Here’s a hot flash you probably haven’t heard before.
One more factor that accelerates biological aging in women is menopause. Estrogen deficiency has long been the focus of menopausal conversations, research and interventions. And estrogen dips have long been recognized as the primary cause of the menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and insomnia.
But that’s not the whole story.
Whereas estrogen decreases by as much as 90% (according to NIH) because of the cessation of ovarian function, it is not the only reason menopause is a time of extremes. Ovulation decline leads to an overload of the very element that makes us strong and resilient.
Iron.
And therein lies the unaddressed problem.
You see, while iron is crucial for our body’s healthy physiological functions, in excess it can be extremely damaging. Our bodies naturally eliminate excess iron through menstruation and exfoliation. With the cessation of menstruation, we lose the natural ability to eliminate excess iron through monthly blood loss.
Iron overload as a result of the cessation of menstruation after menopause is possibly the most important underrecognized determinant of visible skin aging
You’re not aging. You’re rusting.
Iron overload, when exposed to sunlight, air pollutants and irritants from other sources, creates free radicals that cause oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress begets skin-aging yellowing, dullness, dinginess, dark spots and discolorations. Much like rust on metal, iron’s reaction with oxygen causes oxidative stress to the skin. (If you’ve ever seen a rusty bicycle, you know the corrosive damage the environment has on metal.)
The amount of iron that can accumulate on skin’s surface can increase by as much as 42% during the 10-year transition period from pre-menopause to post- menopause. Menopausal skin is more sensitive to environmental factors due to an overload of iron. This can lead to an increase in the appearance of wrinkles, discoloration, loss of elasticity, and other signs of aging.
Until now, skin’s best defense against this damage has been antioxidants. But, they only attempt to fight oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals in the skin.
The radical new approach.
It’s been half a century since the Free Radical Theory first proposed that free radical reactions are the cause of the aging, damage and death of all living things.
Just to recap, free radicals are naturally-occurring, unstable extra electrons that seek out other extra electrons from healthy cells, damaging them and creating more free radicals in the process.
Over the years, skincare experts have been neutralizing skin-damaging free radicals with a laundry list of antioxidant ingredients. With only temporary success. You see, neutralizing only renders free radicals inactive…for a time. Every day, skin is repeatedly bombarded by sunlight, air pollutants and irritants from a multitude of sources. This stop-start cycle may be good enough for young skin. But as you enter perimenopause then menopause and post menopause the skin is overwhelmed by the presence of free-radical unleashing iron.
It’s a vicious cycle. With little progress made. And once the damage is done, it’s an uphill battle just to get back to neutral.
Get your skin out of neutral.
Now the world’s leading authority on iron and skin, Dr. Xi Huang, has developed i-On® Age Disrupting Skincare with DII® Technology, the only cosmetic skincare today that actually helps stop the oxidative process before it starts by disrupting the formation of iron producing free radicals.
