Summer, heat, the sun is shining in all its splendor and we have prepared everything to go to the beach to get that long-awaited tan.

Sun exposure is responsible for most aging, which is why photoaging can be directly related to premature aging of the skin.
The aging process of the skin can be said to be caused by an increase in cellular oxidation.
It is known that 80% of this photoaging is due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Today, from Salengei, we will talk about “that tan” and try to give you some tips to take care of your skin.

Photoaging

Gone are the long days of youth when we spent hours lounging in the sun carefree with the sole purpose of achieving a deep tan.
The rapid progression of sun lesions on our skin, which appear on the face, chest, neck and arms, is today evidence of those unprotected hours.
Therefore, we will start by remembering basic concepts.

The skin is made up of three layers: the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous tissue. The dermis contains collagen, elastin, and other important fibers, which affect the strength and elasticity of the largest organ in the human body and are responsible for its smooth and youthful appearance.

Ultraviolet radiation damages these proteins causing the infamous photoaging

The photoaging process is characterized by clinical, histological, and biochemical changes that differ from alterations in chronologically aged but sun-protected skin.
Signs appear as fine to medium wrinkles, sagging skin, ephelides, solar lentigines, melasma, among others.
Microscopy, on the other hand, shows prominent alterations in the cellular component and extracellular matrix of connective tissue with a disorganized elastin accumulation in the deep dermis and a severe loss of interstitial collagen.

The pathogens of these changes are the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by UV rays that deplete and damage the skin’s antioxidant, enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense systems.
In addition to causing permanent genetic changes, ROS activate cytoplasmic signal transduction pathways in resident fibroblasts that are related to growth, differentiation, senescence, and connective tissue degradation. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0531-5565(00)00098-X

UV rays and photoaging

Acute exposure to UV radiation depletes catalase activity in the skin and increases protein oxidation.
It is estimated that, among all environmental factors, UV radiation contributes up to 80% and is the most important environmental factor in the development of skin cancer and skin aging.
UV radiation penetrates the skin, reaches the cells and is absorbed by DNA, leading to the formation of photoproducts that inactivate the skin’s functions. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.01708.x

Damage can occur through two different mechanisms:

1. the direct absorption of incident light by cellular components, resulting in the formation of an excited state and subsequent chemical reaction
2. by photosensitization mechanisms, where light is absorbed by endogenous (or exogenous) sensitizers that are excited to their triplet states.

Excited photosensitizers can, in turn, induce cell damage by two other mechanisms.
The first is by electron transfer and hydrogen abstraction processes to produce free radicals.
The second mechanism is given by the transfer of energy to produce the reactive excited state, singlet oxygen.
DNA oxidation can produce different types of DNA damage: strand breaks, sister chromatid exchange, protein-DNA crossover, sugar damage, abasic sites, and base modifications.

Cell death, chromosomal changes, mutation, and morphological transformations are observed after UV exposure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Numerous types of UV-induced DNA damage have now been recognized, including support breaks (single and double), cyclobutane-type pyrimidine dimers, photoproducts 6–4 Pyo, and the corresponding Dewar isomer, thymine glycols, 8-hydroxyguanine, and many more.
In addition to oxidation of nuclear DNA, UV radiation can also induce oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA.
DOI: 10.1007/3-7643-7378-4_6

How can we prevent it?

Preventing sun damage is easier than reversing it.
The generation of ROS induced by UV radiation (hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen) in the skin develops oxidative stress, and when its formation exceeds the antioxidant defense capacity of the target cell, a chain reaction begins.
The most well-known measures include the use of protective clothing, sunscreen (SPF) and avoiding tanning salons as well as sun exposure during the hours of greatest radiation.
The only protection of our skin is in its endogenous protection through melanin and enzymatic antioxidants.
Another route of attack could be that of the antioxidants we consume from food (vitamin A, C, E, etc.) to prevent oxidative stress and improve DNA repair.

Preventing sun damage is easier than reversing it

Several other components present in the skin are potent antioxidants including ascorbate, carotenoids, and sulfhydryls.
Water-soluble antioxidants in plasma include glucose, pyruvate, uric acid, ascorbic acid, bilirubin, and glutathione.
Lipid-soluble antioxidants include alpha-tocopherol, ubiquinol-10, lycopene, β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and alpha-carotene.
In general, the outer part of the skin, the epidermis, contains higher concentrations of antioxidants than the dermis.
PMID: 7880756

In the lipophilic phase, α-tocopherol is the most prominent antioxidant, while vitamin C and GSH have the highest abundance in the cytosol.
In molar terms, non-enzymatic hydrophilic antioxidants, including L-ascorbic acid, GSH, and uric acid, appear to be the predominant antioxidants in human skin.
DOI: 10.1007/3-540-32953-6_7

Cellmatrix

The use of exogenous antioxidants orally could be a good intervention to prevent oxidative stress and improve DNA repair.
A wide variety of antioxidants or other phytochemicals possess important skin-protective effects, such as lycopene, coenzyme Q, glutathione, selenium, zinc, bioflavonoids, green tea polyphenols, grape seed proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, silymarin, genistein, and others that act on UV-induced skin inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage.

CellMatrix provides antioxidants from various qualified sources to stop the attack of ROS in a preventive way.
Let’s take a brief look at some of its components.

• Grape seed extract.
  Flavonoids from red grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) including flavan-3-ols, flavonols, and anthocyanins exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.
• Green tea extract.
  The polyphenolic compounds found in green tea extracts act on photoaging and have very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
  These substances have the potential to improve several features of photoaged skin, specifically epidermal thinning, dermal connective tissue degradation, and hyperpigmentation.
• Goji berry extract.
  Goji berry extract is known as one of the richest sources of vitamins and other nutrients.
  It contains more than 18 different amino acids and vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, C and E, all of which are powerful antioxidants that play a role in preventing skin aging.
• Alpha Lipoic Acid.
  Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant that occurs naturally in the body and is also found in food.
  It is soluble in fat and water and regenerates vitamin E and C so that they remain active for longer.
  It protects mitochondria (the power plants of cells), provides energy and improves cell membranes.
• Purple corn extract.
  Purple corn extract contains phytonutrients, huge amounts of phenols, and anthocyanins, which are synonymous with antioxidant activity.
  Anthocyanins are a useful treatment for pathologies in which the production of free radicals is key.
• Beta-carotene.
  Green algae extract contains a carotenoid complex, beta-carotene and lutein. Carotenoids are converted to vitamin A in the body and act as antioxidants. The photoprotective and antioxidant properties of beta-carotene reduce the formation of skin erythema caused by UVB.

In addition to the mentioned ingredients, CellMatrix offers effective amounts of vitamins E and D3, magnesium, zinc, chromium, copper, and selenium.

Conclusion

That solar radiation causes photoaging has been a proven fact for many years.
But beyond protection for aesthetic reasons, at Salengei we always try to protect your health.
That is why we believe that CellMatrix provides more than enough antioxidants that add their actions to deal with free radicals that affect our body in general, but more than anything the skin, especially at this time of year.
If with just two tablets a day we can provide quality protection, then we say, why not?