Inflammaging is the premature aging of skin caused by chronic, persistent, underlying inflammation. Read on to learn the answers to:

1. What is inflammaging?
2. How does inflammaging speed the aging process?
3. How does oxygen help fight chronic inflammation to keep your skin looking young and healthy.

Inflamed skin and aging

We all know that inflamed skin is no good: It feels uncomfortable, it looks uncomfortable, and it can speed visible signs of the aging process. Although we love the beauty and wisdom that naturally comes with age, we are also not crazy about some of the effects of aging on our skin. And we would like to naturally prevent as many of them as possible. Read on to get answers to common inflammaging questions.

1. What's the connection between inflammation and aging?

You might be surprised to learn that these two factors, aging and inflammation, are related. New science suggests that chronic, low grade inflammation actually speeds the aging process, causing age-related diseases and other effects. It also weakens your skin’s natural defenses. Weak skin leads to the degradation of collagen and elastin, which have the important jobs of keeping skin firm and smooth. Weak skin also leads to impaired function of the skin’s barrier, which is designed to keep moisture in and toxins out.

2. Why is my skin inflamed?

Here’s how it happens. As you age, your immune system naturally declines. Strangely, some parts of your immune system actually become more active, and not in a good way. For example, cells that fight infection in your body begin to increase in number and become more active. Normally this is part of a healthy immune system, but as this response becomes hyperactive, the result is chronic, low grade inflammation, or inflammaging.

3. What causes persistent skin inflammation?

Persistent skin inflammation isn’t caused by a foreign substance or infection. Rather, skin inflammation is a malfunction of your body’s natural defense system. It’s kind of like a smoke alarm that keeps going off whether there’s smoke or not. Some recent studies suggest that this persistent inflammation is actually a snowball-effect in the aging process and in age-related diseases. As the immune system weakens, inflammaging occurs, speeding the aging process and worsening its effects. Inflammaging might be responsible for a host of problems usually associated with aging, including kidney disease and heart disease.

4. How does inflammaging actually work?

Inflammaging affects your whole body, including your skin. As you age, your skin’s defense cells begin to release inflammatory substances. Factors that promote aging in your skin, like UV rays, also exacerbate inflammaging.

Because inflammaging is chronic and comes from our bodies’ own systems, it doesn’t subside like the inflammation that occurs when you are exposed to an irritant. Again, it’s like a faulty alarm that won’t stop going off. This persistent, long term inflammation harms pretty much every natural function designed to keep skin healthy. In particular, it breaks down collagen and elastin which keep skin healthy and firm. It also causes oxidative stress, which impairs your skin’s barrier function and causes discoloration.

5. Do I have skin inflammation?

“Am I inflamm-aging?” you might be wondering? Unlike the visible symptoms of a rash or environmental irritant, you won’t see inflammaging on your skin’s surface. You will see the visible effects it’s producing from the inside out, but the inflammation itself is happening under the surface.

In other words, inflammaging will exacerbate the normal effects of aging on the skin and make them worse. Effectively, this speeds the aging process.

6. Is inflammaging bad?

Sounds like bad news, right? Well, believe it or not, we actually don’t think so. We think that understanding how inflammation and aging are related is a good thing. First, it will help scientists (and us) better understand the aging process itself. And it will make us better at taking care of ourselves, and our skin, as we age.

 

If chronic inflammation is a factor in exacerbating signs of aging, then steps that we can take to reduce inflammation will also help slow the aging process. That’s right, even if the inflammation itself is invisible. Here are some skincare steps that are known to reduce inflammation:

 

How to reduce skin inflammation

1. Moisturize:

The better you moisturize your skin, the less inflamed it will be. One study found that using a moisturizing cream reduces the levels of inflammatory substance (cytokines) in skin tissue. The same study also found that moisturizers improve barrier function, meaning that your skin loses less moisture over time. More moisture typically means less inflammation.

In the same way that inflammaging has a snowball effect — aging causes inflammation, which in turn speeds aging — proper skin care has a snowball effect of its own in fighting inflammation. Moisturizing will help with inflammation, and it also helps your skin stay healthier overall. The healthier the skin, the better it will be at fighting further inflammation and retaining moisture.

2. Use oxygen:

Not all skin care is made equal. Only Truly O2 micro-oxygen skincare boosts your skin’s natural ability to retain moisture and heal itself, stimulating healthy skin cells from the inside out. Higher concentrations of oxygen in our tissue are known to reduce inflammation. Studies have also shown that increasing the oxygen available to cells boosts every aspect of skin health, including collagen production, moisture retention, tissue healing, and cellular metabolism. All of these factors mean healthier skin that is less susceptible to inflammaging.

 

The new science on inflammaging tells us two things about the aging process — what factors accelerate visible signs of the aging process, and what we can do about it. Our takeaway? Ultra hydrating, oxygen skincare is an important part of any healthy skincare routine. In other words, Truly O2 should be an essential part of your skin care routine if you want to age gracefully, beautifully, and healthfully. Find out what Truly O2 users already know by trying Truly O2 today.

 

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