Chapter 575: Chapter 437: Zhao Heng’s Endless Inspiration
Ten o’clock at night.
Zhao Heng and Xu Man Ni sent their parents home separately and then returned home themselves. As for Xu Hongdou, she went home, saying she would be staying up there for a while due to preparations for opening a shop.
Back at home, sitting on the sofa, Xu Man Ni couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She was quite satisfied with today’s meeting of both families. Overall, everything went well.
"Before my mom left, she said this counts as an engagement, and since we’re busy, we’ll wait to hold a wedding ceremony later."
Sitting on the sofa, Xu Man Ni took a sip of water and said to Zhao Heng, who was next to her.
"That’s fine."
Zhao Heng nodded. He liked having such a straightforward mother-in-law.
Given his character, he felt that a wedding ceremony was unnecessary, but for Xu Man Ni, a woman, it was still essential.
"Is anti-aging skin care really as simple as you say?"
Xu Man Ni leaned casually on the sofa and asked Zhao Heng.
For women, maintaining their appearance is most intriguing, especially for Xu Man Ni, now at the transitional age of thirty, neither too young nor too old.
Whether one looks aged is actually related to genetics, and skin is no exception.
There’s always this saying, "Men age like wine, women age like tofu," which teases the dilemma many middle-aged women face. Despite spending more time and effort maintaining their skin than men, they still age faster than men.
The main reason for this is the loss of collagen.
Collagen is an essential nutrient for delaying aging in the human body and one of the main components of the skin. It is the most abundant protein in the human body, accounting for more than 30% of the body’s total protein. It’s distributed throughout various tissues and organs such as skin, bones, muscles, cartilage, joints, and hair, playing a triple role in anti-aging: support, repair, and protection.
At the same age, women tend to lose collagen faster than men. This is primarily due to women’s physiological characteristics, such as the shedding of the endometrium during menstruation, which needs repair, and the endometrium is made of collagen. This requires a heavy use of collagen; childbirth also causes uterine damage, consuming more collagen.
After the age of 20, women start losing collagen, leading to gradual aging. After 25, the loss peaks, and by 40, collagen levels are only half of what they were at 18. As collagen depletes, women experience direct signs of aging: skin becomes dry, loose, wrinkled, with dark spots and enlarged pores, starting to sag and show other aging symptoms.
"It’s not difficult; you just have to regulate the related genes expressing collagen to keep the skin in the state of an eighteen-year-old or even younger."
Zhao Heng thought for a moment and said.
For his current level and technology, genetic diseases, even congenital ones, aren’t a problem, let alone some anti-oxidation and anti-aging techniques.
"Gene regulation? I heard that technology is still at the theoretical stage, right?"
Xu Man Ni asked, a bit puzzled. It’s not that she didn’t believe Zhao Heng, but the targeted expression and regulation of genes are still at the theoretical stage worldwide. For instance, the human genome sequencing has only recently been completed.
"Overall regulation might be impossible, but adjusting individual genes is achievable."
Zhao Heng said.
"Really? You’re not suggesting gene regulation like in sci-fi movies where the side effects turn people into monsters, right?"
Xu Man Ni said, somewhat incredulously. Even though she is also in the medical field, her understanding of such an advanced and cutting-edge subject as gene regulation is hardly different from that of the average person.
"What are you thinking? Specifically referring to anti-aging skin care, you simply reactivate the genes that naturally decrease in expression with age. For example, just help regulate collagen expression back to the levels of an eighteen-year-old or even earlier. This is just a reactivation process, without genetic modification, cutting, or editing, with virtually no risk."
Zhao Heng smiled and said.
"I get what you’re saying, reactivating gene expression is like turning a valve back on, right."
Listening to Zhao Heng, Xu Man Ni immediately understood.
Thinking about how her skin could remain forever youthful like a girl’s, as a woman, Xu Man Ni found the allure irresistible.
"If this technology were to be put into practical use, it would be incredibly sensational just to think about it."
After a pause, Xu Man Ni continued.
Currently, anti-aging skin care products are sold at exorbitant prices. A small bottle of cosmetics with just a hint of anti-aging ingredients can sell for thousands.
Even a single face mask can be sold for hundreds or even thousands.
The profits involved are simply staggering.
Not to mention, the gene regulation method Zhao Heng described offers a sustained, even permanent change in collagen expression. If wealthy and beauty-conscious women found out about this, they would surely go crazy.
