Face Cream for Brains + Beauty 🥰

As a skincare maker (and a former nurse ) I have always said skincare will make you look better simply because when your skin is hydrated and healthy it will always look better.

But I was surprised and impressed to see that new research has discovered that moisturising can also improve your brain health and slow down cognitive decline!

Inflammation + Aging 

Scientists have always known that inflammation is a big factor in aging (they even call it inflammaging). This is chronic low-level body inflammation that builds up throughout our lives from things like diet, lifestyle and stress. It has long been associated with aging including cognitive decline.

They have also known that inflammation ages the skin but they now think this goes the other way too — that aging skin can contribute to inflammation in the body, including the brain.

This has to do with the fact that as we get older our skin becomes drier (and as an aside, for women the dry skin is worse as the reduction in oestrogen with menopause also decreases our natural oil production. I will write something more on this soon)

Moisturiser-not just for looks

Anyway, the researchers wondered if improving the health of the skin by using a daily moisturiser could make a difference to inflammation in the body.

So, in 2022, researchers in China started The Moisturiser Study where they studied 200 adults aged over 65. Half the participants applied moisturiser twice a day during the colder months (Nov-May) for three years. The researchers tracked changes in skin hydration and cognitive function.

Over the three-year period, those who did not apply moisturiser experienced increasing water loss through their skin and they showed levels of cognitive decline typical for that age group.

But the moisturiser group had significantly improved skin hydration (not surprising) but more interestingly they showed little to no measurable cognitive decline and in fact their cognitive ability had stabilised over the study period; that is no cognitive deterioration as they aged!

 

I am sure there will be further work in this area but isn’t this an amazing result? And it's so cool to think that something so simple could protect our future brain health — something we all worry about as we get older

Skincare for Everything

So, if you ever wondered — do I need to keep applying face cream or moisturising my body especially in colder weather when no one sees my legs or arms? Well, I suppose the answer depends on how healthy you want your brain and body to be when you are older. Moisturising will make you look better and probably make you feel better too, because, according to Psychology Today the sensory experience of applying skincare contributes to mental wellbeing and reducing psychological stress. And now we know it could be protecting our future brain health — so for me, well, it’s a no brainer!

I have been religiously moisturising everywhere since I read this research — taking the time to apply body oil after the shower — and it does feel like a much nicer experience and I have faith that it is helping older Deirdre 😊

Why do men think they dont need to moisturise?

I am so glad I coerced Michael into using Agnes&Me Face Cream and Face oil — it was not an easy job because for some reason so many men believe they don’t need to moisturise so maybe this study will help. I just need to get him onto daily body oil now, especially if he wants to have the good looks and the brains 🪞🧙♂

W️hat to Do

So, if you already moisturise, brilliant!.

If you only do your face (I am a little guilty of this at times too) then maybe its time to start moisturising the rest of your body too. A friend of mine who is a community nurse told me that they always recommended and provided body moisturisation products to their older patients — hopefully, this still happens despite all the cost cutting.

If you don’t moisturise, I hope this is the push to start.

In the study, participants applied moisturiser only to their forearms and shins because it was easier to measure and most of us already apply products to our faces. 

Here is the study if you want to have a read -they do label over 65's as elderly which the older I am getting the more inapproriate I think that is. 

And here is the link to Dr David Hamiltons article on this with a bit more information than mine. If you havent heard of him I recommend his weekly email that usually shines a wee light to my week and I think we could all do with a bit of that at the minute 😊