It is a fact of life that as you age, your skin changes.
In what seems like the blink of an eye, the texture of your skin can switch abruptly from being clear, smooth, and firm, to something dry, rough and lacking in elasticity. And then before you know it wrinkles and age spots start to appear!
While genetics plays a big part in the way your skin evolves, what you put into your body can either assist or be detrimental to the way it ages and its overall health too.
Smoking and spending hours sunbathing are very harmful to your skin and can make you look far older than your age.
Similarly, lifestyle and environmental factors contribute to how your skin ages. But by taking preventative action early, you can slow down the effects that getting older has on your skin.
So how do you do that?
In this article we will outline two pathways to keep the visible signs of aging at bay. Both of which you can use in tandem to keep your skin looking its best at any age.
So, let’s get into it!
Ways to reduce visible signs of aging
The two pathways are the natural care way and the cosmetic care way. Both are incredibly beneficial in reducing the visible signs of aging and will keep you looking refreshed and glowing.
Outlined below are 12 ways to help reduce premature skin aging across both routes.
Natural Care
Here are six natural care ways to reduce the visible signs of aging:
Cut out smoking and reduce alcohol intake
One of the first steps you should take is to quit smoking and reduce the amount of alcohol you drink. By constricting the blood vessels that transport nutrients and oxygen, smoking significantly accelerates the aging process. As a result, people who smoke are more likely to have sallow, dull, dry and wrinkled skin. Similarly, repeated consumption of large volumes of alcohol can significantly dehydrate and damage the surface of your skin. Both smoking and drinking could damage the blood vessels on the skin and result in you developing skin disorders like rosacea.
Wear sunscreen
While we all love to hit the beach and have some fun in the sun, if you don’t wear adequate sunscreen protection then you are doing your skin a huge disservice. It is important to slip, slop, slap every time you go out into the sun to reduce your risk of skin cancer. Where possible use products that incorporate sunscreen in them as part of your beauty routines like moisturizer. This will serve as a backup if you do forget to put sunscreen on.
Limit your sugar intake
Too much sugar in your body can kick-start a process known as glycation. If this builds up over time, it can result in something called advanced glycation end products (aka AGEs) which can be detrimental to the health of your skin. Breaking down your body’s collagen can result in you looking much older than you are.
Increase your collagen intake
Talking of collagen, as it is a major element of your skin, it is worth increasing your levels whenever you can. One of the main roles of collagen is to strengthen, hydrate and make your skin more elastic. The older you get, the less of it your body produces which gives you a greater propensity to wrinkles and dry skin. Taking collagen supplements and peptides may help to reduce the aging of your skin by countering dryness and wrinkles. As well as prompting your body to produce more collagen, these supplements can also facilitate the production of other proteins like elastin, which also help the structure of your skin.
Up your antioxidants
Did you know? Skin gets exposed to more levels of oxidative stress than any of your body’s other organs. Sadly, this means your skin can be damaged just by going through your daily routine. By taking vitamin C supplements, you will go a long way towards helping your skin maintain a youthful appearance. As well as being an anti-inflammatory nutrient, Vitamin C is a fantastic antioxidant which is renowned for hydrating your skin and enhancing its texture and tone. It can also boost the production of collagen, fade dark spots and eradicate the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines as well.
Boost your vitamin A
As well as Vitamin C, it is a good idea to boost your Vitamin A levels too, in particular beta carotene and retinol. One of the best ways to top up the former is to eat plenty of orange, green and yellow fruits and leafy vegetables. However, as both of these ingredients are commonly found in anti-wrinkle creams, you might want to apply these to your skin too. Retinol is well known for increasing the production of your skin cells. It also increases your levels of collagen production and exfoliates your skin. Which gives it a fresher and more plump appearance and reduces the prevalence of wrinkles and fine lines.
Cosmetic Care
Here are six cosmetic care ways to reduce the visible signs of aging:
Microdermabrasion
This is a process that focuses on removing your dead surface skin via a diamond-tipped exfoliation. A minimally invasive procedure it aims to kickstart the natural rejuvenation process of your skin to promote renewed skin texture and tone. It is particularly effective at enhancing the appearance of acne scarring, fine lines, melasma, wrinkles, sun damage, and age spots.
Medi-Aesthetic peels
This customized face peel is designed to quickly enhance the tone and texture of your skin. It does this by triggering skin regeneration and eradicating build-ups. This type of cosmetic care is renowned for reducing the appearance of fine lines, sun damage and wrinkles as well as improving acne and oil production and your pigmentation and pore size. If you are suffering from rosacea, acne, general redness, hyperpigmentation, severe sunburn or general signs of old age, medi-aesthetic skin peels are particularly good for these ailments.
Cosmetic injectables
For those who want professional treatment, cosmetic injectables could be a good option. In this circumstance, the Victorian Cosmetic Institute recommends anti-wrinkle injections as an effective way of reducing fine lines. This treatment is non-invasive and very safe, this treatment can leave your skin looking young and fresh in between three to ten days, with the results lasting for up to five months.
Micro-needling
Often known as Collagen Induction Therapy, micro-needling aims to rejuvenate your skin and trigger greater collagen production levels by stimulating your skin’s deeper layers and tapping into the natural healing response of your body. The way micro-needling works is that minute needles are used to create ‘micro-channels’ in your skin – especially tiny perforations. This, in turn, kickstarts a healing response at the deepest layers of the skin which initiates it to make new and strong tissue that is rich in collagen.
Fractional RF
While this is another treatment that attempts to produce more collagen, it also tightens the skin and augments its texture via a mix of radiofrequency and dermal stamping. Radiofrequency incorporates low-level radio waves within the dermis to initiate a thermal reaction. Dermal stamping meanwhile is an organic method of rebuilding your levels of elastin and collagen. By metabolizing unhealthy fibers and cells through heat, it results in the production of new, healthy cells. This subsequently causes a reduction in acne scarring and pore size, more structure to your skin and greater levels of rejuvenation.
LED light therapy
This style of therapy is very soothing and penetrates deeply. It also improves the healing functions of your skin cells internally, which is ideal for sufferers of acne or other prominent types of skin disorders. Targeting deep into the skin cells, it works at a cellular level to produce skin that glows with rejuvenation.
In Summary
Aging gracefully is a goal for many women worldwide. Thankfully due to revolutionary developments in skin treatments over the past decade, we are living in a golden age for anti-ageing treatments and skin health knowledge.
Through a mix of professional treatments, at-home skincare products and a healthy, balanced diet, there are several natural and cosmetic ways to maintain your skin’s youthful appearance.
Although, signs of aging skin aren’t a symptom to be concerned about. If you are concerned about your skin’s appearance as you grow older. You can rest assured there are plenty of things you can do to counter it.
