What causes aging, and what kind of antiaging skin care techniques can we use to combat this natural, but frustrating problem? We've all been there: crow's feet and wrinkles start to develop, and we don't have the slightest idea how to keep ourselves looking as young as we'd like, or as young as we feel. It's perfectly normal, and you're not alone. You've most likely come across this article in search for antiaging skin care methods, and that's what this article intends to address. Which natural processes cause aging, and what can we do to keep ourselves looking young?

Before we can start to discuss antiaging skin care techniques, we should discuss some of the various theories involved about what causes aging.

The first one we'll discuss in this article is the Free Radical Theory of Aging (time to break open your highschool chemistry book!). Simply put, a free radical is an atom that isn't paired with another atom that it would normally be paired with. It has less electrons than it normally would, and is in a constant search to fill that void and gain some more electrons for itself. They are very reactive, trying constantly to "steal" electrons from other atoms, which can cause some serious damage to your skin cells. Before this damage occurs, we must try to combat skin damage with, you guessed it, antiaging skin care products.

Another way skin shows aging is with a more known reason, i.e. UV rays bombarding our skin and causing slight bits of damage each time. When UV rays (you might have heard of them as UV-A and UV-B) reach our skin, they form free radicals and damage our skin with those highly reactive atoms we discussed earlier in the article. Also, UV-A and UV-B rays can cause damage to our DNA, thereby causing changes in the way the collagen in our skin rebuilds itself. This, without any types of antiaging skin care products to use, can cause our skin to appear leathery, wrinkled, and unappealing. It's important to note that even a few minutes in the sun can change the way that collagen is produced in our bodies, so limiting time in the sun is important.

If you do find yourself in the sun for a long period of time, use high-SPF sunscreens and apply antiaging skin care products as soon as possible after exposure. This will hopefully keep UV rays from damaging your skin by changing collagen production changes.

If you have any questions about antiaging skin care, there are plenty of excellent resources throughout the web.