Skin Health And Air Pollution
Skin Health And Air Pollution: Growing up in Asia, where air pollution is rampant, people want to protect their skin against pollution, which can aggravate acne. It may take years to get acne under control after trying a number of products such as antibiotics and cortisone shots.
Pollution is a huge contributor of inflammation, and you can’t really run away from it.
Pollution and your skin
Air pollution can lead to skin aging and the worsening of inflammatory skin diseases like eczema, acne and psoriasis, said Dr. Chan Yung, a dermatologist who consults with the Matilda International Hospital in Hong Kong. It can also increase the risk of skin cancer.
Yung recommends combating these effects by wearing sunscreen and a hat, even using an umbrella during the daytime. But he also advises the use of an antioxidant to help reduce oxidative stress from free radicals.
A topical antioxidant is best, he said, because the oral absorption of vitamins is limited, leaving the amount available for skin further reduced.
White blood cells produce free radicals from oxygen to kill bacteria or viruses, explains Linwei Tian, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong. When they are exposed to air pollution, these free radicals may be created to fight off potential pollution deposits, but as the white blood cells cannot kill the pollution particles, more white blood cells come in, creating even more free radicals, causing oxidative stress and inflammation.
Traffic-related air pollution has also been shown to cause the formation of lentigenes dark spots on the skin in women in Germany and China, with the most pronounced changes on the cheeks of Asian women over 50, according to research in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
A recent study in China found that indoor air pollution, due to close proximity to smokers, cooking fuels and roads, can also cause skin aging.
But while studies like these suggest a direct correlation between air pollution and skin damage, Dr. Henry HL Chan, an honorary clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong, said it’s hard to find exact statistics on just how big role pollution plays.
Two factors cause the greatest damage — Sun and Smoke — and when air particles cause free radical damage to cells, certain parts of our cells are not replaceable, Chan said.
Allies Of Skin Products Use Antioxidants To Protect Skin
The Singaporean man studied biomedical and pharmaceutical science at the University of Bradford in the UK and, in 2016, launched a skin care company, Allies of Skin.
The products aim to utilize the antioxidant properties of ingredients such as Moringa and Manuka honey, which are thought to help strengthen the structure of skin and fight damaging molecules — in turn, protecting it.
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