Tired and stressed skin: skincare tips

Adopting a good skincare routine and knowing which products are best suited for your skin can really make a difference and help us regain tone and vitality in our face.

Today we get straight to the point and see what effective remedies there are for tired and stressed skin, which appears asphyxiated and dull, lacking energy. It often happens to have a period when you don't feel good in your own skin, or just returned from vacation, to feel the skin thicker and harder, with dull tones and deep dark circles.

Fighting dull skin is possible, and to achieve a uniform and radiant complexion, it is necessary to act from the inside, primarily by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet. However, it is also possible to use effective remedies and treatments designed to restore vitality and cellular energy.

The main cause of tired and stressed skin: glycation

Often, when we talk about dull, lifeless, dehydrated, and thickened skin, with deep lines and evident fatigue, the main cause concerns the glycation of proteins.

Obviously, the way we treat our skin topically affects its appearance and health, but often the cause of the main imperfections related to skin aging can be traced back to an unhealthy lifestyle and a diet rich in sugars, simple carbohydrates, and fried food.

Some foods, in fact, can contribute to the glycation of proteins, which affects not only the body but also the skin. Glycation occurs when sugars such as glucose and fructose form non-enzymatic bonds with proteins and lipids, creating glycotoxins.

Besides the food itself, the main causes of glycation come from the cooking methods, such as the browning or frying process. Smoke and UV rays are also risk factors associated with glycation.

What is protein glycation?

The term glycation of proteins refers to the process when sugars present at the cellular and extracellular level bind to proteins. In practice, these bonds generate altered molecules that are non-functional, known as glycotoxins or AGE, which stands for Advanced Glycation End Products.

These molecules condition the aging of cells and tissues. In these cases, we talk about thickened, hard, leathery skin, precisely because glycotoxins affect the proper functioning of collagen and elastin.

What to do when all this happens? How to block the glycation mechanism of proteins? Sometimes it is necessary to limit the daily intake of sugars in the diet to generally improve the energy aspect of the cells and invigorate them. In other cases, it is necessary to use a product that can reduce the damage of glycation for topical use, which is able to provide new elasticity to the skin, improve density, and act in the three-dimensionality of the skin.

How glycation affects the skin

During the glycation process, glucose and fructose bind to amino acids in the two key skin proteins: collagen and elastin. These proteins reside in the extracellular matrix, which binds together cells and tissues.

Collagen maintains the softness and elasticity of the skin while elastin allows the skin to return to its normal shape after being stretched or contracted. The damage from the glycation process on collagen and elastin fibers cannot be reversed or repaired.

Proteins that are flooded with AGEs lose their ability to function properly with surrounding cells and other proteins, resulting in skin laxity and wrinkling. Additionally, glycation leads to oxidative stress and thus an imbalance between harmful free radicals to cells and the antioxidants that are predisposed to fight them. All of this results in further cellular damage.

In practice, the skin proteins most prone to glycation are the same ones that make the complexion youthful, plump, and elastic: collagen and elastin. When those proteins bind to sugars, they become weak and less elastic; this manifests on the skin's surface in the form of wrinkles, sagging, and loss of radiance.

For this reason, when we feel that our skin looks dull and has pronounced signs, it is possible to trace the causes back to this entirely natural mechanism.

How to fight the glycation process

Eliminating refined sugar from the diet is not the solution. Sugars are indeed essential for the energy metabolism of cells and are fundamental for survival. The process of glycation occurs naturally throughout life even when eating healthy foods.

Yet, although glycation cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down through products made by cosmetic companies capable of breaking the already formed links. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene at a holistic level: eat less sugar, of course, and prefer complex carbohydrates like rice and whole grain bread that convert to glucose more slowly. Take a carnosine supplement, an amino acid that has been shown to protect against the accumulation of AGEs.

"Skin care also makes a difference. Now that glycation is recognized as one of the main causes of aging, products have been created that can combat AGE."

The facial serum Biorevitalizing Fill Serum has been designed with an innovative complex of four powerful extracts capable of stimulating the production of type 1 and type 3 collagen and reducing the damage from glycation, thereby protecting collagen from the degradation of MMP or Matrix Metalloproteinases.

Biorevitalizing works by reconstructing the extracellular matrix and stimulating glycosaminoglycans while maintaining a perfect lipid balance and a good level of hydration of the skin tissue.

Biorevitalizing is an ideal serum for more mature skin and for anyone who needs strong and vital skin, improving the internal structure and cellular tone. Just 5 drops of Biorevitalizing serum morning and evening before the usual cream and after cleansing will provide a superb effect from the very first uses on the face, neck, and décolleté. The skin will appear more toned and radiant right away.

Conclusion: recognizing and treating tired skin

Skin care is a fundamental part of skin wellness, but it is necessary to complement these practices and products with a healthy and balanced lifestyle, without ever having to give up the pleasures of life. The skin, to function at an optimal level, needs nourishment and hydration.

It is possible to recognize a stressed skin barrier by imperfections such as:

• redness
• inflamed skin
• severe dryness
• dehydrated skin
• irritation and itching
• dull complexion
• burning during the application of products

The skin barrier is very resilient and at the same time delicate.

For this reason, if too many treatments are used, the skin does not have time to heal or repair itself. To ensure that the skin returns to a healthy balance, it is advisable in some cases to reduce: overdoing it with makeup can be a problem, as can using irritating products that are not suitable for one's skin type.

Often when you have a tired appearance on your face, you tend to want to cover everything with makeup, but this way the skin will become even drier and thicker, and it will emphasize pores and lines. The best action is to add to your routine moisturizing products that respect the normal skin balance. Serums and masks can be very helpful in the case of anti-redness treatments, which is often a sign of dryness or irritation.