The Anti-Aging Skincare Trends That Are DAMAGING Your Skin | Amitay Eshel

Dave Asprey

Jun 17, 2025

Episode description

Your anti-aging skincare routine might be secretly aging you faster. In this episode, you’ll uncover how trending skincare products including vitamin C serums, harsh exfoliants, and blue light therapies can damage your skin’s mitochondria, accelerate senescence, and trigger systemic inflammation. You’ll learn how to reverse this damage, support cellular repair, and choose smarter formulations that work with your biology for long-term skin and brain health.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Amitay Eshel, a pioneer in biohacking skincare and founder of Young Goose. With expertise in regenerative aesthetics and advanced bioactive formulations, Amitay is leading the charge in applying longevity science, epigenetics, and senolytics to skincare. His work helps high performers integrate topical nootropics, mitochondrial support, and neurohacking principles directly into their daily routine through the skin.

You’ll explore how skin aging connects to brain inflammation, how leaky skin barriers affect immune health, and why most anti-aging trends are outdated or biologically disruptive.

The Human Upgrade unpacks how red-light therapy, ketosis, cold therapy, fasting, and self-quantification tools can be leveraged to enhance skin function from the inside out. This is a masterclass in smarter not harder skincare, rooted in cellular optimization and performance longevity.

This episode is essential listening for anyone serious about biohacking, human performance, skincare longevity, mitochondria, Upgrade Labs-style recovery, and science-backed beauty routines.

You’ll learn:

• Which anti-aging skincare trends actually age you faster

• How mitochondria and senescent cells influence visible aging and inflammation

• What role neurohacking and the skin-brain connection play in longevity

• How to repair the skin barrier and reduce oxidative stress naturally

• The best red light, cold therapy, and fasting tools to reverse skin aging

• How to use skin as a self-quantification tool for overall health

• Why smarter skincare equals better cognitive and biological performance

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Block CD38 enzyme with specialized cleanser to reduce inflammation

A specialized cleanser can block the enzyme CD38, which is known as an 'NAD Pac-Man' for its role in consuming NAD and promoting inflammation.

#CD38

#inflammation

Combat skin aging by addressing non-UV environmental factors

Contrary to popular belief, 60% of skin aging is caused by non-UV environmental factors like artificial blue light, pollution, and heavy metals.

#environment

#skin

Beware anti-aging treatments that may cause scar tissue

Many common anti-aging treatments work by inflicting controlled damage to stimulate repair, but an older body can respond by creating scar tissue instead of youthful collagen.

#anti-aging

#skin

Prioritize sleep between 10 PM and midnight for optimal collagen production

Your body is most effective at creating collagen during sleep specifically between 10 PM and midnight, making this a critical window for skin health.

#collagen

#sleep

Utilize tardigrade protein to shield skin from degradation

The ingredient Ectoin, derived from extremophile bacteria like tardigrades, protects skin by structuring water around proteins to prevent them from degrading.

#ectoin

#skin

Utilize red light therapy to restore elastin flexibility

Red light therapy can reverse the age-related 'stickiness' of elastin proteins by restructuring the water around them, allowing them to glide properly again.

#red-light

#skin

Avoid synthetic vitamin C to prevent pro-aging effects

High doses of synthetic vitamin C (ascorbic acid) used topically can be pro-inflammatory, lead to oxidation, and cause cell death through a process called ferroptosis.

#oxidation

#vitamin-C

Choose THDA for superior topical vitamin C benefits

The most effective form of topical vitamin C is a fat-soluble version called THDA (Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate), which is three times more powerful than ascorbic acid.

#skin

#vitamin-C

Enhance red light therapy results with antioxidants and enzymes

You can more than double the results of red light therapy by using specific antioxidants like ergothioneine and photo-activated DNA repair enzymes on your skin beforehand.