Every day on TV, on the radio and in the street we hear talk about ‘pollution’. For many years, studies have been carried out on the health consequences of pollution and many studies demonstrate the negative effects it has on our respiratory system.
Aside from our respiratory system, over the last few years it has been proven that our skin is also seriously affected provided that it is our body’s largest organ and its main function (barrier function) is to protect us.
How to spot the effects of pollution on your skin? In the short term, redness and irritation in mucous membranes occur. In the long term, premature ageing sets in, collagen becomes deteriorated (elastosis) and melanomas may appear. In addition to dark spots, wrinkles also run much deeper in skin that has been affected by pollution
This occurs because more often than not our skin is “breathing” everything but pure air. In urban environments, our skin may be affected by heavy and industrial metals from factories, nitrogen oxide from cars, carbon monoxide from cigarettes, etc. Pollution caused by particles is especially troublesome given that many particles behave in synergy, thus increasing the toxic effects of other pollutants. Heavy metals cause concern because they tend to accumulate in our bodies. There are minute solid particles that can be easy to assimilate such as bacteria, fungi and spores and particles that are difficult to assimilate such as organic compounds and heavy metals (lead, manganese and nickel, among others). The concentrations of these elements in the air widely vary according to geographic location
“Times have changed and laboratories have had to quickly adapt to provide solutions to this concern. If UV rays are added to pollution, we’re talking about a perfect recipe for premature skin ageing. In addition to worrying about protecting our skin from the sun, we also have to worry about protecting our skin from pollution,” explains Susanna Roca, formulator at Bella Aurora Labs.
“As a laboratory, our main concern is to design cosmetic products that can combat the harmful effects of environmental pollution. The basic actions our formulas must provide are: blocking heavy metals to prevent them from interfering with our biological systems, protecting and stabilizing cell membranes to prevent heavy metals from destroying cells and, lastly, providing an antioxidant to counteract the generation of free radicals,” she asserts.
Bella Aurora’s laboratories have designed cosmetic products with an active ingredient that is capable of carrying out these three basic actions by combining various plant-derived compounds: cereals such as wheat and barley whose main active ingredients can capture heavy metals; fruit like apples, peaches and oranges whose polysaccharides protect cell membranes from the aggression of external agents; and ginseng with its powerful antioxidant ability to block free radicals.