Can I Be Genetically Programmed to Look Young Forever?

Can I Be Genetically Programmed to Look Young Forever? Polly Blitzer

My best friend Greta still gets carded. She's 40. Her face has been frozen in time since college. But not in an unnatural Botox sort of way. She's only been to a derm for mole checks. She doesn't go nuts over beauty products -- she's used the same drugstore eye cream for as long as I can remember. As it turns out, she could be genetically programmed to look 21 forever. So what does that say about my genes? Can we do anything to delay the ravages of time if we're not genetically blessed? I found out.

Presented by Olay. All opinions are my own.

Photo by: Ana Schecter, Getty

Keywords

Olay, mde, mde study, aging, antiaging, skincare, genetics

Family Furrows Are a Thing Polly Blitzer

The answer, in short, is yes! Olay continues to lead advancement in skincare science with its most comprehensive research study to date. They recently presented a breakthrough study at the World Congress of Dermatology, the Multi-Decade and Ethnicity (MDE) study. It revealed that women who look ageless – or who are “exceptional skin agers” – have a unique genetic "fingerprint" that impacts their skin-aging process.

That means that, if all SPF and lifestyle habits were equal, Greta would still be lineless and baby-faced. And I'd still get wavy, lasagna-noodle lines on my forehead every time I say, "Oh my God!" Some things are just meant to be.

But more about the study: Dr. Alexa Kimball of Harvard Medical School examined women in nearly every decade of life (from their 20s to their 70s) and across ethnicities (Caucasian, African, Hispanic and Asian). Additionally, for the first time, Olay entered into a collaboration with 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to further understand the genes linked to skin aging and their biological variability across different ethnicities.

Photo by: Getty

Keywords

Olay, mde, mde study, aging, antiaging, skincare, genetics

"Express Yourself," Said The Genes Polly Blitzer

When my African-American friend jokes that "black don't crack," she's not kidding. Olay’s MDE study found that darker skin ages at a rate that's 10 years slower than Caucasian skin. My mom (at left) has very few wrinkles at the age of 71. But my dad's fierce and furious furrows express themselves all over my face, too. (Thanks, Daddy. But I also got your lean-ish Blitzer bod, so we're all good.) All DNA aside, environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and skincare habits still influence how our skin ages.

Photo by: Courtesy of Polly Blitzer

Keywords

Olay, mde, mde study, aging, antiaging, skincare, genetics

Do You Have Heirloom Wrinkles? Polly Blitzer

So, that means that my mother's mother, Mimi Audrey, could have avoided a facelift (or two) had she not anointed herself with iodine and baby oil in Greece, Spain and Monte Carlo. She could have aged more gracefully like her mom, my great-grandmother Nana Polly. Untechnically speaking, a combo of both nature and nurture caused her crepey skin and fine lines.

Photo by: Courtesy of Polly Blitzer

Keywords

Olay, mde, mde study, aging, antiaging, skincare, genetics

My Epidermal Epiphany Polly Blitzer

Even though my skin is already programmed to wrinkle and sag via 2,000 "beauty genes," (the ones affecting cellular energy production, skin moisture barrier formation, DNA repair and anti-oxidant production), I still have a shot at looking young. How? Research confirmed that powerful skincare ingredients like Niacinamide (vitamin B3), peptides, Olivem and Lyslastine can also impact skin aging. And guess what? All of those ingredients are found in Olay's formulas.

“What’s exciting about these findings is that the genes that make up the unique skin fingerprint of ‘exceptional skin agers’ may hold the key to successful aging, and decoding which pathways they affect and why they are acting differently in these women – nature or nurture – can enable Olay researchers to help more women achieve skin that looks like the exception, not the rule at any stage of life,” said Dr. Rosemarie Osborne, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Beauty Research Fellow.

My picks for looking ageless: Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream and Olay Regenerist Luminous Brightening & Protecting Lotion with SPF 15.

Photo by: Courtesy of Polly Blitzer

Keywords

Olay, mde, mde study, aging, antiaging, skincare, genetics