1. Epidermis
This is the outer layer of your skin. This protects the inner layers to whatever the environment may cause them. This seemingly tough outer skin is caused by the movement of keratinocytes, the cells of the epidermis, from its bottom part to the top. As a result, a large dose of keratin is produced. But when these cells reach the top, they actually flake off. So if you see scaly types of skins, it means that something went wrong in this process.

2. Dermis
This is the skin’s second layer. This contains its structural elements, which is the connective tissue. There are actually many types of connective tissue. Each type acts for different functions. Some samples are the collagen. This gives the skin strength. The glycosaminoglycans are the proteins that give turgor to skin. The elastin fibers create the elasticity of your skin.
Between dermis and epidermis is the dermal-epidermal junction. This is an important feature as it interlocks and form fingerlike projections which are called rete ridges. These will increase the area of the epidermis which is exposed to the blood vessels and need nutrients. The blood vessels in the dermis give out such nutrients to the epidermis through the rete ridges.

3. Subcutaneous tissue
This is the skin’s bottom layer. And the subcutaneous tissue contains the fat cells. You know what those cells are for? They supply insulation to your body and they also make your skin full and plump.

Presenting the Wrinkles

How do wrinkles form and develop as people age? Through time, the epidermal cells will become thinner. As a result, you will also look thinner. The epidermal cells will also be less sticky. This means that that there are more chances for the moisture on your skin to be released than maintained, which causes dryness. The decrease in the epidermal cells is actually 10 percent per decade. And as people age, they divide slower. For this reason, the skin cannot cope up quickly as it used to repair itself.
In the dermal layer, less collagen is being produced. The elastin fibers also wear out. Such factors will cause the skin to sag and wrinkle. The rete ridges, meanwhile, will flatten out. This will cause the skin to be fragile. And so the nutrients that the epidermis needs will not be met accordingly.

The fat cells in the subcutaneous layer get thinner as people age. This results to more wrinkles and sagging. It is a complex process that all people will go through as people age. You can use moisturizer while you are young and take good care of your skin to slow down this process. But you have to admit that there will come a point wherein you will not only face a wrinkle in time, but other kinds of changes in your features as well. That is okay. The important thing is that you age gracefully so that people will perceive you as beautiful inside and out.

When young people are going through hormonal fluctuations during puberty the skin is pulled by the rapid growth or stretching. These periods of growth tend to damage the elastic fibers inside the skin, deep beneath the skin’s surface. Girls will notice these marks on their hips, breasts, thighs and abdomen. And while they’re more common in girls, guys can get stretch marks, too.

Overstretching reduces the production of collagen in our skin,normally very elasic and resilient. A natural protein, collagen acts like a glue and is the body’s major support structure. Without it we would literally fall apart. Our skin is our body’s largest organ and it produces collagen every day. This essential protein gives the skin 90% of its volume.

After the age of about 25-35, our bodies produce less collagen. It is reduced at a rate of about 1.5% a year. When this happens, you will begin to notice signs of aging and stretch marks will appear if skin is stretched too much.

To prevent stretch marks, we need to stop the disruption in the body’s production of collagen. If the elastic fibers that help our skin to stretch are kept more elastic, you are less likely to get stretch  marks.

Body builders who have ‘pumped up’ too quickly can cause stretch marks from overstretched muscles. Men and women can cause stretch marks as a result of gaining or losing weight too quickly. Adolescent girls may notice stretch marks on thighs and breasts as a result of new growth and development.

Pregnancy

During the second half of pregnancy, to accommodate a growing baby, elastic fibers in a woman’s skin can break down, causing skin damage. Stretch marks may appear on hips, breasts, belly button, abdomen, back and even the buttocks.

Use an all-natural stretchmark cream that is safe for a pregnant mother and her unborn baby. A natural cream containing natural, cold-pressed oils and essential oils can be massaged into the belly while preganant to prevent marks from forming.

Rosehip Oil from Chile

Known as Rosa Mosqueta, this rosehip oil is pressed from the rosehip seeds of one type of wild rose grown in the Andes of South America. It contains an extremely high percentage of essential fatty acids and Vitamin C.  
Scars even 20 years old respond well to this oil when other therapies fail, and burned skin heals faster because of the regeneration of tissue. A natural cream containing Rosa Mosqueta is especially suited to treat damaged skin conditions and can completely eradicate existing stretch marks.

Carefully selected for their gentle healing properties and to minimize existing stretch marks, these essential oils reduce and prevent stretch marks: geranium, lavender, frankincense and myrrh.

Natural Oils

The following cold-pressed oils have soothing and healing properties to get rid of stretch marks: sweet almond oil, olive oil, avocado oil, carrot oil, coconut oil as well as cocoa butter.

Anti-Oxidants such a vitamins A and C rejuvenate tissue and promote collagen production.

Drink plenty of water! This simple remedy strengthens the skin.

Avoid (or reduce) caffeine drinks and alcoholic drinks which dehydrate the skin.

Avoid excessive weight gain to prevent stretchmarks from getting worse.

Massage the skin in the area of the stretch marks.  This act alone increases circulation to the affected area and stimulates new tissue growth. Any cream or massage oil will do for massage. However, creams containing oils with healing properties such as vitamin E and Rosa Mosqueta oil are the best choice to prevent scarring and limit the amount of damage.

Special Treatment for Stretchmarks and Aging Skin:

Would you like to repair cells and fight the free radical damage to your skin? Venus Naturals makes a 100% all-natural intensive cream with Rosa Mosqueta from the Andes Mountains in Chile. It reduces and eliminates stretch marks and brown age spots on photo-aged or sun-damaged skin.

This hidden “miracle” is called antioxidants.  They have graced the pages of magazines, medical journals and every product from hand cream to supplement pills.  But what are antioxidants and what can they do to keep you looking your best?

Antioxidants are substances that fight the aging process that goes on in your body.  They are not produced by the body so to get the benefit of these power-packed substances you must ingest them.  A variety of foods contain antioxidants.

Fight the aging process

 Let’s go back to the beginning.  The body continually replenishes its cells.  Through a process called cellular metabolism, the body produces energy, more cells and repairs any damage.  One by-product of cellular metabolism is unstable molecules called free radicals.

Free radicals are molecules that damage your body.  They are unstable because they are missing an electron.  To get another one and become stable, free radicals will steal electrons from cells.  That theft damages the cells in a variety of ways. 

The results are visible and invisible changes to our bodies.  The development of diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis and neurological deficiencies may begin to affect you as you age.  Also, thinner skin, wrinkles and brittle bones are a problem.  Free radicals enter our body from outside sources as well: cigarette smoke, radiation and the sun’s UV rays.  The more free radicals we encounter, the greater the damage that can be done.

Antioxidants have been shown to be of great help in the free radical problem.  Antioxidant substances combine with free radicals and neutralize them.  Once they are neutralized, they can no longer do any damage.  Scientists don’t have any idea of a recommended daily dose of antioxidants to correct free radical damage and the diseases that come with age, but they do know that eating foods rich in antioxidants makes a huge difference in how we live.

Where do you find antioxidants?  They are all around us.  Look no further than your local farmer’s market or produce aisle in the grocery store.  Fruits and vegetables contain the principle sources of antioxidants.

Examples of antioxidants include:
* Vitamin C
* Vitamin A
* Vitamin E
* Lutein
* Lycopene
* Beta-carotene

Certain minerals like zinc and selenium also function in the body.  They are not antioxidants but they boost the immune system to fight against free radical damage.

Antioxidants are also found in nuts, legumes, cold water fish, seafood and red meat.  So, eating a varied diet of fruits, vegetables and the foods just named will increase the amount of antioxidants in your system and help reduce the incidence of disease.  Eating fruits and vegetables in their natural form instead of juices brings the benefit of other nutrients found in the foods.  Juices also contain a lot of sugar that is not needed by your body.

Food does more than stave off hunger.  Natural substances found there can cause us to live longer and stay free of disease as we age.