Article by BR Kellie
I have a friend who doesn’t age. Ever. I’m sure of it. She’s spent the last ten years of our friendship looking the same. Even the sleepless nights of motherhood have not impacted on her youthful good looks. I have often wondered what magic she’s in possession of. Does she bathe in virgin’s blood? Sup on sheep placenta smoothies for breakfast, lunch and tea? For a good long time I was miffed. Then I met her mother, who easily looked twenty years younger than her actual age, and it hit me….Gosh darn it, she had genetics on her side! She was destined to look youthful!
Is it really that simple though? Are some people guaranteed, thanks to winning the genetic lottery, to age well while the rest of us wake up daily to new wrinkles and further collagen-deprived skin? Well, according to the initial findings in Olay’s Multi-Decade and Ethnicity study, it would seem so… but, there is hope!
The MDE study, led by Dr. Alexa Kimball, Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School/Massachussets General Hospital, alongside leading scientific and analytical research partners, in combination with personal genetic company, 23andMe, reached across women in their 20s to 70s from a range of ethnicities, and to date the study has yielded some interesting results.
Initial findings show that there is in fact a unique factor some women hold that comprises of around 2000 genes. We all have these genes, but it’s the way they are expressed in these lucky women’s skin that is responsible for their ageless look.
“What’s exciting about these findings,” said Dr. Rosemarie Osborne, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Beauty Research Fellow, “is that the genes that make up the unique skin fingerprint of ‘exceptional skin agers’ may hold the key to successful aging, and decoding which pathways they affect and why they are acting differently in these women – nature or nurture – can enable Olay researchers to help more women achieve skin that looks like the exception, not the rule at any stage of life.”
Another outcome from the study was that scientists were able to discover “tipping points” in time for gene expression. For example, in the 20s a decline in antioxidant response was noted and in the 50s a decline in skin barrier function could be seen.
What’s so wonderful about this research (at least for those of us who age at the usual rate) is that it could lead to the creation of skincare that will have those around us not in the know wondering where our steady supply of sheep placenta comes from or whether we’ve a herd of donkeys out back that we milk every day for our baths a la Cleopatra.
But until that time comes, what should us ageing types do? Toss out our night creams like a toddler tosses its toys? Of course not! While we may not be blessed with the magical anti-ageing genes, we can still work with what we’ve got and use skincare to nourish and protect, and besides, a little help is better than no help at all, right?
So are you blessed with these 2000 odd genes that keep you looking younger for longer? Do you know someone who might? Or do you have some tips for keeping skin looking more youthful that you’d care to share? We’d love to hear them!
I have a couple of friends like that... I swear they don't age at all! It must be good genetics but I still hunt out lotions and potions to help me as my mother aged prematurely so I need all the help I can get right?! :)