If you're getting to that age where you're trying to fight against signs of aging, the key word here is prevention. Yes, there are actions you can take that will assist you in preventing lines, spots, sagging, and the works. You can push off your up and coming date with Father Time by taking extensive measures early on.
Aging begins long before they start to show on the surface, this is why it absolutely vital to start BEFORE they become apparent. Putting serums and creams on your skin may lighten up spots or lines, it can't completely erase them. Here's some important rules you need to start following ASAP to avoid premature aging.
Reduce Sun Exposure
THE SUN CAUSES SKIN DAMAGE I REPEAT THE SUN CAUSES SKIN DAMAGE. Just because the sun isn't shining bright, doesn't mean the UV rays aren't wreaking havoc on your skin. We know you've heard it a million times, but it's about time you start taking it seriously. Wear sunscreen, or hates....ALWAYS. Wear sunscreen to reduce the harmful exposure and maintain your skin's youthful cellular structure.
If you look into UV studies done with twins, you'll see a difference between how aged their skin looks. A little ultraviolet light benefits the body and stimulates production of vitamin D, which we all need. But, too much and your skin cells will burn, causing spots and LOOSE SKIN. Remember to reapply every few hours if you're out for a long period of time.
Less Alcohol
Yes, we know you don't want to hear this, but unfortunately, alcohol has a very significant effect on the body, and not just the way it alters our state of mind. It can dehydrate, damage collagen, and cause your skin to looks elasticity and become loose, causing blemishes. Drinking ever so often, or a small amount regularly won't completely ruin you, but don't over do it if you're trying to look younger. A good replacement is water. Yes, that means it's time to say "bye, bye", to all those sugary juices, flavored drinks, and sodas.
Drink WATER. Water helps make everything in your body run smoothly. Not only does it hydrate your skin, but it hydrates your cells as well, making sure your body is working correctly. When your skin is hydrated, it will be soft and moist. Make sure you're drinking at least the recommended eight cups per day.
Clean Eating
You know the saying, "You are what you eat?" Well that couldn't be more true. Good food means good health, and specifically a youthful complexion. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are age-defying, meaning it will assist your bodying fighting off damaging elements.
On top of clean eating, make sure you're also exercising regularly. Exercise isn't just for body building or getting that bikini-body, it also helps in prolonging your life and keeps your body from sagging and looking older. Although thirty minutes of moderate exercise daily is enough for most people, there are actual anti-aging exercise regimens that exist.
Cleanse Gently
Many people seem to think the more scrubbing you do, the cleaner your face is. This is absolutely NOT true. The harder you scrub, the more you're stretching out your skin will do, and you'll also be damaging the surface of your skin. Both of these things done over a period of time will age your skin prematurely. Also, try to refrain from using hot water, as that will dry out your skin. When your skin doesn't get enough moisture, it cracks and lets in harmful elements and dries up.
If your skin dries up, it will lose it's ability to bounce back after stretching. Internally, this can be avoided by drinking water. To deal with external dryness, invest in some good lotion and use it daily. It's even better if you get a lighter moisturizer with SPF to use during the day, and then use a thicker one at night. Use a good moisturizer especially if you live in a colder climate.
Exfoliate
That being said, remember harder doesn't always mean cleaner. A gentle exfoliate will do, seeing as all you need to do is get the dead skin cells off your face. It will also allow for the production of new skin, allowing your skin to be nourished.
It's also important that you don't exfoliate often, as this will run your face raw. You only need to be exfoliating once or twice a day.
No Touchy
To keep your skin healthy and blemish-free, it's a good idea to keep your hands far away from your face. Think about everything your hands touch in a day, and then think about you touching your face and all the dirt you're clogging your pores with. On top of that, your hands are full of oils that can result in blemishes and break-outs. If you're a big face-toucher, or pimple popper, doing this will also stretch out your skin.
Your best bet is to leave your face alone. Although your face is often the first place we think about when it comes to aging, there are other places that can begin to age prematurely. Your hands, feet, and neck are often neglected when it comes to anti-aging. It's important that you take care of these areas, because they could give your age away even if your face doesn't.
Get Your Beauty Rest
Sleep is important. You can tell when someone hasn't gotten a full nights sleep, and it's not only important for your physical attributes, but it can effect you mentally as well. Your body's overall health depends on how much and how well you sleep at night. Everything is recharging and repaired while you sleep.
If you don't give yourself enough sleep, then premature aging will show. Make sure to be light on your caffeine intake as well. One or two cups in the early morning is okay, but by the time the afternoon or evening rolls around, try to stay away from them, as it can effect your sleep. Even if you sleep fine, the quality of sleep won't be as good.
Let Your Skin Breathe
Everyone has a skin and beauty routine that they follow religiously in the morning. Although this is okay, it's also important to remember to give your skin a break. If you wear a lot of makeup products every day, then you should give it a day or two out of the week just to repair itself. air is good for the skin and pores, but always remember to moisturize, preferably with SPF! It's important to consider what's in these makeup products you're using.
If you look at the ingredients on your makeup and it looks like you have no clue what any of that "stuff" is, then you should consider buying a new brand. Look for and try to avoid product that have BHA, a color with numbers, DEA, paragons, certain preservatives, parfum (any fragrance), dibutyl phthalate, and sodium laureate sulfate. Search these ingredients on the web to see if it's something you still want to be putting on your face everyday. Our guess is, you won't.
Wash Your Pillowcase
We spend many hours a week sleeping, meaning all the dirt on our face is spreading to our pillowcases. Try to consider getting a smoother material, like silk. This material will be less likely to wrinkle your face, which over time can become permanent.
Keeping your pillowcases clean, will help keep your skin clean at night. If you're experiencing breakouts, consider washing your pillowcase more often. Lastly, attempt to sleep with your face not completely on the pillow, as this can stretch out your skin.
Relax Your Face
Think of all the muscles in your face. Now consider how often you use your face to express your emotions. When you think about it, facial expressions are like a workout for your facial muscles.
Although muscles get stronger over time with use, the skin around the muscles will begin to stretch out and wrinkle. Now, this doesn't mean you shouldn't ever laugh or raise your eyebrows. This is just something to keep in mind if you often squint your eyes or make other expressions of that sort.
Brush Your Teeth
Look, this should just be a given. Many people forget how important it is to keep your teeth clean, and how it plays into your overall look. You can show signs of aging inside your mouth just like you can on your face.
Healthy teeth and healthy gums will keep you looking youthful. Make sure you floss morning and night, and use gingivitis and plaque fighting mouth wash. You will eventually thank yourself.
Stay Away From The Cigs
In case you didn't already know so, "smoker's face" is a real thing. It's caused by decreased blood flow to the face, and the cause is from the toxic chemicals in smoke. Crow's feet are often very commonly found in smokers, since they're always squinting their eyes to keep the smoke from going in them. Smoking will damage collagen, elastin, and tissue, basically everything needed to keep a youthful appearance.
On top of that, it causes lung cancer, which nobody wants! Numerous studies have been done to show that smoking is one of the main causes of premature aging. If you smoke each day, you should be ready to face extreme face dehydration, premature wrinkles, loss of collagen, elasticity, and redness of the skin.
Don't Spot Treat Pimples
As you get older your skin goes through that thing that happened when you went through puberty. You know, getting random breakouts all the time for no reason? Yeah, that. For some reason when you get older, your fluctuating hormones cause acne problems.
However, using spot treatment on certain breakouts will make these spots dry and will then leave a raw and irritated area. It won't heal the pimple either, just inflame the area. Instead, it's recommended that you treat your entire face with an acne-fighting cleanser or moisturizer once a day. This is your best bet in fighting future breakouts.