Sun exposure, environmental oxidation and free radicals, hormones, poor nutrition and high stress levels can lead to premature aging of the skin. Signs of aging include fine lines and wrinkles, age spots and brown spots, uneven skin tone, loss of elasticity and firmness and loss of natural skin hydration. Although aging is a natural process in life, The Hansen Clinic believes in combining health and nutrition with an ideal balance of medical skin care products and aesthetic treatments that can slow down and even reverse some of these age related signs.
Here is the Hansen Clinic Top 10 Skin Care Checklist.
1) Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water every day.
That’s one 8 oz glass every two hours. Double that amount to 8 oz every hour for every hour you are outside. Water forms a major part of our body composition. In fact, two-thirds of your body weight is water. Your blood is 83% water, your muscles are 75% water, your brain is 74% water and your skin is 70% water. Your skin is designed to provide a beautiful soft and supple covering for your body. Hyaluronic Acid in your skin holds 1000 times its weight in water. When your skin gets dehydrated you lose this soft supple padding underneath your skin.
2) Use a physical UV sun block on your skin every day.
UV radiation causes free radical damage to the skin that leads to hyper-pigmentation, age spots, hardening of collagen and elastin, wrinkles and premature aging of the skin. When the skin is excessively exposed to UVB rays, it becomes inflamed (sunburn) and the cells in the dermis stop producing adequate amounts of hyaluronic acid, and increase the rate of its degradation, which prevents healthy skin respiration and repair.
3) Take Dr. Hansen’s Antioxidant Peak Advantage Multi-Vitamin every day.
Peak Advantage contains optimal amounts of the antioxidants Vitamins C, E, and the Carotenes you need every day. (Take 2 Capsules 3 times daily with each meal). Vitamin C is nature’s best known antioxidant. It is also essential to the production of collagen and elastin. Additionally, Vitamin C is the predominant antioxidant in the skin where if it is plentiful and it protects against cancer and photo aging. Vitamin E protects all cell membranes and the stratum corneum of the skin. Carotene is another potent antioxidant, which is stored in the skin. It provides a natural bronze coloration to the skin and absorbs UV radiation. Bioflavonoids are specialized antioxidants that strengthen and protect collagen and elastin in the skin and throughout the body.
4) Take Grape Seed Extract every day.
Grape seed extract is the most potent nutrient that you can take to protect your body from premature aging, disease, and deterioration. Grape seeds contain potent bioflavonoids including proanthocyanidin. Scientific research shows that the antioxidant power of proanthocyanidins is 20 times greater than vitamin C and 50 times greater than vitamin E. Dr. Hansen recommends Ultra GSE 110, the most potent and complete proanthocyanidin formula available. (Take 1 capsule twice daily),
Extensive research suggests that grape seed extract is beneficial in multiple ways because it protects and renews collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It makes up the structural frame work of our skin, blood vessels, bones and joints. Healthy collagen is what makes your skin soft, supple and youthful, your arteries pliable and your joints flexible. Studies have shown that proanthocyanidins help to protect the skin from sun damage and wrinkles, prevent hardening of the arteries, improve vision and prevent cataracts, reduce oxidative damage to the neurons in the brain and prevent stiffening of the joints.
Dr. Hansen recommends that everyone eat plenty of proanthocyanidin rich fruits like grapes, cranberries, plums, apples, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and blackberries. Additionally, he recommends taking a grape seed extract supplement every day to make sure that you have sufficient amounts of this potent antioxidant and collagen protector.
5) Take 1000mg of purified Omega-3 oil daily.
For many women, aging begins to affect the skin, nerves and cardiovascular system at about the same time. Omega 3 oil provides the cellular building blocks to ensure youthful skin rejuvenation. Omega 3 also provides the right type of oil necessary to nourish your hair and nails. When your diet is deficient in Omega 3 oils your nails, hair and skin become dry and brittle and lose their youthful appearance.
6) Apply SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF Serum on your face and neck every day.
Phloretin is another potent bioflavonoid recently found in the bark of apple, pear and grapefruit trees. It has been shown to inhibit nearly 80% of the elastin destroying enzyme elastase. It is a potent antioxidant that inhibits age spots and activates cell renewal. It is antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory. Just 3 drops on your face every day can provide an 8-fold increased protection from the sun’s photo damaging rays. (Apply daily to help prevent or reverse the appearance of photo damage, including age spots and wrinkles).
7) Get a Microdermabrasion treatment every two months.
Microdermabrasion is a facial skin-freshening technique that helps repair sun damaged, hyper pigmented, rough and aging skin. At the Hansen Clinic we use a Derma Genesis® medical grade microdermabrasion machine to emit a fine blast of sodium bicarbonate crystals (rather than aluminum) across the face, mixing gentle abrasion with suction to remove the dead, outer layer of skin known as the stratum corneum and promote the production of new cells in the basal (deepest) layer of the dermis.
8 ) Get a Facial/Peel every 3-4 months.
There are several different types of Peels using various herbs/chemical to peel away unwanted age spots and accumulated toxins from the skin. This is a great way to enhance skin rejuvenation. As you age, the accumulated effects of sun exposure, pollutants and poor nutrition can damage our skin and cause us to look older that we are. Peels can be performed on the face, neck, chest, arms hands, and legs.Peels are effective in restoring a more youthful appearance to wrinkled, unevenly pigmented, sun-damaged or blotchy skin. They are also used to treat pre-cancerous lesions. Chemical exfoliation is effective in reducing acne breakouts, congested skin, black heads and white heads and lessoning the depth and severity of acne scarring.
9) Get a series of 4-5 Photo facial treatments every 2-3 years or as needed.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Photofacial therapy can be used on the neck, chest, arms and hands to remove unsightly pigments, discoloration, and spider veins and to stimulate the production of healthy new collagen deep within the dermis of the skin in order to restore your youthful skin tone and supple texture in these areas.
Treating a pigmented lesion with the IPL results in heating the oxidized melanin in the skin that causes age spots. The damaged lesion is then naturally sloughed as the skin exfoliates. Similar results are seen in the treatment of vascular lesions. The absorption of the light in hemoglobin and the resultant thermal action inside the blood vessels causes coagulation, vasoconstriction, and disappearance of any unsightly blood vessels.
The IPL stimulated dermis induces the formation of healthy new collagen and elastin. Increased collagen production ultimately reduces fine lines, fills in wrinkles in the face and neck, and reduces pore size, while elastin restores the supple elasticity to the skin producing softer, smoother younger looking skin.
10) Natural Dermal Fillers for Immediate Results.
Dr. Hansen traveled to Paris, France to learn the art and medical science of natural dermal fillers, including Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse. These natural products replace the hyaluronic acid that is lost as we age and stimulate the production of new collagen. These natural injectable gels can restore the youthful volume of Hyaluronic Acid and the supple integrity of newly stimulated Collagen back in your skin with immediate results.