If you live in London, you’ll know how grubby city life can be, but rightly or wrongly we all tend not to think about it too deeply on a day-to-day basis. We’ll be most likely living your busy lives and enjoying the London culture, blissfully unaware of what surrounding car fumes and pollution are doing to our skins.
What does pollution do to skin?
According to a recent survey published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, extremely high levels of nitrogen dioxide (one of the primary pollutants caused by traffic) have been linked to an increase in age spots and pigmentation. What’s more, the Chinese Dermatology Association has proven that those living in highly-polluted cities age up to 10 times faster than those who live in rural areas.
Troubling news when you also consider that, according to a study by Kings College London, Oxford Street – the UK’s most visited shopping destination (around 200 million visitors a year) – has the worst pollution levels in the world, with nitrogen dioxide levels being ten times over the legal limit.
Pollution not only damages our health as we breath it in, but it sits on the skin and causes free-radical damage. In short, if you think of rubbing petrol on your face every day, this is essentially what London pollution is doing to your skin! The tiny toxic particles in the air can be up to 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. This microscopic matter is lipophilic, which means that it dissolves in oil, penetrating our pores and causing oxidative stress and those nasty free radicals. Over a prolonged period, this will rapidly advance the ageing process of the skin, causing increased sensitivity, collagen loss and more advanced lines and wrinkles.
Pollution also tends to get worse on sunnier days as there is more UV penetration to fuel chemical reactions, and on windless days when there is no inflow of fresh air to dilute it. This is due to what is known as an ‘inversion layer’ which traps harmful pollution close to the ground, making our skin susceptible. Some experts have suggested that traffic pollution could be the single most toxic substance for the skin and the effects are proving alarming.
London Pollution: caring for your skin
At Skin Perfection, in the heart of London and 5 minutes away from one of the most polluted place on the planet, we offer a range of effective solutions to ensure that your skin can survive the spewing metropolis that is our capital and so you can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to knowing that you’re guarding your skin as best you can.
We offer pollution-busting treatments such as:
- Deep cleansing dermal peels to exfoliate and slough away dead skin cells, dirt and debris.
- Laser skin treatments to target pigmentation, lines and wrinkles and resurface and regenerate the skin.
- Epionce facials and at-home use products to treat skin issues such as eczema and rosacea, as well as premature skin ageing, pigmentation and dehydration.
- Medical microneedling to strengthen the skin by helping the production of collagen and elastin within the dermis and giving the skin a renewed vitality and glowing appearance.
London life is exciting and exhilarating, but it needn’t make your skin suffer.
Worried about your skin? Book a consultation today
To speak with one of our experts on how to defend your skin against London pollution, why not give us a call and book in a no-obligation consultation and skin analysis? Enjoy London living and protect your skin at the same time, here at Skin Perfection.
