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Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

bbc.com

21–30 of 101 posts

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#21
post #8

I like to try and guess people's ages. In real life, or on video, where their personalities influence my guess, I'm much worse than when looking at a still image. With a still image often the quality of a person's skin is the only giveaway, and when that is the case I'm remarkably accurate most of the time. So I'm skeptical there's much one can do, and people's skin seems to age at roughly the same rate.

Easiest way to guess a person's age is by the relative size of the ears, that never stop growing. Tiny ears - teenager. Huge ears - senior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18653105/

I wonder if this is a common target for cosmetic surgery? "Shaving" off bits of the ears to make them smaller?

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#22

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Did you consider a hot-then-cold shower? After listening to a Huberman Lab episode on deliberate cold exposure I've started doing 2-3 minutes of cold at the end of my hot shower. Obviously it doesn't save on energy, but I definitely get the "wide awake" feeling you describe. And I get to enjoy a nice hot shower, too :)

Here's a write-up on deliberate cold exposure by Dr Huberman for anyone interested: https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-and-use-of-cold-exposure...

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#23
post #8

I like to try and guess people's ages. In real life, or on video, where their personalities influence my guess, I'm much worse than when looking at a still image. With a still image often the quality of a person's skin is the only giveaway, and when that is the case I'm remarkably accurate most of the time. So I'm skeptical there's much one can do, and people's skin seems to age at roughly the same rate.

This is not at all my experience. You can't just remain at age 22 your whole life, but I've found people of the same age can look radically different.

The famous image of the trucker who had the sun on the left but not right side of his face shows the cumulative effect of sun damage: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage...

Normal cases are less extreme but this shows what happens if you do/don't protect against the sun.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#24
I’ve been applying DIY 20% ascorbic acid solution on my face for a few weeks, and am seeing some benefits already. Photoaging and spots seem to revert a bit, and there is definitely some lightening (as expected [1]). According to some Reddit posts, it takes a few months until the improved collagen synthesis becomes noticeable.

Vitamin C serums are quite expensive because ascorbic acid oxidizes quickly, and other forms have to be used instead. But if you mix ascorbic acid with distilled water yourself, every few days, you get a very cheap and probably more potent alternative. I put it in a sprayer bottle, keep it in the fridge, and spray my face in the morning. I haven’t found studies on the ideal concentration so far, but consensus on Reddit is that anything between 10 and 20% is ideal for collagen synthesis. 20% is too harsh for some.

1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7802860/

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#25

I wonder how much of the value of moisturizing is from massaging the tissue and working waste into the lymphatic or circulatory systems for disposal.

For aestetics little to none, for overal health and bloating probably better than with think but not as much as we'd like

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#26

Some heavy lifting for the claim that skin impacts health comes from this: > it's thought that intrinsic factors are responsible for the tiniest fraction of the classic "aged" look, while UV light is responsible for over 80% of visible skin changes. Here's the result from the study this links to: "By calculating statistical correlations between the four clinical clusters (wrinkles/texture, ptosis, vascular disorders,…

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Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#27
post #8

I like to try and guess people's ages. In real life, or on video, where their personalities influence my guess, I'm much worse than when looking at a still image. With a still image often the quality of a person's skin is the only giveaway, and when that is the case I'm remarkably accurate most of the time. So I'm skeptical there's much one can do, and people's skin seems to age at roughly the same rate.

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Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#28
The photo at the top is most likely a smoker. Increased CO in your bloodstream, and the effect of nicotine, seems to kill capillary circulation in the skin (and likely elsewhere, including the brain, kidneys). One reason folks in their 40s-60s today look so much younger than people the same age from the 80s and before is likely from the reduced prevalence of smoking.

And the article mentions diabetes...which also damages the microvascularization though not to the same extent.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#29

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

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