aging skin

Nature’s Best Remedies for Aging Skin

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Skip the expensive creams and chemical peels until you’ve nurtured your skin naturally

We all get old, but nature offers some plant compounds that can help us weather the years with more youthful skin.(Kzenon/Shutterstock)

We all get old, but nature offers some plant compounds that can help us weather the years with more youthful skin.(Kzenon/Shutterstock)

Even those who may have won the genetic lottery or have unlimited amounts of money to spend on skincare aren’t exempt from the natural effects of aging.

But while the beauty industry is bent on spending a fortune trying to convince people of the supreme wonders of chemical peels, Botox injections, and serums, there’s an entire world of natural solutions to slow the effects of aging.

Ditch the expensive creams and peels for now and explore these natural remedies that may help you delay or manage the signs of aging skin.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is an established topical skin remedy but is also often added to fruit juice or smoothies in gel form. A 2009 study found that taking aloe orally reduced facial wrinkles.Thirty healthy women over age 45 took aloe vera gel as a supplement, with one group taking a low dose of 1,200 milligrams (mg) a day and another taking a high dose of 3,600 mg a day.

The researchers concluded that aloe gel significantly improved wrinkles in both groups after just 90 days. Additionally, the lower-dose group had improved skin elasticity. How? Aloe increased collagen production, leading to enhanced structural support of skin and fewer wrinkles.

A separate study suggested that continued intake of aloe sterol contributed to maintaining healthy skin, as shown in “statistical differences” in areas such as skin moisture, skin elasticity, and collagen score.

Red Ginseng

Red ginseng contains bioactive compounds that include antioxidants and anti-aging agents. It’s available in various forms such as tinctures, powders, liquid extracts, and capsules.

In Korea, 82 healthy women over age 40 took part in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Every day, they received either a placebo or 3 grams (g) of an herbal mixture with red ginseng extract.

After measuring facial wrinkles, elasticity, water content, red patches, and pigmentation, the researchers found that facial wrinkles significantly improved in the red ginseng extract group. A number of biochemical markers of wrinkle damage also improved. “These results substantiate the alleged beneficial effects of red ginseng on photoaging and support its use as an effective ‘beauty food,’” the authors wrote.

Korean red ginseng also proved to be an excellent antiaging product in a separate study. On human skin, ginseng cream increased skin resilience and skin moisture as well as enhanced skin tone.

Soy

Soy extract appears to rejuvenate the structure of mature skin. In a placebo-controlled in vivo study, topically applying an isoflavone-containing emulsion significantly flattened the dermal-epidermal junction, considered the most reproducible structural change in aged skin.

Data from separate research seemed to confirm the findings above, indicating that orally taking 40 mg of soy isoflavone aglycones per day improved the aged skin of middle-aged women.

In a 2007 double-blind, 12-week study, a moisturizer containing compounds found in soy was found to be safe and effective in preventing photoaging. The moisturizer with stabilized soy extracts can be used to ameliorate overall skin tone and texture attributed to photoaging, the authors noted.

Pine Bark

A 2012 study comprising 112 women found pine bark extract to be safe and effective in substantially improving skin color and decreasing pigmentation of age spots caused by mild to moderate photoaging.

Japanese researchers divided the subjects into two groups, the first receiving 100 mg of pine bark extract each day and the second getting only 40 mg. The subjects received the standardized extracts known as Pycnogenol, found to significantly improve hydration and elasticity of the participants’ skin.

Pycnogenol also significantly increased the activity of an enzyme that’s important in the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, which then increases skin moisture and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles. It also affected genes involved in creating new collagen.

Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid derived from microalgae, found in studies to mitigate skin photoaging and age-related skin diseases through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A meta-analysis found that ingesting or topically using astaxanthin may be effective in reducing skin aging and improving moisture and elasticity, therefore providing promising cosmetic applications.

In a 2018 review, the carotenoid was also found to prevent UV-induced inflammation, wrinkling, and skin pigmentation after exposure to ultraviolet radiation, which can cause significant damage to skin tissue.

Vitamin C serum, tinted sunscreen moisturizer may ‘protect and repair’ aging skin

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A two-step skincare regimen involving concentrated vitamin C serum and tinted sunscreen was safe and effective in combating skin facial aging, according to a study.

“The clinical investigators — Dr. Joel Cohen, Dr. Melanie Palm, and Dr. Brian Biesman — were interested in understanding if a two-step skincare regimen comprised of a highly concentrated vitamin C serum and a tinted sunscreen moisturizer with broad-spectrum protection (SPF 45) could improve facial skin aging attributed to extrinsic stressors, including air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, visible light and infrared radiation, within their patient population,” Alisar S. Zahr, PhD, director of research and clinical development at Revision Skincare, told Healio.

Skin care
A two-step skincare regimen involving concentrated vitamin C serum and tinted sunscreen was safe and effective in combating skin facial aging.

Zahr added that patients exposed to these stressors have expressed concern about hyperpigmentation and photodamage in the form of fine lines, wrinkles, skin laxity and skin dullness.

“There are many treatment methodologies but the simplest and perhaps the easiest to incorporate into patients’ daily lives is medical-grade, physician-recommended skin care,” Zahr said.

The multi-center, prospective, open-label study included 36 women (mean age, 48.8 years; age range, 35 to 60 years). Eligible participants had Fitzpatrick skin types I to V, with moderate to severe hyperpigmentation and moderate photodamage.

“The location of the study was strategically chosen to encompass not only urban pollution but factors including high UV index, and climate ecosystems found within beach cities, mountain cities and river-traversed basin cities,” Zahr said, noting that the study was conducted in San Diego, Denver and Nashville.

Patients were instructed to apply the vitamin C serum in the morning and evening. The tinted sunscreen moisturizer was applied once in the morning and then at least twice more during the day. This regimen lasted 12 weeks.

Assessments included clinical grading with a validated scale, standardized photography and a patient questionnaire. Researchers gathered this data at baseline and at weeks 4, 8 and 12.

Results showed statistically significant improvements in clinically graded efficacy parameters at each time point.

For example, overall photodamage improved by 11.7% at 4 weeks, 14.9% at 8 weeks and 19.1% at 12 weeks, according to the findings.

In addition, clarity/brightness improved by 19.5% at 4 weeks, 23.4% at 8 weeks and 24.5% at 12 weeks.

Lines on both the forehead and cheek improved significantly between baseline and the 12-week assessment.

“The results from the study were exciting more than surprising,” Zahr said.

She noted that the group also conducted a stand-alone study on the vitamin C serum with 30% weight tetrahexyldecyl (THD) ascorbate which demonstrated efficacy and tolerability in female subjects with photodamage and hyperpigmentation.

“In this clinical study, we were excited to see that combining two highly efficacious products together was well perceived by the subjects across the urban environments,” Zahr said. “Subject testimonials and high acceptance of the two-step skincare regimen further substantiated that this product pairing can be used by physicians to treat patients concerned with facial aging and those living in urban environments.”

Safety data showed that patients tolerated both products well, according to the findings.

“Solar radiation and air pollution are major contributors to facial skin hyperpigmentation and photodamage,” Zahr said. “Incorporating a daily skincare regimen including a highly efficacious vitamin C serum composed of THD ascorbate and a tinted sunscreen moisturizer with broad spectrum protection containing additional unique ingredients to protect from high energy visible light and infrared light can both protect and repair skin from these extrinsic factors.”