Your skin has a memory?
“Your skin has a memory”.
You might have heard this phrase probably form a dermatologist or during a skincare podcast with skincare experts but have you really thought about what does this really mean or how does it really work? Can digging into this phrase amp up your skincare game? Does this mean that you need to break the traditional skincare rules and need be a lot more conscious about the way of taking care of your skin smartly? Do you know how cells save this “memory”? These questions sound weird, right? Let us together read out this useful yet un-canny information about our skin’s behavior to get ourselves acknowledged so we can pamper and protect our beautiful skin better.
As we all know our skin is the largest organ and without a doubt, the most exposed one to the external environment and multiple hazardous factors of the outer environment. Skin experts say that it’s not actually the skin cells that give skin this “memory” power, rather the stem cells, that are responsible for skin renewal and repair. Researchers suggest that our stem cells (unspecified cells that possess the ability to divide and grow into many different types of cells) keep track of the wounds and cuts to better protect our skin against upcoming attacks and essentially optimize them for future instances of inflammation.
Because our skin keeps the memory, it helps anyone dealing with inflammatory responses. It may also shed light as to why second and third laser treatments require less down time than the first. We can account for the fact, why applying sunscreen and sunblock at the early age benefits as at the later stage of our age, and the most highlighted one of them all, why our beloved serum works the best after sometoime, when we pick it up a month after our last use. Our skin learns to cope with certain types of productive inflammation (such as lasers).
Some experts hold the perspective that there is skin memory; immune memory, inflammatory memory, and stem-cells memory. There could definitely be a tie to why topical products and treatments create different responses over time. The skin ‘remembers’ how to heal, how to respond to repeated treatments with faster responses during subsequent treatments, and also seems to remember when we've used a Cosmeceutical for about six-plus months. We’d definitely come toward this point later in the discussion but first, let us take you through the mechanism behind this often repeated sentence.
“Your skin has a memory” The sentence can be understood through the mechanisms by which melanocytes (specialized skin cells that produce the protective skin-darkening pigment melanin) synthesize melanin to protect our skin from solar ultraviolet radiations. This melanin is packaged and gets migrated to the outermost layers of our skin causing the sun tanning, typically at summertime. If we are exposed to a large amount of ultraviolet radiation, melanin cannot absorb all the energy arriving at our body thus, can damage various biomolecules in our cells, resulting in an inflammatory process that becomes apparent in the redness of our skin, presents when it is burned.
Despite the fact that sunburns usually heal without scars, the sentence “Your skin has a memory” typically refers to the long-term consequences that this damage can cause to our skin. When the molecule receiving UV radiation is DNA, it can cause mutations (that means, alterations in its sequence). Cells go through a mechanisms through which they are able to repair those mutations or to promote programed cell death if there is too much DNA damage. That explains why skin peels off after sunburn; the most damaged layer in the skin dies, detaches and is substituted with new cells.
However, some cells are able to escape these controlled mechanisms and survive with mutated DNA. Those mutations remain present in their daughter cells (cells that result from the division of a single parent cell through division process for growth) and from them to their daughters and so forth until, the percentage of damaged cells in the skin become significant.
When cells with mutated DNA are exposed again to intense UV radiation, the process repeats. Thus, as time goes by and after successive UV exposures and sunburns, it is possible that there are cells that accumulate a great number of mutations. When that happens, cells can turn into malignant cells (malicious cells with ability to invade nearby areas in body, proliferate in an uncontrolled way and destroy tissues giving rise to skin tumors).
Dermatologists and skin experts use the term “memory” to express a cell’s ability have to accumulate mutations in its DNA sequence, until the damage is too high and it can result in a skin disease. It is important to note that part of the damage our body gets during a sunburn remains with us forever. The skin can “remember” by the mutations the moments it has suffered. For these reasons, it is so important to protect our skin from sun radiation, try to avoid maxim radiations hours (especially during summer), apply sun block and have a well moisturized skin. Our personal favorite is BIO2YOU DefenSun Broad Spectrum SPF-60 Sun Block.
This distinct behavioral quality of stem cells has made it easier for the cosmetologists and dermatologists to understand and treat tremendous skin concerns a lot better. This somehow has also helped to create Skincare products productively for improving the functionality with comparatively less time and effort. Rather than simply extending the timeframe of improvement (as well as expanding budget) doctors can pinpoint a distinct benefit.
The reason why dermatologists and skin experts often recommend a series of products or laser treatments or chemical peels is because of this scenario. As per our discussion with a dermatologist, he quoted,
“The skin has these stem cells in reservoirs around hair follicles. Your skin responds quicker and better with each subsequent treatment as your skin has this super power to keep a track of what it has gone through in the past. This helps the skin to respond better to the treatments or procedures when repeated after intervals. Amazing! Isn’t it?”
Surely doc, this indeed is amazing! This not only helps and improves the way that your skin looks and feels but because of its optimized function, you can also begin to see that it is repairing quicker and requiring less time to do so. This means that when your skin comes into contact with lesser levels of inflammation, or infections, it is able to process it quicker, responds better, and keep-on-keeping on.
Skin’s “memory” is the reason why when we take a break after the last pump of our favorite moisturizer or serum months later wondering if we’re magically experiencing more impressive results, it might not all be in the head. This could be because the stem cells remember the prior skin condition and know how to respond better and faster. Might we suggest you our BIO2YOU Skin Repairing Lotion formulated with skin loving hydrating agents, anti-oxidants, almond oil and aloe vera extract making it an amazing light-weight, anti-inflammatory moisturizer. Formulated with emollients, it gives a light and silky feel while balancing the hydration level of skin perfectly. It absorbs quickly so you never get that uncomfortable sticky feeling over your skin.
So peeps! After this what we would like call, a “wonderfully amazing” insight into skin’s behavior, we might suggest that you all that chilling out, relaxing and regularly taking a little time off for a good skincare routine can have amazing results to change your skin’s condition drastically. Our skin surely needs a break from all of that drama and needs a refreshed vacation, so it can respond much more positively. It could also be beneficial to switch up your skin-care regimen at least twice a year to keep your complexion performing at its peak. In many ways, it's a perfect excuse to branch out and try a new cache of products. When you do return to your all time faves and your skin will thank you, wink, wink!