Skin Care Tips to fight pollution and habits for oily and dry skin by skin specialist Dr Pallavi

Skin is the largest organ of the body. It’s the single organ which takes the major brunt of pollution.

Pollution in all forms effects the well being of our health. The most damaging of them all on the skin is air pollution. Rapid industrialization and increased fuel and energy consumption and decreased damage correction add to the damage.

Even though there are various sources of pollutants the most important ones are ultraviolet radiation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, oxides, particulate matter, ozone and cigarette smoke.

Air pollutants get absorbed directly through the skin or through hair follicles and or oil glands.

At Skinclan Stretch Mark Treatment in Bangalore the major effect of pollutants on the skin is increased oxidative stress. There is a depletion of antioxidants like glutathione peroxidase, reductase, superoxide dismutase, VitC,E, and glutathione. The increase in free radicals causes cell damage which in turn increases oxidative stress thereby creating a vicious cycle. This, inturn, results in a cascade of reactions whose ultimate effect is on collagen and elastin damage.

How does sunlight damage?

We all know UV light is harmful to skin especially the shorter wavelength light. Because of depletion of ozone layer the penetration of shorter wavelength light has increased which is damaging the structure and function of skin cells.  Aging as the process is caused by UVA majorly and with a combination of pollutants like particulate matter and PAHC,nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide,co2 etc not only increase oxidative damage but also cause reflection of light which causes an additive effect of sun damage on the skin.

Smoking and skin:

Cigarette smoke is a complex of aerosols which have thousands of chemical substances which not only causes oxidative damage from outside but also when inhaled causes numbing of all antioxidant pathways and thereby increases damage and reduces repair process at Skinclan Resurfacing Laser Treatment in Bangalore.

Smoker’s skins have specific features few of which are

1.   Dryness which doesn’t get corrected by drinking water or applying moisturizers.

2.   Early onset of fine and coarse wrinkles especially around eyes and mouth.

3.   The skin has an orange-purple tinge or grey color.

4.   Bony prominences become more evident.

5.   Smoker’s comedones: comedones or black and whiteheads seen specifically around eyes.

Many more specific changes can be seen in the mouth and tongue.

This implies that both active and passive smoking causes premature aging.

Smoke from fuel, wood, automobile exhaust, plastics, dyes etchave polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which cause aging, pigmentation problems, acneiform eruptions, Derma Roller Treatment for Acne Scars in Bangalore etc...

Ozone after interacting with sunlight, hydrocarbons and other chemicals form the photochemical smog which reduces 70% of VitE in the skin. It also reduces Vit c and normal bacterial flora in the skin which disrupts barrier function of the skin and makes it more prone to damage and pigmentation.