Small children have incredibly beautiful skin. Not only is it fresh and free of age spots and wrinkles, it also has an amazing elasticity and appears to defy gravity. So why is it that when the gorgeous, fresh-faced child hits 30, 40 or 50, his or her skin will have taken on a completely different appearance?
Like all the organs in our body, our skin ages with time. In fact, it often appears to age faster than other parts of the body, as much of our skin - especially on the face - is regularly exposed to the sun and a host of other environmental factors such as pollution, which accelerate the aging process.
The sun not only causes us to wrinkle, but also can result in age spots, freckles, blemishes and even cancer. It can make a 35-year-old appear 60, if he or she regularly exposes their skin without taking any precautions against the sun’s harmful rays.
While it’s impossible to look 30 years younger – and also bit stupid to even try – there are ways to make your skin look healthy, refreshed and considerably younger than it actually is. If you want to turn back the clock on your skin, don’t invest in miracle anti-aging products or med spa procedures – at least, not until you change your lifestyle habits first. Once you have a healthy routine in order, you might want to try other methods…
Chronological Aging
Our skin ages from the inside as well as the outside - called intrinsic aging - simply due to the fact that we are getting older with each passing second. As our skin ages, we are more likely to:
- Develop tumors, both malignant and benign, as well as other “blemishes” such as age spots, liver spots, seborrheic keratoses etc.
- See a proliferation of abnormal blood vessels, particularly on the face, cheeks and ankles. Some of this is genetic, some is due to lifestyle.
- Have a drier and thinner appearance of the skin in general. This happens as the skin takes longer to renew itself with age.
- Witness less collagen being produced, which can lead to our cheeks appearing more hollow and other areas of the body looking less-plump. It will also cause sagging and the appearance of both deep and fine lines and wrinkles. It’s estimated that after age 20 we already see a one percent decrease in the amount of collagen we produce - every single year.
Accelerating the Aging Process
Often, we either wittingly or unwittingly do things which speed up the aging process on our skin, causing it to age extrinsically. In effect, we indulge in activities which age us quicker than normal, and often the first victim is our face. Such activities include:
- Going to tanning salons. Tanning can cause basal and squamous skin cancers (see below), and while a tan may look good in the short run, it can make you look a lot older than you really are long-term – and be dangerous to your health.
- Smoking. Free radical form in your body when you smoke. They are unstable molecules which can damage your DNA, making the cells behave erratically and therefore age faster. “Smoker’s face” is not a myth, and it affects women more than men. The expressions you make when you smoke – puckering and squinting – are common signs of classic smoker’s face. Nice.
- Indulging in too much sun exposure. This exposes our skin to dangerous ultra-violet rays, which makes both collagen and the skin’s elastin begin to oxidize. Two main types of rays are UVA and UVB rays; the former can cause our skin to wrinkle as well as potentially fatal melanomas, while the latter can cause basal and squamous skin cancers. Spending your next two-week vacation baking on the beach is probably NOT a good idea.
Non-Invasive Ways to Slow Down Aging
Slow down the aging process by following these obvious, healthy steps:
- Drink in moderation. Excess will only expand your blood vessels, causing a red face and itchiness. And who wants a grogblossom nose?
- Quit Smoking. See above. If you need help to quit, look in the Yellow Pages.
- Wear sunscreen. Sunscreen with a minimum of 15 SPF will protect your face from the photoaging effects of the sun. Some dermatologists recommend wearing a minimum of 35 SPF 365 days of the year, even inside.
- Invest in good moisturizers. Look for ones that contain glycolic acid (alpahydroxy acids) and either retinoid or retinol, which have been proven helpful in reducing wrinkles and building up both collagen and elastin. Also look for ones with anti-oxidants, which can reverse free-radical sun damage. Examples are grape seed oil, vitamins E and C, green tea extract.
- Eat sensibly. Good nutrition is important, and along with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and wholegrains, you should also have a diet with enough calcium, trace mineral and Vitamin D. Drinking lots of water is also important.
- Rest/sleep. Your skin rejuvenates itself when you sleep, so make sure you get plenty of zzzz’s.
Stopping the Aging Process Through Invasive Means
While it is impossible to completely revere the signs of aging, there are certainly ways to make the damage that has already been done less visible – if you have a lot of cash, that is. They include:
- Plastic surgery. From face lifts to thread lifts, a variety of procedures are available to improve the appearance of youth. Think long and hard if this is the right step for you, and only use a Board-certified surgeon with years of experience and hundreds of satisfied customers.
- Botox. It’s estimated that more than two and half million Americans had Botox in 2008, to erase fine lines and wrinkles from the face. If having yourself injected with poison appeals, why not?
- Chemical peels. Can improve the texture of skin damaged by sun exposure and other factors by removing the top layers with chemicals.
Nobody enjoys the thought of getting older, but the only alternative is death. If you want to maintain a younger, fresher appearance but don’t want to look like Joan Rivers, then stop smoking, have a healthy diet, exercise regularly, drink only in moderation and always apply sunscreen.
Genetics play an enormous role in how we look, but you can always make yourself look better by staying happy and healthy. And remember, you’re only as old as you feel. If you look fantastic and feel like crap, you must be doing something wrong (or perhaps something right?).
