WHAT AGES US?
When, exactly, did it all start? Where did the carefree days of your youth disappearto, the ones when only that occasional blemish could ruin your day? It's sneaky, I know, and even potentially distressing, but there's no way to avoid the fact that ageing will happen to each and every one of us. If we can't avoid it, then we might as well understand it, because this will teach us that there is a lot that we can do to slow this process down.
There are two basic types of ageing: intrinsic (or chronological) ageing and extrinsic (or sun-induced) ageing. The first type, intrinsic, refers to the inevitable passage of time and the conditions that arise because of it. In the 1960s, scientists discovered that the root cause of ageing lay deep within our skin cells' DNA - which is why it's a good idea to glance at your parents to see what the future holds for you. Some of the conditions that come with intrinsic ageing, which I will be describing in further detail later in this chapter, will happen no matter how well-intentioned you are. The good news - and anyone who is devoted to reading beauty magazines has certainly heard this before -is that there is plenty that you can do to lessen the appearance of intrinsic ageing characteristics.
The second type of ageing is a more sinister one, if only because it falls within our control yet delivers the majority of the harm that we view as aged skin. Extrinsic ageing is caused by external factors such as smoking, excessive use of alcohol, poor nutrition and, of course, the big one: sun exposure. Because this process is not inevitable, it is often referred to as premature ageing. More than 80% of the characteristics of prematurely aged skin can be attributed to sun exposure. It's also important to note that incidences of skin cancer occur almost exclusively in photo-aged skin.
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