxide and zinc
00:02:07
oxide they work by blocking UV rays
00:02:09
while chemical sunscreen ingredients
00:02:11
absorb the UV rays zinc oxide protects
00:02:14
against both UVA and UVB but titanium
00:02:17
dioxide it protects mostly against UVB
00:02:20
so if we're going to select a
00:02:21
mineral-based sunscreen it's vital to
00:02:23
have zinc oxide in it to offer that
00:02:25
broad spectrum protection against both
00:02:27
UVA and UVB and matter what sunscreen we
00:02:31
choose the American Academy of
00:02:32
Dermatology says that we should reapply
00:02:34
it every 2 hours or more especially if
00:02:37
we're swimming or sweating that's
00:02:38
because sunscreen can easily rub off and
00:02:41
most people don't put enough on in the
00:02:43
first place consumerlab.com has a great
00:02:45
list of mineral-based sunscreens that
00:02:48
are broad spectrum and may be less
00:02:49
problematic but even so we do need to
00:02:51
look at the labels ourselves for example
00:02:54
Ela MD is a really popular choice as a
00:02:56
mineral-based sunscreen but if we look
00:02:59
at the ingredient list while it does
00:03:01
contain zinc oxide it also contains
00:03:03
Octon oxide which is one of the chemical
00:03:05
sunscreen ingredients that was flagged
00:03:07
by that 2020 study as one of the
00:03:09
ingredients that's absorbed through the
00:03:11
skin and needs further study plus
00:03:13
octanoate was banned in Hawaii due to
00:03:15
its potential toxic effects on the
00:03:17
marine ecosystems so you can see that
00:03:19
it's a bit of a mine field when trying
00:03:21
to select a sunscreen that doesn't have
00:03:23
any of those 12 FDA flagged ingredients
00:03:26
but still offers a broad UVA and UVB
00:03:29
protection with with SPF 50 and above
00:03:31
one option though that does meet my
00:03:33
requirements is sarra 100% mineral
00:03:36
sunscreen spf50 it has both titanium
00:03:39
dioxide and zinc oxide but none of the
00:03:41
12 flagged ingredients from the FDA now
00:03:44
there are certainly other options out
00:03:46
there but I mentioned that one because
00:03:48
it's relatively cheap and it meets the
00:03:49
requirements that I was looking for and
00:03:51
I'm not affiliated with them in any way
00:03:53
but it can leave a white film on the
00:03:55
skin which isn't ideal and it's not the
00:03:57
sunscreen that I use on my face here's
00:03:59
why while I made the decision to avoid
00:04:02
the 12 FDA flagged ingredients there are
00:04:04
newer chemical sunscreen ingredients
00:04:06
that offer The Best of Both Worlds and
00:04:08
one of those ingredients is called bitol
00:04:11
it gives great UVA and UVB protection
00:04:14
but it's a large molecule and it doesn't
00:04:16
get absorbed through the skin it's been
00:04:18
used in sunscreens for decades in Europe
00:04:20
and australasia and it's marketed under
00:04:22
the brand names torb s but it's still
00:04:25
awaiting FDA approval in the USA even
00:04:28
though it's been thoroughly tested and
00:04:29
it's hopes that bimat tesol will be FDA
00:04:32
approved by the end of 2025 but since
00:04:35
I'm lucky enough to live in New Zealand
00:04:36
I've got access to sunscreens that don't
00:04:38
have those 12 FDA flagged ingredients
00:04:41
and instead use newer chemical
00:04:42
ingredients like batol so there are four
00:04:45
famous Korean Brands and again I'm not
00:04:47
affiliated with them in any way that are
00:04:50
great options and I'll put them on the
00:04:51
screen now the one I'm using at the
00:04:53
moment is from beauty of Jos but any of
00:04:56
those four options would be a great
00:04:57
choice and if I didn't have access to
00:04:59
those sunscreens I would use SRA 100%
00:05:03
mineral sunscreen spf50 again it does
00:05:05
leave that white film when applying it
00:05:08
but personally I'd prefer to use that
00:05:10
rather than using a sunscreen with
00:05:11
ingredients that need further study for
00:05:13
my arms beauty of Jos is too expensive
00:05:16
so I do use the seriv mineral sunscreen
00:05:18
on my arms and back of my neck but when
00:05:21
I go swimming mineral sunscreens they
00:05:23
tend to wash off too quickly so instead
00:05:25
of using the seriv mineral sunscreen I
00:05:28
use lar p XL wet skin spf50 which is a
00:05:32
chemical sunscreen it does have a couple
00:05:34
of the FDA flagged ingredients but on
00:05:36
balance of risk first benefit I want to
00:05:39
make sure that I'm getting protection
00:05:40
against UV radiation while I'm swimming
00:05:43
so I opt for the lesser of two evils
00:05:44
here and I do use the Lara P sunscreen
00:05:48
the second of eight strategies to
00:05:49
reverse the signs of skin aging is to
00:05:51
use a moisturizer with a couple of
00:05:53
critical ingredients and the first
00:05:55
ingredients are ceramides ceramides are
00:05:57
like the glue that hold our skin cells
00:05:59
together keeping our Skin Barrier
00:06:01
healthy and strong a 2019 study showed
00:06:04
that ceramides can reduce skin wrinkles
00:06:06
and improve skin texture another helpful
00:06:09
ingredient is vitamin B3 also known as
00:06:11
niacinamide niacinamide helps many
00:06:14
processes in our body it can improve
00:06:16
Fine Lines wrinkles spots redness and
00:06:19
elasticity it also helps our skin make
00:06:21
ceramides and vitamin B3 and skin creams
00:06:24
is recommended by the clinical
00:06:26
guidelines so I use Civ PM facial
00:06:29
moisture ringg lotion and I apply it a
00:06:31
few minutes after putting on my
00:06:32
sunscreen then I have breakfast and that
00:06:35
brings me onto the third of eight
00:06:37
strategies diet so no one diet is going
00:06:40
to be perfect for everyone however as
00:06:42
per the clinical guidelines a diet
00:06:44
featuring plentiful fresh fruit and
00:06:45
vegetables herbs nuts beans and whole
00:06:48
grains with moderate amounts of seafood
00:06:50
Dairy chicken and eggs and occasional
00:06:52
red meat is associated with good skin
00:06:55
Health the diet fundamentals that I
00:06:57
emphasized to my patients at the clinic
00:06:58
are to have a diet high in lean protein
00:07:01
and fiber with unsaturated fats like
00:07:03
extra virgin olive oil avocados and
00:07:05
minimize sugar processed foods and salt
00:07:08
and during my breakfast I take a
00:07:10
supplement which is the fourth out of
00:07:12
eight strategies this supplement has
00:07:14
strong evidence from Human clinical
00:07:15
trials that it reverses skin wrinkles by
00:07:18
up to 18% but it's shrouded in two
00:07:20
controversies that need to be addressed
00:07:23
the supplement is hyaluronic acid and
00:07:25
it's found in every connective tissue
00:07:26
and organ essentially hyaluronic acid is
00:07:29
the the backbone of our connective
00:07:30
tissue holding everything together the
00:07:33
skin contains the largest quantity of
00:07:35
hyaluronic acid in the body with about
00:07:37
50% of the body's total hyaluronic acid
00:07:39
present in the skin but unfortunately
00:07:41
the quantity of hyaluronic acid in the
00:07:43
skin it gradually declines with age for
00:07:46
example a 72-year old person has only
00:07:48
one qu the amount of hyaluronic acid in
00:07:50
their skin compared to a 19-year-old
00:07:53
person so rebuilding hyaluronic acid is
00:07:55
like adding new Springs restoring some
00:07:57
of their original support so it sounds
00:08:00
great in theory but there's two valid
00:08:02
criticisms and the first is can the body
00:08:04
actually absorb hyaluronic acid
00:08:06
supplements this is a rabbit hole that's
00:08:08
just had a new twist added to it after a
00:08:10
2023 paper was published so are you
00:08:13
ready for the rabbit hole in the 2000s
00:08:15
and early 2010s animal experiments
00:08:17
demonstrated that hyaluronic acid
00:08:19
supplements can be absorbed and
00:08:21
distributed to the skin bones and Joint
00:08:23
fluid but a 2023 study has completely
00:08:26
upended that conclusion hyaluronic acid
00:08:29
it's a really long molecule and this
00:08:31
part is important because it affects the
00:08:32
type of hyaluronic acid supplements to
00:08:34
use very long versions of hyaluronic
00:08:37
acid are called high molecular weight
00:08:39
hyaluronic acid and they display
00:08:41
anti-inflammatory activities short
00:08:43
versions of hyaluronic acid on the other
00:08:45
hand are known as low molecular weight
00:08:47
hyaluronic acid and they're associated
00:08:49
with increasing inflammation the
00:08:51
previous studies that we looked at
00:08:52
suggested that the body can absorb the
00:08:54
long chains or the high molecular weight
00:08:56
hyaluronic acid and transport it to the
00:08:58
skin indeed that's why when I first
00:09:00
started taking hyaluronic acid
00:09:02
supplements I opted for the more
00:09:03
expensive High molecular weight versions
00:09:06
but multiple studies started to come out
00:09:08
suggesting that no high molecular weight
00:09:10
hyaluronic acid is broken down into low
00:09:13
molecular weight and then it's absorbed
00:09:15
but the 2023 study takes everything a
00:09:17
step further that study used the latest
00:09:20
labeling technology to explore exactly
00:09:22
how hyaluronic acid is or isn't absorbed
00:09:25
and here's what they found our gut
00:09:27
bacteria completely breaks down
00:09:29
hyaluronic acid and turns it into short
00:09:32
oligosaccharides or sugars and short
00:09:34
chain fatty acid metabolites which are
00:09:36
then absorbed and it's those broken down
00:09:38
pieces which have an effect on our skin
00:09:41
rather than any Direct effects from
00:09:43
hyaluronic acid being absorbed so buying
00:09:45
expensive High molecularweight
00:09:47
hyaluronic acid supplements is probably
00:09:49
a waste of money but given these
00:09:51
absorption questions what evidence do we
00:09:53
have that hyaluronic acid supplements
00:09:55
even though they're broken down do
00:09:57
indeed reduce skin wrinkles are these
00:09:59
supplements worth it and when examining
00:10:01
the research we care about the human
00:10:04
randomized Placebo control trials this
00:10:06
is where one group will take the
00:10:07
hyaluronic acid and another group will
00:10:09
take the placebo or the dummy pill then
00:10:12
we can compare whether there are any
00:10:13
true effects to the skin despite these
00:10:15
absorption challenges trials from 2001
00:10:19
all the way through to 2023 show that
00:10:21
hyaluronic acid supplements do improve
00:10:23
skin hydration and decrease wrinkles for
00:10:26
example this 2021 randomized control
00:10:28
trial of 40 people showed a significant
00:10:30
Improvement compared to a placebo and
00:10:33
that matches the results from a separate
00:10:35
group in 2021 and these results were
00:10:37
published in the European Journal of
00:10:39
Dermatology where wrinkles were measured
00:10:41
by autometer and they decreased by 18.8%
00:10:45
compared to the placebo group
00:10:46
importantly there were no conflicts of
00:10:48
interest in that trial finally a larger
00:10:51
2023 trial of 129 people again
00:10:55
demonstrated skin improvements from
00:10:56
hyaluronic acid supplements so overall
00:10:59
before we get onto the second
00:11:00
controversy we have multiple randomized
00:11:02
clinical trials showing that even though
00:11:04
hyaluronic acid supplements are first
00:11:06
broken down into sugars and metabolites
00:11:09
there are improvements in skin wrinkles
00:11:11
but are these supplements safe and that
00:11:13
is the second of the two controversies
00:11:15
some people may experience a bit of
00:11:17
tummy upset but the big safety concern
00:11:19
that you'll often hear on social media
00:11:21
is cancer in single cell studies when
00:11:23
hyaluronic acid is given to cancer cells
00:11:25
it appears to accelerate cancer growth
00:11:28
however when hyaluronic acid supplements
00:11:30
are given to mice who already have
00:11:31
cancer there is no difference so which
00:11:34
form is best well as explained
00:11:36
hyaluronic acid is broken down into
00:11:38
sugars and metabolites so when I
00:11:40
designed microvi I elected to use sodium
00:11:43
hyaluronate 200 migs due to its enhanced
00:11:46
stability and solubility and its smaller
00:11:48
molecular size I take
00:11:53
micrites in no way mean that you should
00:11:55
as well the fifth of eight strategies is
00:11:58
also a supplement that I take with my
00:11:59
breakfast specifically collagen peptides
00:12:02
we have evidence from multiple
00:12:04
randomized clinical trials that collagen
00:12:06
peptide supplements reduce skin wrinkles
00:12:08
by around 8% but just like hyaluronic
00:12:11
acid it's not without controversy
00:12:13
collagen peptide supplements have taken
00:12:15
the original long ropes of collagen and
00:12:17
chop them up into short chains of amino
00:12:19
acids to help absorption and amino acids
00:12:22
make up protein so critics of collagen
00:12:25
peptides will say that there's no added
00:12:26
benefit if you're consuming enough
00:12:28
protein because the result is the same
00:12:31
both strategies Supply our body with
00:12:33
amino acids the thing is though we have
00:12:35
specific peptide Transporters that allow
00:12:38
collagen peptides to be directly
00:12:40
absorbed and then transported to the
00:12:41
skin but what evidence do we have that
00:12:44
collagen peptides do offer benefits over
00:12:46
and above supplementing with protein
00:12:48
well we have a 2020 randomized control
00:12:51
trial of burn patients one group took
00:12:53
protein and the other group took a
00:12:55
matching amount of collagen peptides the
00:12:57
collagen peptide group experienced a
00:12:59
significantly higher wound healing rate
00:13:02
compared to the protein group suggesting
00:13:04
that collagen peptides do indeed have
00:13:05
benefits Beyond regular protein intake
00:13:08
the skin benefits were confirmed in a
00:13:10
2023 analysis that combined 23 separate
00:13:14
randomized clinical trials together
00:13:16
where collagen peptides were shown to
00:13:17
improve skin hydration and elasticity so
00:13:20
personally I take 10 to 15 gram of
00:13:23
collagen peptides every day the next
00:13:25
strategy is exercise a really
00:13:27
interesting paper in June 2023 looked at
00:13:30
exercise and its effects on skin aging
00:13:33
it found that aerobic training improved
00:13:35
skin elasticity but it didn't improve
00:13:37
dermal thickness whereas resistance
00:13:39
training did improve dermal thickness so
00:13:41
the overall point is that exercise has
00:13:44
powerful effects on our skin just like
00:13:46
diet and sleep and we want to prioritize
00:13:48
both resistance exercise and aerobic
00:13:51
exercise now coming to the end of the
00:13:53
day strategy seven and eight are night
00:13:55
creams the first is retinoids retinoids
00:13:59
strengthen the Skin's protective barrier
00:14:01
reduce water loss and stop enzymes that
00:14:03
break down the skin support structure
00:14:05
there are several different types of
00:14:07
retinoids but the most recent ones have
00:14:09
got some exciting advantages that I want
00:14:10
to tell you about but first let's have a
00:14:13
look at the oldest and most widely
00:14:15
studied retinoid trinoline trinoline was
00:14:18
first used to treat acne in the 1960s
00:14:20
but patients and their doctors soon
00:14:22
started to notice that it seemed to
00:14:24
improve the appearance of skin in
00:14:26
general even helping with the signs of
00:14:27
skin aging so in the early '90s it was
00:14:30
approved by the FDA to treat fine lines
00:14:33
and uneven coloration from skin damage
00:14:36
and plenty of research has shown its
00:14:37
Effectiveness one massive analysis that
00:14:40
looked at 180 individual studies on
00:14:42
tranan reported that its use improved
00:14:45
the signs of skin aging but even though
00:14:47
it works really well some people are
00:14:49
sensitive to tranan they can experience
00:14:51
skin irritation redness and dryness
00:14:54
especially at first and this drawback
00:14:56
has led to the development of what's
00:14:58
called third generation retinoids which
00:15:00
carry a distinct Advantage the reason is
00:15:03
that they can act on our skin in a
00:15:05
highly targeted way adapalene is the
00:15:07
most commonly used third generation
00:15:09
renoid but does that mean that we have
00:15:11
to sacrifice on Effectiveness well a
00:15:13
head-to-head trial in 2018 set out to
00:15:15
answer that question to see if the newer
00:15:17
generation retinoids as in adapalene
00:15:20
worked as well as the older and proven
00:15:22
tretinoin the results well the authors
00:15:25
concluded that adapalene was just as
00:15:27
good as troan in reducing the signs of
00:15:29
skin aging now in a lot of areas around
00:15:32
the world you need a prescription to get
00:15:33
trolan or adapalene so I know some of
00:15:36
you are wondering what about other
00:15:37
products on the market that also contain
00:15:39
retinol that we can buy over the counter
00:15:41
are they just as effective well I can't
00:15:44
speak to every product out there but
00:15:45
usually the answer is no the reason has
00:15:48
to do with the specific form of retinoid
00:15:50
used which isn't nearly as strong as the
00:15:52
retinoids that we've discussed one study
00:15:54
investigated this class of products
00:15:56
called cosmal and they found the
00:15:59
supporting their use is weak overall
00:16:01
adapalene and trinoline are great
00:16:03
options and it's important to note that
00:16:05
their recommended use is just before bed
00:16:08
because they can cause irritation and
00:16:09
cause sensitivity to the sun plus
00:16:12
retinoids can degrade in sunlight making
00:16:14
them less effective also retinoid use is
00:16:16
not recommended during pregnancy the
00:16:19
eighth and final strategy is another
00:16:21
night cream it's the exfoliant lactic
00:16:23
acid and glycolic acid so over time
00:16:26
these exfoliants can affect the deeper
00:16:27
layers of the skin and reduce skin
00:16:29
wrinkles they help collagen and eltin to
00:16:31
grow again making Fine Lines less
00:16:33
noticeable these recommendations are
00:16:35
based on studies like this one where
00:16:37
lactic acid increased skin firmness
00:16:39
thickness and improved smoothness and
00:16:41
appearance of lines and wrinkles lactic
00:16:44
acid and glycolic acid are called Alpha
00:16:46
hydroxy acids there are also beta
00:16:48
hydroxy acids like salicylic acid both
00:16:51
Alpha and beta hydroxy acids help to
00:16:53
remove dead skin cells and promote skin
00:16:55
renewal so on Monday and Thursday nights
00:16:58
I apply both the alpha and beta hydroxy
00:17:00
acids and leave them on overnight now
00:17:02
for most people at my clinic we
00:17:04
recommend against using R andwood creams
00:17:06
at the same time as these exfoliants
00:17:09
because it can significantly inflame the
00:17:10
skin my skin is fine for whatever reason
00:17:13
when I mix those creams together so I
00:17:15
use retinoids every night but that is
00:17:17
not standard practice I encourage my
00:17:19
patients to begin by using only one or
00:17:21
the other on any particular night and
00:17:23
personally I use Paula's Choice Skin
00:17:26
perfecting 8% aha gel and 2% BHA liquid
00:17:31
and I'm not affiliated in any way now
00:17:33
it's time to go to bed and have a
00:17:34
restful night's sleep so make sure to
00:17:36
check out this next video here that
00:17:38
explains the latest science on how to
00:17:40
optimize your sleep so that you can fall
00:17:42
asleep when you want to and wake up
00:17:43
feeling rested and energized
