How It Works
"if our eyes are the window to our soul, then our skin is the mirror of our health"
When we look at someone's skin we look into their past, their present and their future. Both the internal and external environments of the skin influence its integrity, its response to injury, its appearance and the speed with which it ages. Both, therefore, need to be addresses if we are to be successful with our skin therapy.
The concept of ARK Age Aware Skincare is introduced below by Co-founder, Shula Starkey.
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Sally Shula Jenny
Being “age appropriate”
At ARK, we believe it is important to be “age appropriate” with the skincare products you use. Put simply, in the same way as you choose your clothes and make-up to complement your age, so you should select skincare products that are appropriate to your age and therefore the needs of your skin.
There are various environmental factors, both inside and outside our bodies, which have a significant impact on skin ageing. The increase of free radical production, the weakening of our immune system and the slowing down of hormone production as well as sun exposure and pollution are just a few contributors to the ageing process. The significance of these factors is dependent on how old you are.
Over the last 10 years we have performed over 100,000 treatments at our ARK Skincare Centres and, as a result, we have come to know the skincare concerns of our clients intimately. At the same time I have looked to my family and noticed how their skin has matured and changed with age. My mother, Jenny, sister, Sally, and I are 17 years apart and we fall into 3 age categories: 'Teens to early 30s', 'Mid 30s to 50' and '50s and beyond'.
Using feedback from our professional therapist teams at ARK and the personal experience of my own family, and in collaboration with Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed, a leading expert in the field of nutritional skincare, we have developed the ARK Age Aware Skincare product range that provides treatment for your skin according to what stage you are at in the ageing process. Our three core product categories are age prepare, age maintain and age repair.
Age Aware Skincare
In my opinion, our skin should not be labelled as a particular type. Most of us have skin that functions normally but it is the decisions we make about our lifestyle and the environment that we live in that can cause it to become excessively dry or oily, for example. There is no miracle cure for these conditions but if you use the right products for the right time in your life and support the natural functions of your skin according to your age-related needs, you are better placed to improve them. Being able to add more of certain ingredients to your skin and give it an intensive treatment as and when appropriate will also help.
Our skin is our only visible organ. Whereas our eyes are the window to our soul, our skin is the mirror of our health. We should learn to read what it is telling us and respond to those messages, knowing what our skin needs when it needs it.
ARK Age Aware Skincare has developed a skin health programme that enables you to answer your skin’s individual needs for yourself and create your own signature treatment with advice from qualified personal skin trainers and a range of pioneering products. The products are divided into 3 age-related categories: age prepare, age maintain and age repair. A range of 8 SkinResponse Serums accompany them, designed to intensify the bio-active treatment of your skin as and when you can see it is required.
What happens to your skin as you age?
The type of skin we have, its texture and quality are determined by genetic factors. These factors, to a certain extent, affect the way our skin ages.
The skin demonstrates a very rapid turnover with new cells being continually produced in the deepest layer of the epidermis (germinativum), migrating toward the surface, maturing and dying. The rate at which our body replaces lost and damaged skin cells decreases as we age. In fact, it drops by 50% between the ages of 28 and 80 years of age.
The underlying dermis of the skin consists of a gel-like ground substance made up of large molecules (glycoproteins, GAGs) and water. Running through this are strong reinforcing collagen fibres (98%), which provide strength, and elastin fibres (2%), which provide elasticity. Fibroblast cells within the dermis are responsible for manufacturing collagen and elastin. Unfortunately, they stop making elastin soon after puberty, and we are left then with a finite amount, one of the factors associated with loss of skin elasticity during ageing. In addition, the amount and quality of collagen formed deteriorates over time. These factors contribute to the changes we see in the skin as it ages; changes such as reduced tone, wrinkles, thinning and reduced flexibility.
There are also environmental factors, both inside and outside our bodies, which have a significant impact on skin ageing:
Oxidation
As skin cells decay, they lose an electron, creating a very unstable molecule called a “free radical”. Free radicals destroy collagen in the skin and inhibit further production and repair. They are generated by UV light, environmental pollutants, stress, dehydration, smoking, improper diet and infection. Inflammation of any type also produces these free radicals. One of the important enzymes in our body is superoxide dismutase (SOD), which breaks down inflammatory free radicals into stable components. Production and function of SOD decreases with age resulting in inflamed weakened and wrinkled skin. As our external and internal environments provide an ever-increasing free radical load and our cells lose their ability to fight, protecting the skin with both external and internal antioxidants becomes an important factor in age defence.
ARK Age Aware Skincare products contain powerful anti-oxidants to help prevent damage from free radical activity and protect the skin against future insults.
Glycation
Glycation is a chemical reaction that occurs in the body in the presence of sugar which can result in oxidation if the body’s natural prevention methods (antioxidants) are insufficient.
The products formed are called an AGEs or Advanced Glycation End products, molecules that can be highly reactive and disruptive to normal biomolecular function. AGEs are the universal molecule of ageing and one of the leading causes of deterioration in many organs including the skin. They result in inflammation, reduced tissue flexibility, breakdown of collagen and increase of free radical production which weakens the skin, causing sagging, puffiness and wrinkle formation.
Our aim with the ARK Age Aware Skincare range is to provide protection against glycation and inflammation from both the outside and the inside.
Altered Immunity
As we age, our immune system weakens, impairing reaction to injury or infection. Reduced numbers of cells central to your immune system reaction, impaired or weakened antibody production and poor cellular response all contribute to a less effective defence mechanism. Potentially harmful environmental factors can damage the skin unhindered. This, in association with inadequate repair mechanisms, contributes to the ageing process. In addition, inappropriate triggering of the immune reaction can lead to hypersensitivity with redness and rash formation.
ARK Age Aware Skincare counteracts the effects of ageing and supports the immune function of your skin by improving skin integrity and thus its mechanical barrier function, providing antioxidant support and providing anti-bacterial activity.
Hormonal Dysregulation
The production of growth hormone decreases as we age resulting in impaired cell replication and collagen manufacture within the skin, allowing for inflammation and therefore greater free radical damage. In addition, lower growth hormone levels promote inflammation, resulting in greater free radical damage. Oestrogen decreases resulting in a slowing down of the process of skin cell renewal (and healing) and a thinning of the skin, loss of elasticity, deeper wrinkles and a duller complexion.
ARK Age Aware Skincare works to balance out these effects by using plant isoflavones, known as phytohormones, that are said to have oestrogen-like effects. Added to that, amino acids in ingredients and supplements support collagen and hormone synthesis, improving skin cell activity and repair.
How does ARK Age Aware Skincare provide an answer to all this?
We have put together a powerful and unique combination of ingredients in each of our age-related ranges, designed to combat these environmental factors: the causes and effects of free radical activity, inflammation, dehydration, breakdown of collagen, weakened immunity and loss of hormones by feeding the skin with essential nutrients and vitamins to help repair it and protect it from further damage.
Each range includes a base formulation of:
Lipids – essential fatty acids, including Omega 3, 6 and 9, that condition, hydrate and soften the skin, suppressing the inflammatory response and replenishing skin tissue
Antioxidants – radical scavenging, they give active protection against free radical activity and have an anti-inflammatory effect
Vitamins – help protect the skin against damage: regulate collagen synthesis (C), stimulate collagen formation (A), improve skin elasticity (A, C), prevent photodamage (A), UV damage (C, E) and provide antioxidant protection (A, C, E)
age prepare
Lipids: Avocado & Peach Lipids
Antioxidant: White Tea
Vitamin: E
age maintain
Lipids: Kiwi & Passion Fruit Lipids
Antioxidant: Blue Lotus
Vitamin: A
age repair
Lipids: Blackcurrant & Starflower Lipids
Antioxidant: Gojiberry
Vitamin: C
Added to this, each product contains other specially selected botanical complexes, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, plant and algae extracts, herbs, and vegetable oils to reinforce the action and efficacy of the product.
For more information on the factors of skin ageing, read our Skin Fact Sheets.
