Is it true that roses can also fight aging?

I often see netizens discussing anti-aging topics, such as intolerance to acid peeling, too long recovery period for medical beauty treatments, traditional anti-aging methods being too mild, and those big-name rose skin care products, not to mention the price, are they really useful?

In fact, I am also a little confused when I see these questions. When it comes to plant anti-aging, it is naturally a hot topic in the field of anti-aging research, and there is already too much evidence. But when it comes to plants like roses, you need to check the literature. Let's talk about the problem of aging and whether rose skin care is useful?

01. About aging

Let us first briefly understand the issue of aging. Aging is an age-old problem, and people can only perceive aging intuitively. It was not until the middle of the last century that we began to have a more in-depth discussion of aging with the development of science and technology. In particular, the development in recent years has made our understanding of aging advance by leaps and bounds, and also provided us with some new ideas for solving aging problems [1].

For ordinary people, the face, which is the most susceptible to aging, can give us a lot of inspiration about the aging process and related factors.

As the most superficial part of the body, the face is not covered by clothes like other parts of the body. It can be said that it is the first line of contact between the body and the environment. Therefore, it is subject to much damage. For example, temperature changes will affect the face, and the constant bombardment of ultraviolet rays will also cause great damage to the face. In addition, there are easily overlooked changes in facial microecology, which are all challenges to facial skin. Not to mention that many modern people stay up late, suffer from mental stress, lack of nutrition, etc., and these factors will affect our face, thus causing more changes, such as the aging changes mentioned above, so our skin becomes older.

The aging of the skin is not just the wrinkles on the surface as many people think, but in fact it is a comprehensive aging from the outside to the inside.

(Schematic diagram of aging skin structure)

On the surface, skin cells age severely, showing obvious wrinkles.

In the middle layer, hyaluronic acid and collagen, the main supports of the skin, are constantly lost and insufficiently replenished, resulting in a decrease in skin elasticity.

At a deeper level, the overall aging of skin cells and the corresponding structural layers are also aging. These aspects together form the aging of our skin.

02. How to deal with skin aging?

So, how do we deal with skin aging? This has to do with our anti-aging ideas. In fact, from ancient times to the present, looking for answers from nature is a basic idea. Not to mention medicine and food, even skin care, nature is also a basic source. As one of the important areas of skin care, anti-aging is also a natural choice.

As we mentioned before, an important reason why the face is prone to aging is that the face is the outermost layer of our body that is exposed to the outside world. Therefore, it is subject to various drastic changes in the external environment and is naturally more prone to aging.

So when we seek answers from nature, we must choose plants that can withstand difficult environments. People can hide when they encounter difficult environments, but plants cannot move and can only rely on themselves to fight. Therefore, they must develop a set of coping logic, and this is a plant characteristic: stress resistance. Can the rose mentioned above resist aging? Does it have this characteristic?

03. Can roses really prevent aging?

A quick search revealed some relevant research: for example, this study, “The effectiveness of a standardized rose hip powder, containing seeds and shells of Rosa canina, on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity”, explored the effects of rose (Rosa canina) on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity [2].

The subjects were 35-65 years old with facial wrinkles. A double-blind study was conducted and the parameters of facial wrinkles, skin moisture and elasticity were measured and compared using Visioscan, Corneometer and Cutometer.

(Rose extract improves skin)

The results are shown in the figure above, which shows the results of the product using rose ingredients. From left to right, they are the average depth of crow's feet, the moisture content of the forehead, and the skin elasticity of the right cheek. These are all common parameters used to evaluate skin aging. It can be seen that after eight weeks of use, the aging condition of the face has been significantly improved (P <0.05).

This is direct evidence from the public, which shows that roses can indeed have anti-aging effects and can stand the test of reality.

Having solved the basic question of rose anti-aging, I guess many people, like me, are beginning to wonder why roses can fight aging? What ingredients are working? And what is the mechanism?

04. Why can roses resist aging?

You know what, there are roses that meet the characteristics of stress resistance. For example, Granville rose is a typical variety of roses with strong stress resistance. It lives on the cliffs of Granville by the sea in Normandy, France. Living in such a harsh environment, you can imagine how difficult its environment is.

The first challenge is the wind. The coast itself is where the land and the sea meet, and the specific heat of seawater and land is different, which creates a huge temperature difference between the sea and the land, so the air flow is much more intense. If you have been to the beach, you will definitely feel that even if there is no wind on land, there is often wind on the coast. The Granville rose living on the coastal cliffs has to endure the sea breeze more than other plants, and must develop strong wind resistance. For example, the picture below is the wind resistance test of the Granville rose. This speed can be converted to a more commonly used wind level. 50km/h is a level 7 wind, and the Granville rose remains motionless. 80km/h is a level 9 gale, and the Granville rose can still maintain a good state. 110km/h has reached the level of a level 11 storm, which is extremely rare on land and often causes huge damage, but the Granville rose can still have a certain structure. This is the vitality selected by the evolution of nature.

(Granville Rose Wind Resistance Experiment)

The second is the impact of drought. Living on the cliff, there is a lack of water. The groundwater is getting weaker and weaker through siphoning all the way up, and it is basically negligible at the top of the mountain, so that most of the vegetation on the top of the mountain can only rely on the weather for food. Therefore, being able to resist drought is also one of the strengths of Granville Rose, and the salt stress test also proves its strong drought resistance.

Of course, strong ultraviolet rays are a risk it must face. Living on the top of the cliff, lacking the shelter of tall trees and facing the ultraviolet rays directly, if it cannot develop the ability to cope with ultraviolet rays, it will be difficult to survive for long. In fact, this is true. Studies have found that the ability of Granville rose (J. Glare) to resist ultraviolet rays (RdG) is among the best among plants, far stronger than Damascus rose (R. damascena) and Thousand-leaf rose (R. centifolia) which are widely used in skin care.

(Granville Rose UV protection test)

In addition, Granville rose has strong disease resistance, which is twice as resistant to black spot as ordinary roses.

(Granville rose black spot resistance experiment)

In this environment of wind, sun, temperature difference between day and night, drought and water shortage, the Granville Rose was able to take root and must have developed strong resistance.

(Granville Rose)

This stress resistance is more than just stress resistance. It can also stimulate the magical xenohormesis phenomenon of plants. This is a theory first proposed in "Cell" in 2008. That is, from the perspective of evolution and ecology, the secondary metabolites produced by plants can benefit heterotrophic organisms such as animals. This is why ingredients from plants have become an important source of our skin care and health [3].

The strong stress resistance and xenohormesis of Granville Rose are what skin care experts are looking forward to. Granville Rose is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, and has a strong ability to quench free radicals. These abilities are the guarantee for its strong stress resistance in difficult environments, and naturally can also help people resist skin aging. At present, some big brands have used Granville Rose in skin care products, and it has also been confirmed.

It can be said that the anti-aging effect of rose has not only been scientifically interpreted in principle, but also confirmed in practical applications. It can directly replenish collagen and hyaluronic acid to make the outer contour smooth, and improve the internal structure of the skin to make the inner contour plump. In this way, the inner and outer contours are refined to ultimately achieve anti-aging. This is another typical case in the field of plant anti-aging, and it is also another manifestation of our skin care idea of ​​wanting natural answers.

Aging is a natural process. Although we cannot completely reverse aging, we can still alleviate the aging process of the skin to a certain extent, as it ages faster than other parts of the body, and slow down the signs of time left on the skin.

Refrence

1. López-Otín, Carlos, Maria A. Blasco, Linda Partridge, Manuel Serrano, and Guido Kroemer. "The hallmarks of aging." Cell 153, no. 6 (2013): 1194-1217.

2. Phetcharat, L., Karnt Wongsuphasawat, and Kaj Winther. "The effectiveness of a standardized rose hip powder, containing seeds and shells of Rosa canina, on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity." Clinical interventions in aging (2015): 1849-1856.

3. Howitz, Konrad T., and David A. Sinclair. "Xenohormesis: sensing the chemical cues of other species." Cell 133, no. 3 (2008): 387-391.