I’m a skin scientist – there’s a ‘rotten apple’ issue causing sagging, wrinkles and collagen loss but you CAN reverse it
A SKINCARE scientist has claimed that ZOMBIE cells in your face are causing you to age faster.
Most of us may associate zombies with The Walking Dead or Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video… but we could have undead cells wreaking havoc on our faces.
Carolina Reis Oliveira, an immunology doctor who co-founded skincare brand OneSkin, explained that these “rotten” cells are leaking their badness into your healthy ones.
The hideous result? Sagging, wrinkles and a weak skin barrier.
“Skin ageing is mainly caused by two processes,” Carolina explained on the Longevity Optimization podcast with Kayla Barnes-Lentz.
She divides these into two categories of intrinsic ageing (your cell quality deteriorating) and extrinsic ageing (external and environmental factors, like UV rays, pollution and smoking).
“In the end, these two processes will lead to the formation of ‘old’ cells, that we call senescent cells,” Carolina said.
“We believe senescent cells are one of the key drivers of ageing.
“Once you have this pool of senescence cells, they start secreting inflammation and they cause healthy cells to age faster.”
Senescent cells are also known as zombie cells.
In simple terms, they are inflamed cells that have stopped dividing but have not died.
“We like to compare them with a rotten apple in a bunch,” Carolina explained.
“So, senescent cells are spoiling the healthy cells and making them age faster.
“Once we have these and you have more inflammation, what happens is that we see collagen breakdown.
“We see the signs of ageing as sagging, loss of firmness, wrinkles and even your skin barrier gets weaker.
“And that’s all because something is happening internally right to those cells.
We like to compare them with a rotten apple in a bunch. So, zombie cells are spoiling the healthy cells and making them age faster.
Once we have these and you have more inflammation, what happens is that we see collagen breakdown.
Carolina Reis Oliveira
“Those old cells are accumulating and they are causing these visual effects that we are seeing.”
Carolina assured that all is not lost, and we can still fight the nasty effects of senescent cells to reverse the signs of ageing.
“If you reduce the number of those old cells in the skin, what happens is that we can make space for the healthy cells to replicate again,” the expert said.
“They start to function again producing collagen, and we can basically bring your skin to a younger state.
What is Collagen?
- Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and provides strength and structure to the skin and muscles
- It plays a significant role in maintaining skin elasticity and hydration
- As we age, collagen production decreases, leading to wrinkles, sagging skin and decreased skin firmness
- Collagen production starts to dwindle in our mid-to-late 20s and early 30s. By 40, it has dropped dramatically
It’s important to note that while collagen-based skincare products may offer benefits, their effectiveness can hugely vary.
Some experts suggest that topical application of collagen may have limited effectiveness compared to other skincare ingredients that stimulate collagen production within the skin.
“So, they’re not only looking like younger skin, they are behaving like younger skin.”
You can reduce the number of zombie cells in your skin by exercising regularly and drinking lots of water to flush them out.
Carolina also recommended cutting out processed foods that are high in sugar and maintaining a diet that feeds your skin from the inside out.
“First, you have to also be focused on what’s going on internally,” she said.
“It’s a signal. It’s a sign that something is going wrong.
“That could be a plethora of things from nutrient deficiencies to gut health, all these things, inflammation.”
According to research by NCBI, intermittent fasting may reduce the number of senescent cells too.