When it comes to leaders in health and wellness, the Mayo Clinic headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota is second to none.  With a recent article, the skincare experts  – and why shouldn’t they be, they’re in some pretty harsh MN weather – in the Mayo camp are advocating what they call ‘proactive skin care’, in taking preventative measures to keep your skin from looking aged or tired in the first place.  Here’s a summary of their top 5 list:

1. Protect yourself from the sun | This one is first because it’s hands-down themost important factor in skin health.  The sun is the main culprit for causing a host of skin problems, from the cosmetic – like deep wrinkles, dry, rouch skin, and liver spots – to the more serious disorders such as both benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) skin tumors.  Recommended | Avoid sun during high-intensity hours (10am-4pm); Wear protective clothing (bonus points for new clothing with SPF blockers); Use sunscreen (broad spectrum, and applied liberally).

2. Don’t smoke | Among the other health reasons that the doctors at Mayo would cite, it is first-class bad-news to be a regular smoker.  Smoking accelerates aging of the skin, and increases number and depth of wrinkles.  It causes narrowing of the microscopic blood vessels in the skin’s surface, which decreases blood flow.  In turn, the skin is deprived the oxygen and nutrients essential to skin health.  Recommended | Kick the habit – in the name of health AND beauty.

3. Wash your skin gently | While it’s tempting to scrub too hard or wash every time a drop of sweat forms on the forehead, too rough of treatment and too-harsh ingredients can hurt the skin instead of help it.  Recommended| Use warm water, limit bath time (both remove natural oils from your skin); Avoid strong soaps (they can be stripping – leaving the skin dry); Avoid irritating additives (perfumes and dyes? no thanks); Remove eye make-up carefully (use a soft sponge or cotton ball, and oil-based products for water-proof make-up); Pat dry (blot gently instead of rubbing again).

4. Moisturize regularly | The right moisturizer aids in maintaining the skin’s natural moisture levels – and enclose the skin to keep water from escaping, and slowly release water into the skin.  Recommended | Choose a moisturizer that’s right for you (skin type, age, the climate – all play factors); Ensure the moisturizer has sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher).

5. Shave carefully | Shaving is the most common way to rid unwanted hair, but it can cause skin irritations – especially for those with thin, dry, or sensitive skin.  Follow the tips, but if irritation occasionally happens, apply alcohol-free lotion.  Recommended | Hold a warm cloth to the skin prior to shaving to soften hair (or shave after a warm bath or shower); Don’t shave dry skin (use a lubricant like shaving cream); Use a clean, sharp razor (and don’t use the closest setting on an electric razor); Shave in the direction of growth (not against the hair); Rinse afterward (with warm water).

The above skincare rituals are great habits to get into for a lifetime of good skin health; in addition, natural, healthy, effective skincare lines can supplement this great routine.  For example, RSF’s Caviar Daily Cream is the perfect fit for overly-sun exposed skin (when you don’t re-apply that one last time), or when harsh environmental conditions dry the skin – either outside weather, or artificial air conditioning can be the culprit.  The perfect combination of care and precisely potent products can spell radiance for even the most damaged skin.

One of the most effective ingredients available in skincare products today used to treat, prevent, and slow the signs of aging is peptides.  Peptides are short polymers formed from linking certain types of amino acids in a specific sequence.  An important – if not the most important – factor in RSF Skincare is our high potency of peptides in all of our age-management skincare products.  While the closest competitor boasts a 17% peptide concentration, RSF products weigh-in at an impressive 50% concentration of peptides.

There are three key ways that peptides attack wrinkles, that are essential in understanding the potential for effectiveness of any cream or anti-aging product.

1. Peptides Sound the Signal to Your Skin, ‘Make More Collagen!’
As we get older, collagen is destroyed in the aging process, and unfortunately not replaced at anywhere near the rate at which it is depleted.  What was once smooth, young skin gets thinner and wrinkled.  An effective way to better the appearance of wrinkles is to replace lost collagen.  Specific peptides – that are formed when collagen breaks down – act as a signal to tell the skin there has been damage, and that it should immediately start making new collagen.  Topically applying peptides is a way to fool the skin into thinking there has been a greater loss of collagen than is actually occurring, tricking the skin into making more.

2. Peptides Give Your Skin a Good Dose of Copper
Peptides are small enough to penetrate the skin’s many layers, and get deep into the skin.  When copper attaches to a peptide, the peptide can take the copper to the thriving layers deep in the skin.  Why copper?  Certain research shows that copper is effective in healing the skin, not to mention it’s been used for decades to treat chronic wounds.  Copper peptides can act as an antioxidant, they’re necessary for the skin’s natural healing and regeneration, and they help to remove damaged collagen.

3. Neuropeptides Potentially Act Botox-like
While there is no confirming evidence one way or the other, some studies show that peptides might actually stop signal transmission from nerves to facial muscles.  A particular neuropeptide has been shown in labs to block the release of neurotransmitters from the nerves; therefore, in theory if it was absorbed through the skin and to the muscle, it has the potential to block muscle contraction.  This is how Botox works – by paralyzing the muscles to prevent the formation of wrinkles.

While peptides penetrating to the level of muscle paralyzing is debatable, there is still no shortage of reasons why peptides can be so beneficial to age management skincare routines.  Anything that continues to spur the skin to maintain or increase collagen production ultimately can have a major effect on the reduction of the appearance of wrinkles.

RSF Stretch Mark Cream

People refer to pregnancy as a ‘transformative’ stage in life for a reason – there is definitely no shortage of changes in allaspects of one’s life when a little one is on the way.  Once the baby arrives, though, many women struggle to get back to their pre-pregnancy form.  Worrying about their own body suddenly becomes the second priority to the wants and need of the newest member of the family.  Furthermore, the time required to get back into shape may take weeks or even months to start seeing results.  Fortunately, there is something that can be attacked as part of any woman’s quick, daily routine – and that is stretch marks.  Regular application of RSF Stretch Mark Cream invigorates the cell regeneration process occurring within the skin to produce the best result of visible change on dermal scarring.  Plus, the product spurs the simultaneous thickening of the epidermal level to regulate the skin’s surface – ultimately diminishing the appearance of stretch marks.

In addition, new moms who have already gone through the process of losing their pregnancy weight can benefit from the Stretch Mark Cream, as the final step in getting back the body they knew before their pregnancy.  The body’s skin expands to make room for extra weight, but when the weight is gone, the skin reacts like an over-stretched rubber band.  If the woman has returned the rest of her body to in-shape, the finishing touch is getting the skin to do the same thing as the rest of the body.

Lastly, it’s not just women who have recently given birth that work hard to get their bodies back into shape.  Anyone who has dedicated themselves to loosing extra weight can suffer from stretch marks.  After the long, hard road of dieting and increased exercise, reducing the appearance of the stretch marks left behind can be the last step in erasing the evidence of having been previously heavier.  Don’t skip out on the last step to having the body of your dreams – sometimes the smallest actions can have the biggest results!

Each year, millions of women make appointments with doctors, medi-spas, estheticians, and other skincare professionals with the desire to improve a current condition like discoloration or acne, or with the hopes of slowing down or minimizing the effects of aging or another life event like pregnancy.

When it comes to the appearance of the skin – which is hands-down the body’s biggest organ – starting early and taking a ‘nip it in the bud’ approach can have invaluable result.

Instead of waiting until middle-age when wrinkles around eyes are very noticeable to try and attack the problem, using a product with a potent amount of peptides – like our RSF Eye Serum - can aid in stopping tiny lines in their tracks and keep them from becoming deeper, darker, and more noticeable.

Or, instead of letting a summer’s week in the sun or a long weekend celebration get your skin looking dull and worn out, nourish it with the benefits of superior ingredients like the caviar in our RSF Caviar Daily Cream regularly, and keep that sallow from sneaking up in the first place!

Taking a time-out to appreciate the skin only takes a few minutes out of the day, and to be able to treat minor symptoms with effective topical products – as opposed to expensive, invasive procedures later in life – definitely proves to be the maximum effect for the minimum cost.

Stretch marks. If you’ve got ‘em, you don’t want ‘em. So why discuss something so detested? Because new research from RSF Pharmaceuticals, a research and development laboratory based in Southern California, is what millions of women across the world have been waiting for: a non-invasive solution for women to use during and after pregnancy to reduce and eliminate the appearance of stretch marks.

Even the luckiest women who maintain flat abs for the first few months of their pregnancy can become victims of stretch marks as their body suddenly ‘catches up.’ RSF Stretch Mark Cream is a medical-grade cream developed for minimizing unsightly stretch marks while simultaneously adding moisturizing and soothing elements to the skin. Featuring the highest potency of peptides and other restorative ingredients (and including absolutely no “filler” ingredients), RSF Stretch Mark Cream is the most powerful product of its kind on the market.

RSF Stretch Mark Cream combats skin stretching and inflammatory reactions right at the origin of cell activation where irritated cells activate skin matrix degradation. Down regulation of pro-inflammatory agents like TNF-alpha are one method RSF Stretch Mark Cream employs. The unique cream also stimulates collagen factors by utilizing panthenol to effectively reduce unwelcome stretch marks.  A brilliant combination of protein peptides, vitamins and organic extracts adds to the beautifying benefits of this RSF Skincare creation.

RSF Stretch Mark Cream invigorates the cell regeneration process occurring within the skin to manufacture optimal visible change on dermal scarring while simultaneously thickening the epidermal layer to regulate the skin’s surface and diminish the appearance of stretch marks.  Future outbreaks are prevented by the cream’s maximization of resiliency and elasticity. The intense components of RSF Stretch Mark Cream will leave the skin feeling firm and revitalized throughout life’s most dramatic fluctuations.

As a division of research and development laboratory, RSF Pharmaceuticals, RSF Skincare is substantiated by a long tradition of customized medicine and innovative formulization research. The unveiling of the RSF Age Management category offers age-conscious consumers young and old the exclusive tools to compact skin deterioration at any stage of the maturing process.

Click here to see more details on the RSF Skincare Stretch Mark Cream.