Have you ever heard of ceramides? Most people haven’t. But they are a powerful tool for enhancing your skin’s natural defences and structural integrity.
Ceramides are one of the best-kept secrets in skincare, and today’s article explains what they are, how they work, and why you should include them in your routine to fight signs of ageing.
Opulent Aesthetics is all about bringing you the latest scientific research, ensuring your skin is taken care of inside and outside the treatment clinic. We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality treatments approved by beauty science, keeping you looking young and beautiful for as long as possible.
What are ceramides?
Ceramides are naturally occurring lipid (fat) molecules in the outermost layer of your skin. They account for 50% of your skin barrier by acting as the ‘mortar’ holding together flattened dead skin cells, providing a protective layer against the sun and pollutants that stress your skin.
Ceramides also lock in moisture, preventing transepidermal water loss. Hydration is essential for skin maintenance and a youthful complexion, making ceramides indispensable.
How ceramides work
Ceramides primarily serve three functions for your skin:
- Barrier integrity and hydration – ceramides consist of a ‘backbone’ structure called a sphingosine that holds together a particular kind of fat cell called sphingolipids. Your skin’s external barrier is made up of these lipid structures, providing essential protection from external stressors like the sun, wind, pollution, etc.
They also prevent water loss, maintaining hydration levels, which is also vital for your skin’s health. - Cellular signalling – Ceramides behave like cellular messengers, sending vital signals with instructions that maintain homeostasis (balance) in your skin. Specifically, they direct cellular differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis.
Cellular differentiation is essential for skin turnover. It causes keratinocytes – a type of skin cell- to migrate from internal structures of the skin to the outer layer, where they lose their nucleus to become a different type of skin cell called corneocytes, which form the outer protective barrier.
Proliferation involves the formation of new skin cells, while apoptosis instructs cells to die when they are not functioning properly, allowing their parts to be used for barrier protection, as new cells are formed.
Cell differentiation occurs every 28 days in healthy adults. - Immune function – Ceramides help regulate your skin’s response to inflammation, particularly from conditions like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
These functions involve several processes and are imperative to your skin’s defences and wider health.
The benefits of applying topical ceramides
Ceramide treatments are beneficial for the skin because they increase the rate at which your skin turns over, improve hydration, increase your skin’s natural defences, manage inflammation and help with healing.
Because of this, they are very effective when combined with Opulent Aesthetics’ treatments, particularly microneedling and facial peels, which rely on your skin’s wound healing process and turning over new, healthier skin.
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Why ceramides work so well with other treatments
Microneedling works by creating micropunctures in the outer layer of the dermis. When this happens, your skin is prompted to repair those micro-wounds with fresh collagen and elastin.
Ceramides increase the cellular signalling, instructing your dermis to generate new skin, which is precisely what you need after a microneedling session. Consider it a turbo-boost for healing. By managing inflammation, ceramides also minimise redness, swelling, and any downtime, making microneedling less restrictive. Healing sooner also means that you can engage in additional treatments sooner, keeping your skin looking radiant and glowing all the time.
Facial peels use mild liquid acidic formulas like hyaluronic acid to remove the outermost layer of your skin, exposing younger skin with fewer imperfections. This triggers your skin to turn over new skin, which invariably involves migrating keratinocytes to the surface where they become corneocytes to ensure you have a protective barrier.
Ceramides provide the lipid structures holding your skin cells together, including dead skin cells that are used to form a new barrier, locking in moisture and protecting you from the sun.
By stimulating the turnover of skin, ceramides complement facial peel treatments, enhancing their results significantly.
Final thoughts
Ceramide creams and serums provide vital support in your battle against ageing skin. It’s important to remember that no single ingredient, cream, or treatment provides a complete solution to your skin’s needs.
Your skin is a complex organism with complex needs, requiring an array of resources to keep it looking young and healthy. Beauty science is constantly evolving, and Opulent Aesthetics is at the forefront of this revolution, bringing you the latest developments and treatments to gift your skin with the resources it needs to stave off ageing.
To find out more about the specialist treatments Opulent Aesthetics offers, call Sadie to book a consultation. You can now visit Sadie in two locations – Purley and Caterham.
Demand is high, so book early to avoid disappointment.
