With seven different series of cleansers, toners, day creams and night creams, Annemarie Börlind of Germany pushes natural skin care beyond what "unnatural" can do to improve the health and appearance of your skin. The following article gives some idea of how cleansing, toning, protecting and nourishing each day leads to healthy, properly functioning skin.

The Basics of Keeping Healthy Skin
     
"Wrinkles are a major medical and psychological problem, far more serious than most doctors acknowledge. They may not be a threat to life, but the anxieties they create can spoil life. I think there are good psychological and economic reasons for that anxiety." Dr. Kligman, Director of the Clinic for Aging Skin

The skin does many vital things for our bodies:

• Provides the first line of defense for our immune system.
• Eliminates toxins from our bodies.
• Regulates body temperature.
• Prevents environmental pollutants from entering our systems.
• Enables us to experience pain, heat, cold and pressure.
• Prevents evaporation of moisture from the body.

Therefore, preserving the health of the skin is essential to the well-being of the human body overall.

How does the skin age?
Aging of the skin is primarily the result of damage to the supporting tissues lying beneath the top (epidermal) layer of the skin. The skin's collagen and elastin work together to give firmness and elasticity to the skin, making it bounce back after it is stretched when forming facial expressions. When the skin ages, elastin fibers break down and collagen production slows. The result? Wrinkles.

Over time, the second layer of the skin, the dermis, also retains less water and fat. The skin looks less firm, more thin, wrinkled, and course. Sebaceous glands (oil-producing) slow production, so skin becomes drier. After approximately 45 years of age, the cell renewal rate slows.

The number of pigment cells (melanocytes), which are the body's primary protective barrier against UV rays, is reduced with age by about 10-20% each decade. As the number of these cells decreases, the skin's vulnerability to sun damage increases. Skin tone becomes blotchy.

Immune cells, known as Langerhans cells, are also found in the skin. The number of these immune cells is reduced by as much as 50% during the aging process. This leaves the skin and body more vulnerable to cancer.
As these natural defenses of the skin weaken, it is important to support the skin with caring products that protect and compensate for diminished capabilities.

How can we delay the inevitable process of wrinkling?

The basic rules -

1. keep it clean
2. moisturize
3. protect against the sun and the environmental elements
4. support it with products that combat environmental and free radical damage.

There are four basic parts to a skin care program:

• Cleansing - removes dead epidermal scales, dirt, perspiration, makeup, and toxins such as pollution and exhaust fumes that can age skin prematurely.
• Toning - tightens pores after cleansing, adds moisture-retaining substances, and helps preserve elasticity.
• Protecting with Day Cream - thwarts the steady bombardment of free radicals and damage from UV radiation. Prevents evaporation of moisture from the skin.
• Nourishing with Night Cream - supports the growth of new healthy tissue, which takes place during sleep.