Supermodel’s skincare secret

Supermodel’s skincare secret

Actress and supermodel Miranda Kerr has a skincare secret she swears is the key to her ageless, glowing complexion…

After visiting the former Victoria’s Secret model in New York City, I can tell you she looks as amazing in person as she does in pictures.

Her skin is radiant and she beams with good health.

And as she told my wife Barbara and me during our visit, an important part of her daily routine involves using green tea – both internally and on her skin.

Miranda uses green tea leaves as an ingredient in a facial steam. She places the leaves in a bowl and pours boiling water over them. After covering her head with a towel, she allows the antioxidants in the tea to penetrate her skin.

But there is another tea that has all the benefits of green tea – and then some.

I’m talking about white tea. It’s rarer and more treasured than green tea.

Both green and white teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant. But the leaves and buds of white tea are picked before they’re fully open – when they’re still covered in fine white hairs. That’s where this tea gets its name.

White tea is produced by gently steaming these immature buds.

Because it is the least processed of any tea, it contains even more skin-rejuvenating antioxidants than green tea. These antioxidants fight the free radicals that develop when you get too much sun, are stressed out or eat a poor diet.

But white tea works in another way to prevent and reverse the skin damage that can make you look old before your time…

It slows the breakdown of collagen and elastin.

When you’re young, enzymes called “matrix metalloproteinases” (MMP) constantly activate the breakdown of collagen and elastin. But you also build up collagen and elastin to replace the damage done by MMP. In other words, you constantly replenish your skin’s foundation.

As you get older, MMP breaks down collagen and elastin faster than you can replace it. Eventually you notice sagging skin and wrinkles.

But white tea blocks MMP.

Researchers found white tea inhibited MMP’s destructive action better than 20 other plant extracts tested.^[1] In fact, white tea was 3-6 times more effective than green tea at protecting collagen and elastin.

3 more ways to increase collagen

Miranda’s tea facial is a great way to improve your skin. But for even more collagen-boosting benefits, I recommend going even further. Here’s what I tell my patients:

1. Cleanse with rose hip oil. Another one of Miranda Kerr’s skin secrets is cleaning her face with rose hip oil… Rose hip oil contains retinoic acid. It can help tighten skin and improve elasticity. It also helps reverse collagen damage. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, daily use of retinoic acid increased collagen production by 80%.^[2]
2. Tone your skin with CoQ10.Most people think of CoQ10 as a supplement you take orally. But you can also use it topically. You see, CoQ10 is a small molecule that easily penetrates the skin’s surface. It gets down to the living layers of the epidermis and absorbs quickly into your skin cells.

A Japanese study found that applying CoQ10 to skin cells boosts production of a special type of collagen that connects your skin’s outermost epidermis layer to its deeper dermis. It anchors your skin so it doesn’t sag. It can also visibly reduce crow’s feet and wrinkles.

3. Coffee doubles collagen production. Research shows that oil from green coffee seeds (Coffea arabica) improves the strength, resilience and elasticity of your skin. When Brazilian scientists tested the oil on human skin, they found it almost doubled collagen^[3]The oil also  helps form new connective tissue to smooth wrinkles. It restores the young firmness and flexibility of your skin.