That is the things that can be done to help reduce the degradation of the protein components in skin that give skin it's youthful, or in some cases, non-youthful appearance to induce the formation of as well as other proteins that relate to the formation of de novo skin, new skin, and can replace old degenerated skin.

Our skin is an incredibly important organ, not just for our appearance or because it serves as a barrier to the other organ systems of the body, but because it actually reflects the health status of all the other organs and systems in our body, including our brain.

And if you think about it, you've seen this relationship in action before.

When any of us is feeling fatigued or sick, the color, the tone of our skin tends to be a bit, quote unquote, off, at least for us, relative to what it normally is.

Conversely, when we are feeling particularly well-rested and vibrant and healthy, our skin reflects that.

I think it's worth paying attention to a few things that you can potentially take that can really improve the youthfulness of your skin for which there is excellent science to support it.

So when I spoke to board-certified dermatologists, what people can do to improve the youthfulness or the appearance of youthfulness in their skin, they mentioned hydrolyzed collagen protein in combination with vitamin C, and they mentioned supplementing with niacinamide.

Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3.

And I was told that when taken at twice per day at a dosage of 500 milligrams per dose for a total of one gram or 1000 milligrams per day, niacinamide supplementation can increase the production of ceramides, which relate to the lipids in skin that improve the moisture in skin.

And by the way, moisture in skin is a key component of the youthfulness or plump appearance of that skin.

And when I say plump, I don't necessarily mean outwardly rounded plump.

I mean, the fact that the skin looks like the outermost layer of the skin, which you now know as the epidermis, is kind of taut and the skin looks hydrated and smooth at the level of its outer appearance.

All of that is improved by niacinamide supplementation, but that the supplementation has to be carried out for three to six months or more before that effect is noticed.

But for those of you suffering from rosacea, so rosacea being a reddening of the skin from acne, almost always involves some reddening, often painful reddening of specific pox on the skin, sometimes even the appearance of, you know, that niacinamide supplementation may also assist there, regardless of whether or not you suffer from rosacea or acne or not at all, niacinamide supplementation may benefit you.

Also because niacinamide supplementation appears to balance the level of oil production in the skin, you need oil in the skin, you need oil down in those pores, but not too much.

And that it can definitely help reduce the appearance of clogged pores.

And if you're concerned about pores that appear too large, this typically happens in the face, around the nose, on the upper cheeks, although other regions of the body as well, niacinamide supplementation may assist with that as well.

There's also a number of people out there that are concerned with specific spots that they see as hyperpigmented spots.

So regardless of whether or not overall your skin is very light or very heavily pigmented, supplementation with niacinamide can reduce the appearance of accumulation and maybe even the actual accumulation of melanin in a particular spot, so-called dark pigmented spots that some people decide that they don't want for whatever reason, usually just cosmetic reasons.

Now, if you decide to supplement with niacinamide, you have the option of either taking that 1,000 milligrams and two 500 milligram dosages per day.

You also have the option of using any number of different topical niacinamide ointments or serums that exist out there.

Keep in mind that many skincare products already contain niacinamide, so check the label.

And there, the dermatologists tell me that to be effective, the niacinamide needs to be present at at least a two and as high as 10% concentration within those ointments or serums.

Keep in mind that many serums and ointments also contain what's called hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural component of the skin that provides a physical substrate for holding in water, so moisture within the skin.

It does a bunch of other important things too within the extracellular matrix and elsewhere, the regions between the cells, that is.

And supplementation with hyaluronic acid or ointments or serums that contain hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are pretty common out there because of the already stated effects of niacinamide and the fact that hyaluronic acid can serve as what's called a humectant, something that serves to sort of barrier in moisture at the level of the skin, okay?

So it gives that kind of plumping, moist look of skin that's characteristic of youthful skin as opposed to aged skin.

I told you I consulted with a fairly large and diversified group of folks, all agreed that supplementation with collagen, vitamin C, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid was something that they suggest to their patients.

The other supplement that dermatologists recommend if the goal is youthful appearing skin, are things within the so-called retinoid pathway, such as retinol.

Why?

Why are these used for skincare?

Why are they used to increase the youthfulness of skin?

Well, vitamin A gets into skin cells and is converted into something called retinaldehyde, then into something called retinoic acid.

So when retinoic acid gets into cells, it can activate what's called transcription factors.

Transcription factors bind to DNA, okay?

Your genetic code, and can induce the transcription and translation of DNA into RNA and RNA into proteins of particular types.

So think of transcription factors as sort of setting a menu of different proteins that ultimately will be formed, okay?

By binding to DNA, and then you get DNA to RNA, RNA to protein, and you're getting a set of proteins related to a particular process.

That's generally how transcription factors work.

And retin-A, tretinoin, and things similar to that are going to induce the formation of collagen protein within skin, as well as other proteins that relate to the formation of de novo skin, new skin, and can replace old degenerated skin.

So the dermatologists that I spoke to were really bullish about the fact that, believe it or not, they felt that people starting in their 20s could very well, as long as they're not pregnant or lactating, or planning to get pregnant, could take retin-A or things similar to it in order to stimulate the production of more skin and look more youthful.

Now, for people already in their 20s, they're already youthful, but that they could initiate the use of these compounds, at least in one's 20s and continuing on, really, as long as they wanted through life.

And they told me about, quote, remarkable results.

So I said, well, why isn't everyone aware of this?

Why isn't everyone taking them?

Well, it turns out that these different compounds can also increase sensitivity to light, make you more prone to sunburn, to some of the other effects of light on skin, even from screens or from artificial light.

So one has to be careful about inducing too much skin sensitivity to light of all kinds, not just sunlight, that they can also induce some redness or dryness.

So one has to get the dosage right, the frequency of use right, and they can be a little bit tricky to work with, but that if one can home in on the right dosages, the right frequency, et cetera, the dermatologist felt like this was one of the best things that one could do to improve the youthfulness or the appearance of youthfulness in one's skin.

And while all of this sounds a little bit too good to be true, the mechanisms by which it's asserted to work all hold up.

So that's always reassuring, right?

Mechanism isn't everything, but it's really nice to see there.

For instance, these compounds are known to get into the nucleus of cells, right?

To impact gene expression.

We talked about that before.

You have receptors on the surface of cells.

Okay, so cell surface receptors.

You also have nuclear receptors and the ability of certain things, we call them ligands, but these are chemicals, right?

In this case, you know, in the vitamin A pathway to get into the nucleus of cells and impact gene expression.

This is actually how hormones like testosterone and estrogen change the way that people look so dramatically during puberty.

They actually, you know, they operate by binding to cell surface receptors.

They also get into the nuclear compartment of the cell.

They bind to nuclear receptors and they turn on entire genetic programs that cause, for instance, deepening of the voice or the growth of hair or breast tissue, et cetera.

So these are powerful compounds, but these compounds get enough positive support from the people that have tried them, reporting improved youthfulness of skin, et cetera, that some of them are becoming quite sought after and people, let's just say, are very enthusiastic about them.

And I will say that in discussing the various mechanisms of this with these cosmetic surgeons and some dermatologists, the logic holds up.