Inflammation is your body's way of protecting it from harm. The swelling that forms on your skin after a bump, the redness around a breakout or cut, a raised area around a mosquito bite are all examples of the inflammatory response in our skin.
What's more tricky to spot is chronic low-grade inflammation that increases as we age - it's called inflammaging and presents itself in the skin as collagen and elastin depletion, uneven texture, and slower healing.
When it comes to the causes of inflammaging, the main culprits are internal and external environmental stressors which include:
As with all things, maintenance and prevention are the best ways to manage the effects of inflammaging. Here are our top tips:
Protective skincare is a really easy way to protect your skin from environmental stressors such as pollution and sun exposure. Look for antioxidants which help to fight free radical damage - great antioxidants include plant oils, vitamins A, E, C, and niacinamide. And don’t forget your SPF which will protect your skin from sun exposure - one of the main causes of inflammation in the skin.
When you are stressed, your body releases compounds called cytokines which lead to inflammation in the body and the more you’re stressed, the more inflammation your body will experience. Managing stress levels is a very personal thing and not ‘one size fits all’ so find the best way to relieve stress and try to get into a daily habit of doing it. Great places to start are meditation, exercise, talking to a close friend or family member, cooking or having a long bath.
Reducing inflammation is obviously beneficial in the quest to mitigate inflammation so make sure that your routine has anti-inflammatory products in there. Centella Asiatica, niacinamide, Cannabis Sativa extract, honey, and vitamin A are all anti-inflammatory and will help to calm your skin before the inflammation can wreak too much havoc.
Another great investment is a home LED device as this is clinically proven to reduce inflammation and accelerate skin healing. Our preference is the Dermalux Flex as it’s the only medically certified home LED device on the market and your skin deserves nothing less than the best.
A strong skin barrier will protect your skin from environmental stressors, reducing inflammation, irritation and dehydration. Make sure you’re not using stripping products and that you’re using a gentle touch with your skin. For more skin barrier tips, read our skin barrier guide
The health of your microbiomes are integral to preventing long term inflammation. If the gut microbiome is imbalanced, it can lead to dysbiosis which can lead to higher levels of inflammation in the body. If the skin barrier is weakened, there is more room for pathogenic microbes to thrive which can cause inflammation. They also destroy tight t-junctions in the skin barrier which can lead to significant transepidermal water loss. Read our 7 Ways to Foster a Healthy Microbiome for more information
Our skin is at its most active at nighttime - this is when it gets to work healing and regenerating so you want to make sure you’re getting ample sleep so your skin has enough time to heal fully.