Beauty Tips For Body Care
AHA is an increasingly popular and effective exfoliant acid that seriously helps your skin with skin repair, ageing, and even sun damage. So it is no wonder it has really taken off on the market, and been adopted into every other person's skincare routines. By using it properly, you can repair a lot of skin damage and even the effects of ageing. For AHA treatment to be fully effective especially during ongoing/long term use, you need to use sunscreen, SPF 30 or 50. Every day. I know, this seems excessive and unnecessary. So let's go into the reasons why this is the case.AHA works by removing the dead skin cell layers and revealing the youthful skin underneath.As you age, there are several factors (such as time and sun exposure) that slow down the process of shedding built-up skin layers. This leaves a lot of dead skin cells on the surface, which is where AHA comes in as an effective tool to break down those top layers. As mentioned, AHAs are known for aiding the repair of skin damage, reducing the effects of ageing, and maintaining more youthful skin. They achieve this by encouraging the production of new skin layers and -"they loosen the glue-like substances that hold the surface skin cells to each other, therefore allowing the dead skin to peel off gently. The skin underneath has a fresher, healthier look with a more even colour and texture." (https://dermnetnz.org/topics/alpha-hydroxy-acid-facial-treatments/).However, as it is breaking down those built-up layers, this also leaves you with a thinner ‘barrier’, as it were. Which means, you are more susceptible to the sun’s UV rays and damage; FDA provides an indication if approximately 18%.Unlike BHA, AHA does increase sun sensitivity and is therefore best applied at night.The FDA conducted a study on the use of AHA (over a four-week period) to determine if AHA actually did increase UV sensitivity -"These studies confirmed previous industry studies indicating that applying AHAs to the skin results in increased UV sensitivity. After four weeks of AHA application, volunteers' sensitivity to skin reddening produced by UV increased by 18 percent. Similarly, the volunteers' sensitivity to UV-induced cellular damage doubled, on average, with considerable differences among individuals." (https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/alpha-hydroxy-acids ).This highlights the importance of complementing your AHA routine with sun protection, which is most popular with sunscreen or protective layers. It is important to note the article at least confirms you are only more sensitive to UV rays for up to a week after an AHA treatment. If you were to terminate using AHA, by the end of a week your skin will no longer have that increased UV sensitivity. Regardless, this is a fairly decent indication for wearing sunscreen in conjunction with your AHA routine. But I still haven't explained why you should bother wearing it indoors. On the outset this seems unnecessary and wasteful of product that can be quite costly.Wearing sunscreen indoors (especially with an AHA routine) has everything to do with your increased UV sensitivity, and the ability of certain UV rays to penetrate glass and windows. The sun has UV rays (which we have all heard of), each responsible for a different aspect of skin damage, either immediate or long term. The main two to focus on are UV-B and UV-A. UV-B is the type of ray we can 'feel'; it's warm on our skin, it burns us if we're out too long, and we know to wear sunscreen on days out to protect against it. Put simply, UV-B is a surface layer ray. It tans, and it burns. UV-A, however, is the ray we cannot 'feel', but it is more detected by light and brightness around you. Although you can't feel it, UV-A rays penetrates several layers deep, below the epidermis and into the dermis layer. An excellent resource to learn more about these UV rays and their behaviours is Dr. Dray on YouTube; she is a dermatologist who provides excellent sun-care advice and product recommendations to her audience: https://youtu.be/rYuk5b0XBmgThe differences of penetration between UV-B and UV-A; the latter is able to pass through clouds and windows.UV-A, due to its longer wavelengths, is capable of passing through the glass in your car, the windows in your home, and remains potent even in overcast weather. This ray is most responsible for photo-ageing and wrinkling skin, and as explained by World Health Organisation (WHO) -"It can penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and is responsible for the immediate tanning effect. Furthermore, it also contributes to skin ageing and wrinkling. For a long time it was thought that UVA could not cause any lasting damage. Recent studies strongly suggest that it may also enhance the development of skin cancers." (https://www.who.int/uv/faq/whatisuv/en/index2.html ).When you consider its already-potent capabilities alongside that 18% increased sensitivity due to AHA treatment, it can be reasonably concluded that you are at greater risk of prematurely ageing / damaging your skin.UV-A is the cause of long-term skin damage, ageing, and wrinkles.As discussed earlier, given AHA is often utilised to assist with reducing the effects of ageing or damaged skin, therefore the last thing you want to do is inadvertently age your skin prematurely by not appropriately protecting it during your skincare routine. You are not protected from UV-A just because you are indoors, or in your car. You are not even protected if it is cloudy. So if you are wondering “should I be wearing sunscreen right now?”, the safest answer is, “yes.” Because at the very least, there is NO downside to just wearing sunscreen. Even if you plan to hang out at home.NOTE: this 'essay' is also relevant without AHA treatment; UV-A impacts us all! I just wrote this with AHA exfoliants in mind because I have recently started using this product, and sunscreen advice has genuinely made a difference for me.Disclaimer: I am not an expert and I'm not replacing your experts, but I have written this with extensive reference to the following resources which includes peer reviewed studies, advice from dermatologists, and pieces from skincare companies to break down some information simply.It's helped me as I asked this question when starting out in skincare, so I wanted to share. Please try keep comments civil. :)Resources:https://dermnetnz.org/topics/alpha-hydroxy-acid-facial-treatments/https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/alpha-hydroxy-acidshttps://www.paulaschoice.com.au/expert-advice/skincare-advice/dry-skin/how-aha-exfoliants-work.htmlhttps://www.who.int/uv/faq/whatisuv/en/index2.htmlhttps://youtu.be/rYuk5b0XBmghttps://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/uv-radiation/https://uihc.org/health-topics/what-difference-between-uva-and-uvb-rays
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by Mademantine
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