Sheer Skin

The Sheer Skin hair removal system has gained quite a lot of attention recently, mainly due to the fact that it claims to make the chore of hair removal easy and painless and combines this with a decent result. This is something that many products have attempted to do in the past but have generally failed ie. the only effective treatments are the ones that are generally either expensive, painful or an inconvenience. Sheer Skin is available as regular pads intended for the legs, arms,  and underarms and a smaller nano pad for those smaller and more delicate areas such as the upper lip, chin, fingers and toes.

Sheer Skin does not involve shaving, waxing, plucking, or removal creams that tend to burn the skin, rather you just rub a skin pad in a circular motion over the area. The Sheer skin pads use a crystal surface formula that claims to be very effective yet is relatively pain free and easy to use. This has resulted in a lot of interest, especially from women with sensitive skin. One other benefit from Sheer Skin is that it exfoliates the skin, helping sheer away and remove dead skin cells. This is part of the process that results in the treatment leaving the skin soft and smooth.

Feedback we have received from our test users is quite positive in the sense that sheer skin removes the hair and leaves the legs feeling really soft. Several users described that it also seems to buff the skin making it appear fairer as if freshly exfoliated. A couple of the users did experience a skin rash a day or two later but this tended to clear up after a couple of days.

What are Free Radicals and Antioxidants?

Some Molecular Science

The human body is made up of many different types of cells and these in turn are composed of many different types of molecules. Furthermore, on an even smaller scale, these molecules consist of one or more atoms of one or more elements joined by chemical bonds. There are about 90 naturally occuring atoms and these consist of a nucleaus which is made up of a combination of different numbers of neutron and proton particles and which is circled by 1 or more electrons which form outer shells, depending on their number. Protons have a positive charge (neutrons have no charge) and their number determines the number of electrons (which are negatively charged) that surrounding the atom nucleus usually co-existing in pairs. Electrons are involved in chemical reactions and are basically what bonds atoms together to form molecules.

The number of electrons that form part of a molecule is very significant since its what determines to a large extent the chemical behavior of the molecule. In a basic sense, matter that has particles with outer shells full of paired electrons will not react chemically (its considered ‘inert’).  Because the nature of atoms is to seek to reach a state of maximum stability, particles and atoms that have an un-paired electron in their outer shell will attempt to gain other electrons to pair them up with, either gaining them from other particles or by bonding with other particles to share electrons – this is basically what we refer to as a chemical reaction.

Electrons have a positive charge and when they are moved between molecules so the charge of those particles changed as well – the process of a particle losing some charge we  refer to as oxidation. The change in the theoretical total charge that a particle holds is referred to as the change in its oxidation state.

Free Radicals

The term ‘free radical’ comes from chemistry and is used to describe at particle, atom or ion that has one or more unpaired electrons. They are very unstable because of the laws that force them to seek electrons from other particles or atoms. If a free radical particle can ’steal’ an electron from another particle then that particle is left with an un-paired electron and so it becomes a free radical and so on, causing a chain reaction in some cases. These chemical reactions play a very important role in combustion, atmospheric chemistry many other chemical processes, including human physiology.

Free radicals play a number of important roles in our biology, some of which are necessary for life, such as the intracellular destroying of bacteria and viruses. However, stress on the human body, both physical and emotional, and environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals. Since free radicals are necessary for life, the body has a number of mechanisms to minimize free radical induced damage and to repair damage which does occur, however because of their reactivity, free radicals can cause unwanted side reactions which result in cell damage as the physiological processes of reacting particles that make up the bodies cells changes the cell structure. Free radical damage is also cumulative so the effects increase with age.

When the process of oxidation in the human body, or in any other organic matter, causes tissue damage then this is often referred to as oxidative stress.

Antioxidants

An antioxidant is a molecule that is capable of preventing this transfer of electrons – the process of oxidation. Antioxidants can terminate the chain reactions that occur when lots of particles interchange electrons because of their instability, by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves ie. antioxidants are molecules that can remain stable in effect, even after losing an electron . Since the process of oxidation is important in some biological processes the body naturally maintains a system of multiple types of antioxidants, such as various enzymes and vitamins C and E.

Vitamin E  is an abundant fat-soluble antioxidant in the body and is very effective at neutralizing the oxidation process. It is probably the most important combatant against the harmful effect of lipid peroxidation – the creation of unstable molecules containing more oxygen than is normal.

Vitamin C  is an abundant water-soluble antioxidant and acts primarily on cellular fluid. This antioxidant is understood to be very important in halting free radical formation caused by pollution and cigarette smoke.

Skin Care

Maintaining healthy levels of antioxidants is one thing we can do to help prevent the harmful effects of oxidative stress on skin tissues. Skin care products that claim to combat fre radical damage do so by including antioxidants such as vitamins E and C in their formula. Do they work? There is lots of conjecture and lots of arguments and scientific research for and against. Until we understand more, one of the most sensible approaches to helping maintain healthy skin is ensuring you try and eat a well-balanced diet with fresh fruit and vegetables, especially those rich in vitamins C and E – this will help ensure you keep your antioxidant levels up.

Acne – Causes and Treatment

Acne is the most common skin condition in the world, affecting 25% of adults and 90% of teenagers at some point or other in their lives. The actual underlying causes of acne can vary although the process for how spots occur is quite well understood. Basically, the pores of our skin contain hair follicales and the sebum (oil) producing sebaceous gland. These glands are designed to produce a ‘healthy’ level of the sebum oil which helps lubricate the skin and helps the dead skin cells to part from the skin surface to be replaced by new ones. When these dead skin cells around the follicles do not shed away from the pore boundary properly they can lead to the pore becoming blocked. The clogged follicles first turn into whiteheads, and then into blackheads as they reach the surface of the skin and become oxidised. If bacteria are present then these can turn into inflammed spots.

The bacteria present on everyone’s skin (Bacterium Propionibacterium Acnes for example) form part of the skin’s natural oil maintenance system. When a pore gets clogged however, the bacteria on the skin multiplies and exacerbates the  inflammation in and around the clogged pore. This is the cause of unsightly red pimples and spots.

Teenagers are generally more prone to developing acne because of hormonal changes as they reach puberty (read ‘What Controls Healthy Skin‘ for more information). During puberty, the body produces androgen hormones which stimulate the sebaceous oil glands to both enlarge and produce more sebum oil, making them more prone to becoming clogged and causing acne. An increase in the amount of oestrogen hormone in women during pregnancy and fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can have the same effect. Acne is not generally caused by dirt although dirty skin can be more prone to clogging. Blackheads may look like dirt stuck in the pore, but this is actually oxidized keratin, caused by cells that didn’t separate from the pore and shed from the skin.

Acne in Adults

Recent medical research suggests that the causes of spots in adults is more attributed to inflammation at the cell level rather than being the result of a blocked pore. African skin types, which are very rich in sebum, conversely seem to suffer much less from acne and so challenge the traditional view of over-active sebaceous glands been the only cause of acne. Medical practitioners also report seeing more adults, generally women, that are suffering with acne in adulthood, yet their skin is confusingly often of a dry type. Stress has been identified as significant factor in acne in adults. When we are stressed and/or eat a poor diet, our bodies can increase in oxidative stress (see Free Radicals, oxidation and antioxidants), which causes our cells to produce inflammatory checicals called cytokines. These cytokines have been shown to interfere with the process of shedding dead skin cells since they tend to make the keratinocytes (skin cells) sticky and more prone to bond togethor causing more clogging of the pores and the build up of blackheads and spots.

Holistic Steps for Dealing with Acne

• keep your stress levels down as much as is possible, and if you are a stressful person then make some lifestyle changes that you think will help – stress is bad for the whole body not only the skin
• try and get at least 7 hours of sleep each night since this is when your body helps clear itself of stress and toxics
• try and adopt an anti-inflammatory diet. Take oily fish,  chicken, turkey, soy products, at every meal, along with fresh vegetables (especially Advocado), fruit, salad, nuts, flaxseeds, yougurt and olive oil
• drink plenty of pure, still water, at least 2.5 litres a day, this will help you stay hydrated which is very important for all your bodily functions and is especially important for freeing the body of toxins and waste
• treat open spots with anti-inflammatory topical creams and lotions
• conventional medecine may be useful in the short term and may help prevent scarring in severe cases
• take supplements to control inflammation - Omega-3, found in oily fish, helps balance the inflammatory agent prostaglandin 2 and so may help with inflammatory causes of acne in adults

Medical Treatment Products

• Benzoyl peroxide in low doses is effective for treating inflamed acne by oxygenating the pore and destroying the  bacteria that help cause the problem
• Treatments containing salicylic acid penetrate deep into the skin’s pore, reducing excess oils and dead cells
• Medicated acne scrubs are also a good way to remove excess skin cell buildup and prevent and treat blackheads and blemishes. They should be used sparingly, once or twice a week, since overuse can cause irritation
• Retinol, glycolic acid and mandelic acid, and are all ingredients to look for to help with the process of reducing excess skin cell buildup

Summary

When using any skin treatment for acne its important to bear in mind that results only come slowly through persistence. Spots begin to form two to three weeks before they even appear on your skin, so do not get discouraged if your treatment does not have any immediate effect. Likewise, its important to continue treatment in the long-term to help prevent problems in the long-term. If you are using prescribed medication then always follow the instructions of your GP or pharmacist.