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寫在前面
思維導圖作者：
琚兒，女，QE在職，夢想能仗翻譯/音樂/健康走天涯
翻譯組全體成員如下：
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精讀|翻譯|片語
英文部分選自經濟學人20250301期科技板塊
Science & technology | Well informed
科學與技術 | 見多識廣
Science & technology | Well informed
科學與技術| 見多識廣
Is posh moisturiser worth the money?
高檔保溼霜真值天價？
Don’t break the bank
不必掏空錢包
A moisturiser pot with a big dollar coin in front of it.
一罐保溼霜前放著一大枚美元硬幣
There is a tendency to trivialisethe skin, says Peter Elias, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco. And yet this largest organ of the body is vital to health, keeping moisture in and germs out. Many things can interfere with these functions. Dry weather draws moisture from the skin. Bathing or showering too often—more than once per day—or using harsh cleansers that strip away naturally occurring oils, can also cause problems. When the skin becomes too dry, it can become itchy and inflamed. Dryness can also cause cracks in the skin which can lead to infections.
美國加利福尼亞大學舊金山分校的皮膚科專家彼得·埃利亞斯（Peter Elias）指出，人們往往輕視皮膚的作用。然而，作為人體最大的器官，皮膚對健康至關重要——既能鎖住水分，又能抵禦病菌。不過，諸多因素會干擾這些功能：乾燥的天氣會帶走皮膚水分；洗浴太勤（每日超過一次），或是用刺激性清潔產品洗掉皮膚的天然油脂也可能引發問題。皮膚過於乾燥時就會瘙癢發炎，甚至可能導致皸裂，從而引發感染。
Some people are more prone to skin dryness than others. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, olive-skinned people are less likely to have dry skin than people with black, brown or fair skin. Men also have thicker, oilier skin, so they are less likely to experience dryness. Genetic ailments, such as ichthyosis, can cause dry and scaly skin, and so can diabetes or kidney disease.Age is also a factor. The skin naturally produces an oil called sebum that coats, protects and moisturises the skin. Oil production tends to peak during puberty—the reason for those pesky pimples—and then slowly decreases over time.
皮膚乾燥的問題因人而異。美國皮膚病學會指出，橄欖色皮膚人群出現皮膚乾燥問題的機率低於黑色、棕色、或白皙膚色人群。男性也因皮膚更厚且油脂分泌更旺盛，乾燥發生率更低。魚鱗病等遺傳性疾病可能導致皮膚乾燥脫屑，糖尿病或腎病同樣會引發這類問題。年齡也是一個因素。皮脂是皮膚天然分泌的油脂，覆蓋在皮膚之上，起到保護和滋潤作用。皮脂的分泌通常在青春期達到峰值（這也是惱人痤瘡的成因），而後隨年齡增長逐漸減少。
The three types of moisturiser can help. Humectants, such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, pull moisture from inside the body onto the surface of the skin. Occlusives, such as petroleum jelly and shea butter, block water from evaporating from the skin. Emollients, such as ceramide, smooth the skin by filling in gaps between skin cells. A review published in January in Experimental Dermatology found that ceramide made skin look and feel smoother and also reduced inflammation of the skin.
有三種保溼霜可以緩解乾燥：第一，吸溼劑，如透明質酸或甘油，能將體內水分吸附至表皮層；第二，封閉劑，如凡士林或乳木果油，可以阻止皮膚水分蒸發；第三，潤膚劑，如神經醯胺，透過填補皮膚細胞間隙使肌膚柔滑細膩。今年1月，《實驗皮膚病學》發表的一篇研究綜述表明，神經醯胺不僅能改善皮膚觸感與外觀，還具有舒緩皮膚炎症的作用。
If the goal is soft, well-hydrated skin, experts say that cheaper products work just as well as the boutique options. “You don’t need to break the bank,” says Nour Kibbi, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Stanford University. Where splurging may pay off, says Abigail Waldman, a dermatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, is on products that reduce the signs of ageing. As people age, skin-cell production slows and the skin thins. Older people also produce less collagen, which keeps the skin plump. This combination leads to wrinkles.
專家們表示，若只是追求肌膚柔潤水嫩，平價產品與高階線產品同樣有效。斯坦福大學臨床皮膚病學副教授努爾·基比（Nour Kibbi）表示，“完全不必掏空錢包。”馬薩諸塞州布里格姆婦女醫院的皮膚科醫生阿比蓋爾·瓦爾德曼（Abigail Waldman）認為，非要花錢，抗衰老護膚品才是值得投入的。隨著年齡增長，皮膚細胞更新減緩，皮膚會變薄，維持皮膚飽滿度的膠原蛋白分泌也會減少。多重因素作用下，皺紋就產生了。
註釋：
1.break the bank: cost more than one can afford花大價錢
2.splurge: ~ (sth) (on sth) (informal) to spend a lot of money on sth that you do not really need亂花（錢）；糟蹋（錢）；揮霍
Retinol and other retinoids, a class of products chemically derived from vitamin A, reduce the appearance of wrinkles by increasing cell and collagen production. A study published in JAMA Dermatology in 2007 tested the effectiveness of retinol by comparing the arms of 36 elderly people who, three times a week, had had lotion with retinol put on one arm and lotion without retinol on the other. After six months, the researchers found that the arms with retinol had fewer fine wrinkles. Nearly 20 years later, experts still recommend retinol as a way to reduce the signs of ageing.
視黃醇等維甲酸類產品是維生素A化學衍生物，能透過促進細胞再生和膠原蛋白合成減少皺紋的產生。2007年《美國醫學會皮膚病學雜誌》上發表的一項研究證實了視黃醇的抗皺效果：對36位老年受試者的雙臂進行對照試驗，一隻塗抹含視黃醇乳液，另一隻塗抹不含視黃醇的乳液，每週三次。6個月後，研究人員發現塗有視黃醇乳液的手臂細紋有所減少。近20年過去了，專家仍然推薦用視黃醇來抗衰。
TikTok influencers are keen to sell these so-called “anti-ageing” products to their Gen Z customers to delay or prevent ageing. But there is no benefit to prophylactic use, says Dr Waldman. “The only product on the market that is truly anti-ageing is sunscreen,” says Zoe Draelos, a dermatologist at Duke University. Sunscreen can prevent damage from ultraviolet light that can cause sunspots and wrinkles. For all their benefits, however, ingredients such as retinol and glycolic acid can also cause redness, irritation, dryness, and cracks in the skin. Which might mean another trip to the shops for even more moisturisers.
儘管TikTok網紅熱衷於向Z世代客戶推銷所謂的“抗衰老”產品以延緩或防止衰老，但瓦爾德曼醫生指出，預防性抗衰其實收效甚微。杜克大學皮膚科醫生佐伊·德雷洛斯（Zoe Draelos）直言：“市面上唯一真正抗衰的產品就是防曬霜。”防曬霜可以防止紫外線損傷皮膚，避免形成曬斑和皺紋。不過，儘管這些產品有諸多好處，但其中像視黃醇和乙醇酸這樣的成分也可能引起皮膚泛紅、刺激、乾燥和皸裂，這可能意味著消費者需額外購買更多保溼霜進行修復。
註釋：Prophylactic means concerned with preventing disease.預防性的
翻譯組：
Yvette，拒絕標籤
Ryan，詩酒趁年華
校對組：
Lucian，靈魂在傑作中冒險
Shulin，非上上智，無了了心
Yu Yang，架一艘譯艦巡航無數內心的曲折宇宙
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感想
本期感想
Very，男，電氣民工，經濟學人資淺愛好者
女人大概是最容易為此買單的群體。譬如我老婆，她平時並不化妝，也不追求什麼太美麗的狀態，但是對於護膚品，則幾乎是竭盡全力。平時省吃儉用的錢幾乎都投在了這個上面。
工作和生活中接觸的女性，無論家庭條件如何，就像我老婆一般，在護膚品上面皆是毫不吝嗇，雅詩蘭黛的小棕瓶、蘭蔻的小黑瓶，資生堂的紅腰子等等，幾乎都是標配，更高更貴的則更是讓人眼花繚亂，我不認識的還有一大堆。在我看來，這些護膚品的購買已經遠遠超過了需求本身，效果究竟如何也無人可知（當然短期的效果還是清晰可見的），但在茫茫的廣告和“教育”之下，女人們趨之若鶩，逐漸顯露盲目。
這大概是最典型的消費主義之下的行為，商家為此幾乎在所有環節設定了無處不在卻並不顯山露水的套路，讓目標以為這一切是自己真實體驗到後迫切想實施的行為。由此幾乎所有的女性並不承認自己是被一種消費主義所裹挾，而是理直氣壯地辯解稱，這都是自己心甘情願的，也是自己內心所需的，和廣告無關，和周圍環境無關。但在討論護膚環節時卻又假裝在不經意間出現了一些攀比，如同初中生腳上的耐克一般。
我不想舉著大旗斥責些什麼，畢竟所謂人間清醒也不是一種好事。人生一遭，為何不在適當的範圍內滿足自己各種需求，哪怕其中一種是虛榮心呢？
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願景