The skincare industry has become a powerhouse in the health and beauty sector, raking in billions of dollars in revenue each year from surgical procedures, non-surgical treatments, topical creams, lotions, ointments, chemical peels and an assortment of other medications engineered to help people maintain youthful looking skin.
Father Time
There’s really nothing wrong with people who want to improve their looks, and seeking treatment in places such as Dermapure or buying anti-aging lotions and creams are the next logical step in the battle to look young. The only wrinkle (pun intended) in this otherwise perfect plan, is the passing of time. And time comes bearing the gift of aging.
While there’s no way around time, you can work with it and age gracefully without going bankrupt. You don’t need to buy a cream or lotion for your face worth $150, because it won’t work any better than the one you can get at a pharmacy for $12. Remember, you’re not trying to win here. You’re working to slow down some of the negative effects it has on your skin.
Sleep
The first tool you have in slowing down the effects of aging is to make sure you get enough sleep: Deep, deep sleep. Your skin repairs and rejuvenates itself when you sleep. Vital nutrients and minerals are broken down and shuttled to your skin, making sleep the perfect time for your skin to do it’s magic of slowing down age.
- Do – Sleep on your back. Sleeping on your side or stomach will create furrows and wrinkles on your skin.
- Don’t – Sleep without washing your face. All the things your face came in contact with during the day will lodge itself into your pores and cause breakouts.
Use Sunscreen
The sun is great for a natural tan and vitamin D production, but prolonged sun exposure can cause wrinkles and skin cancer. Since your face is a smaller area compared to your torso, never leave home without applying sunscreen on your face and neck because vitamin D production will be limited in such a small area anyway. Choose a dual purpose facial moisturizer with an SPF 15 – 30 to protect your skin from harsh UV rays.
- Do – Wear sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat to prevent crow’s feet and eyelid cancer. Cancer of the eyelid makes up a majority of all skin cancer cases. Choose a pair with 100% UVA and UVB protection.
- Don’t – Wear too much sunscreen. Your body needs to absorb UVB rays to make vitamin D, and blocking it won’t let your body produce enough of this essential vitamin.
Be Choosy With Food
Scandinavian women have probably the fairest skin on the planet, and it’s primarily because of their diet. The centerpiece of their diet is oily fish, and lots of it. Salmon, mackerel and herring are loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Since they usually eat their fish raw or cured, all of the healthy goodness comes with every meal. Scandinavians also consume a lot of rapeseed oil sprinkled on pretty much everything (like olive oil), berries, venison, whole grains, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale and beetroot.
- Do – Take a high quality multivitamins, minerals and fish oil if you feel you’re not getting enough from food.
- Don’t – Eat junk food, processed food and all things that are bad for you. You know what these are.
Stay Positive
Keeping stress at bay by not allowing negative thoughts and emotions to take hold and sabotage your day is key in slowing down the effects of aging. Stress always brings his pals hypertension, heart disease and cancer. Stress has many other crooked friends, so why let him and his goons into your life in the first place? If you stay positive, view failure as an opportunity and choose to be happy, stress won’t touch you. Stress also affects cellular aging (telomeres), which can make you look older than you actually are.
- Do – Meditate. Give yourself a few minutes every day to find your inner peace and meditate. This will put you in the right frame of mind and provide much needed relaxation.
- Don’t – Be a Klingon. Stop clinging onto the little, unimportant and petty things in life. Stop sweating the small stuff. What’s done is done and there’s no point brooding or fussing over it.
Age Can Wait
These tools can help you slow the march of aging a little bit and buy yourself enough time to age gracefully. While there are probably more ways to handle the impact age has on our skin, these simple steps are easy to do and easier to turn into a regular thing.
The best part? You’re not throwing money away with every injection or pricey facial wash that will get washed down the drain. Stop worrying about your looks. As long as you’re happy, healthy and in good spirits, age can wait a little.
It’s waited long enough.
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