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  #1   ^
Old Tue, Nov-07-06, 23:12
AliceT AliceT is offline
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Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
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Default Skin health at 45

I just hit 45, and rather suddenly my face skin is going thin and crinkly, after years of (often remarked upon) excellent skin health. I do (and have done) all the right things (no sun, no smoking, regular moisturizing, etc) so clearly this is -- ahem -- age related.

Any women out there at or over my age going through this with any advice on reversing this dry-skin state? I'm quite familiar with various nutritional suppliments, but not necessarily with YOUR successful regimine, so if have you one, please drop me a note, doses and all.

Thanks in advance, all!

Alice
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Nov-08-06, 03:57
galatia's Avatar
galatia galatia is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 13,640
 
Plan: low carb
Stats: 173/135.8/130 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 87%
Location: Mississippi
Default

I'll be watching this tread too. I know lots of water helps mine. I do use various creams and "potions", but am always looking for something wonderful.
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Nov-08-06, 13:13
cs_carver cs_carver is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,629
 
Plan: Generic LC with tweaks
Stats: 204/178/165 Female 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 67%
Location: NC
Default Flax oil and silica

Plus high-dose vitamin C. Not sure that's completely related, but it is part of the "regimen."

Lots of flax oil caps--7 daily, may add more now that it's winter. I've been taking Bio-Sil for a while and it was capsule-form silica for a long time before that; maybe 10 years now? Part of the collagen matrix. (Plus, a snot-load of other supplements to the tune of ~ 30 pills per day maybe more it hurts to count, but these are the ones with the biggest skin effects, I think.)

Elsewise, it's cheap soap and Buff-Puff and whatever lotion doesn't make me break out, usually from the cheaper section of a big-box store.

The dermatologists who sell $$$ creams will say, "dietary supplements don't reach the skin in amounts high enough to make the same difference our products do." Maybe. I kinda think the condition of my heart and brain cells is actually more important than my skin, and there's only so much money to go around. Would rather spend it internally than on creams.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Nov-08-06, 15:38
NYNikki NYNikki is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 569
 
Plan: Self-Made LC
Stats: 255/129/150 Female 5'9
BF:
Progress: 120%
Default

Quote:
Any women out there at or over my age going through this with any advice on reversing this dry-skin state?


Your skin is made up of 'cells' - good nutrition is far better then anything you can get in a topical cream.
If you work on nurturing your cells - you skin will benefit.

Good skin also comes from family genes. My mother had excellent skin all her life and washed her face with Dove bar soap and moistured with Noxzema. She never used any type of expensive creams or lotions.

I'm 45 years old, love the sun (tanning) from my teenage years and I have excellent skin. Yes, a wrinkle here and there but nothing big. Take care of the inside and the reward will show on the outside.

Biotin - 8mg:http://organicpharmacy.org/products/Biotin/SKU:BI1-pe
Alpha Lipoic Acid: http://organicpharmacy.org/products...cid/SKU:AL61-pe
Alpha Lipoic Acid with Biotin: http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Alpha-L...cid-with-Biotin
B12 with Folic Acid: http://organicpharmacy.org/products/B12.Folic

Nikki
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  #5   ^
Old Thu, Nov-09-06, 12:15
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
Posts: 17,049
 
Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Maryland, US
Default

The most important thing to reverse dry skin is vitamin D. If you take enough vitamin D you can literally see your skin healing and moisturing. It's very bad for skin health to stay out of the sun.

Coconut oil is also good for skin, internally and externally.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Nov-09-06, 16:21
AliceT AliceT is offline
New Member
Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by cs_carver
Plus high-dose vitamin C. Not sure that's completely related, but it is part of the "regimen."


Good info. Thanks. How much C? What form?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cs_carver
Lots of flax oil caps--7 daily, may add more now that it's winter. I've been taking Bio-Sil for a while and it was capsule-form silica for a long time before that; maybe 10 years now? Part of the collagen matrix. (Plus, a snot-load of other supplements to the tune of ~ 30 pills per day maybe more it hurts to count, but these are the ones with the biggest skin effects, I think.)


Flax or Borage seed or fish oils or Salmon oils? (plus vit E, I've been told) -- which of the many EFAs are best for skin health? Any? Is this mostly a matter of making your skin more oily?

I don't know what the collagen matrix is, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cs_carver
Elsewise, it's cheap soap and Buff-Puff and whatever lotion doesn't make me break out, usually from the cheaper section of a big-box store.

The dermatologists who sell $$$ creams will say, "dietary supplements don't reach the skin in amounts high enough to make the same difference our products do." Maybe. I kinda think the condition of my heart and brain cells is actually more important than my skin, and there's only so much money to go around. Would rather spend it internally than on creams.


My research leads me to similar conclusions: putting things on the skin is good, but putting things under the skin (injesting) is better. The right things, of course.

Thank you again. This is good info.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Nov-09-06, 16:27
AliceT AliceT is offline
New Member
Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NYNikki
Your skin is made up of 'cells' - good nutrition is far better then anything you can get in a topical cream.
If you work on nurturing your cells - you skin will benefit.

Good skin also comes from family genes. My mother had excellent skin all her life and washed her face with Dove bar soap and moistured with Noxzema. She never used any type of expensive creams or lotions.

I'm 45 years old, love the sun (tanning) from my teenage years and I have excellent skin. Yes, a wrinkle here and there but nothing big. Take care of the inside and the reward will show on the outside.

Biotin - 8mg:http://organicpharmacy.org/products/Biotin/SKU:BI1-pe
Alpha Lipoic Acid: http://organicpharmacy.org/products...cid/SKU:AL61-pe
Alpha Lipoic Acid with Biotin: http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Alpha-L...cid-with-Biotin
B12 with Folic Acid: http://organicpharmacy.org/products/B12.Folic

Nikki


Nikki, thank you! I'm not familiar with biotin (though I've been using ALA for some time.) Can you tell me, in layman's terms, what health results you've found from biotin, and what doses you use?
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Nov-09-06, 16:32
AliceT AliceT is offline
New Member
Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuleikaa
The most important thing to reverse dry skin is vitamin D. If you take enough vitamin D you can literally see your skin healing and moisturing. It's very bad for skin health to stay out of the sun.

Coconut oil is also good for skin, internally and externally.


I'm sure it's possible to get too much sun, but that's not a problem in the pacific north west, especially in the winter, so I won't worry too much about that. Vit-D, you say? How interesting. Can you propose a dosage to start with and work up to? Does D interact with anything else negatively?

Thank you!

As for coconut oil, doesn't that have some negatives for health?
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Nov-09-06, 20:21
cs_carver cs_carver is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,629
 
Plan: Generic LC with tweaks
Stats: 204/178/165 Female 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 67%
Location: NC
Default Dr. A's Vitanutrient Solution

You might find that book useful. It's not about dermatology specifically, but it's a good basic primer for supplementation once you get past the one-or-two-a-day pills.

I take 7-9 grams of C in pill form, spread out into three doses. I'm at 7 now and will probably go up for the winter.

I seem to do better with flax rather than fish oils; I don't worry about anything more specific than that. Maybe I should. There's only so much thought I can spare for this and flax works in a way the best fish oil didn't, and I hate the after-effects of the cheap products.

The collagen matrix is what your skin is made of, pretty much. It's what holds it all together. Even bones have a lot of collagen in them (as do ears and noses) and silica helps it be stronger. We don't get all that much silica naturally.

You might also want to hunt around on this list and look for some of the threads about vitamin D supplementation. Zuleikaa's the guru and evangelist; I'm taking 3 g a day and will experiment because I sit in a sunless cube farm all day. In the PNW, you can hardly imagine how much light you're not getting--I came back from vacation in Seattle this summer and my eyes were shocked when I got off the plane. Had barely needed sunglasses up there, except for the ferries. Don't move without them down here in NC.
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Nov-10-06, 13:08
AliceT AliceT is offline
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Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Default

cs_carver, thank you so much. This is just what I need.

While I'm on the subject, has anyone tried Retin-A or done research about it, and have conclusions? I've seen for and against articles and research, based on skin health long-term and short-term. Any thoughts?
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Nov-10-06, 13:18
AliceT AliceT is offline
New Member
Posts: 24
 
Plan: various
Stats: 140/140/140 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by cs_carver
I seem to do better with flax rather than fish oils; I don't worry about anything more specific than that. Maybe I should. There's only so much thought I can spare for this and flax works in a way the best fish oil didn't, and I hate the after-effects of the cheap products.


I'm upping my intake of oils, so am increasingly interested to know if anyone else has opinions about the type of oil -- fish, flax, etc.

Also, at this level of intake, those pills go fast. For those of us who can swallow anything (don't say it, don't think it ), are there cheaper alternatives to pills?

Thank you!
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Nov-10-06, 13:36
cs_carver cs_carver is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,629
 
Plan: Generic LC with tweaks
Stats: 204/178/165 Female 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 67%
Location: NC
Default There's always cod liver oil

Think it's pretty much the same thing as the packaged fish oils.

Don't know about Retin-A. My budget doesn't extend to that. Have you read The Beauty Myth, by Naomi Wolf? Interesting take on how women allocate their disposable income.
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  #13   ^
Old Fri, Nov-10-06, 14:04
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
Posts: 17,049
 
Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Maryland, US
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AliceT
I'm upping my intake of oils, so am increasingly interested to know if anyone else has opinions about the type of oil -- fish, flax, etc.

Also, at this level of intake, those pills go fast. For those of us who can swallow anything (don't say it, don't think it ), are there cheaper alternatives to pills?

Thank you!
I've found the best prices on swansonvitamins.com. Sometimes puritan.com has good sales, also.

carver said it, cod liver oil is relatively cheap and tolerable ice cold and swallowed fast. I think fish oil is best; I think it's superior to flax, especially for men.
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  #14   ^
Old Fri, Nov-10-06, 14:06
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
Posts: 17,049
 
Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Maryland, US
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AliceT
I'm sure it's possible to get too much sun, but that's not a problem in the pacific north west, especially in the winter, so I won't worry too much about that. Vit-D, you say? How interesting. Can you propose a dosage to start with and work up to? Does D interact with anything else negatively?

Thank you!

As for coconut oil, doesn't that have some negatives for health?

Nothing reacts negatively with vitamin D; You must take calcium and magnesium with the vitamin D though.

There are no negative effects from coconut oil.
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  #15   ^
Old Sun, Nov-12-06, 10:02
kebaldwin kebaldwin is offline
Thank you Dr Atkins!
Posts: 4,146
 
Plan: Atkins induction
Stats: 311/250/220 Male 6 feet
BF:45%/20%/15%
Progress: 67%
Location: North Carolina
Default

Are you taking a high quality "mega" multi-vitamin and fish oil?

http://www.nvperriconemd.com/?CFID=...EFC91C6D908FDA9
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