Anti-Aging Treatment & Tips

The aging of the skin tends to define the age of a person. Some people look younger while others look older than their actual age. Signs of aging skin that make one look old include wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, sagging skin, freckles, and uneven skin tones. There are two main factors that make people appear older or younger than their age. One is intrinsic or internal aging and the other is extrinsic or external aging.

Intrinsic aging is uncontrollable since it is determined by your genetics. Extrinsic aging, however, can be controlled. Environmental factors and lifestyle play an important role in external aging. These factors and lifestyle include sun exposure, smoking, eating unhealthily, and lack of sleep. To prevent extrinsic aging from making you look old, you need to take good care of your skin and avoid those external factors in the first place. Here are treatment and tips you can do to achieve young-looking skin.

Avoid the sun. Both UVA and UVB age the skin. UVA can penetrate into the skin more deeply than UVB. UVA causes skin aging and wrinkles. However, UVB also accelerates skin aging and causes sunburn. Applying sunscreen with SPF 15 and above every morning is necessary because sun’s rays are the main cause of skin aging. You have to apply a sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection or UVA/UBA protection.

Eat foods rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect the skin from damaging free radicals, slow down the aging process, and rejuvenate the skin. Foods high in antioxidants are fruits, green vegetable, nuts, seeds,dark chocolate, red wine, and green tea.

Get enough sleep. While you sleep, the skin procudes new cells twice as fast at night as during the day. The body also repairs damages causes by factors such as stress, UV rays, and pollution which occur during the day. If you want to get benefits from what people call “Beauty Sleep”, you need to develop a regular sleeping pattern.

Quit smoking. Basically, smokers look around 10 years older than non-smokers of the same age. Smoking cigarette increases free radicals which damage the skin’s DNA. It also causes the skin to become dry. Smoking also causes lines around your mouth as you have to pucker your lips over and over.

Apply a retinoid or retinol at night. A retinoid or retinol stimulates collagen production and speeds cell turn over so it is an excellent treatment for wrinkles and aging skin. In addition, a retinoid can be used to treat age spots, freckles, and uneven skin tones. However, the retinoid or retinol can cause the skin to peel and become red if you do not start using one properly. Thus, knowing how to start applying a retinoid and follow the guideline is necessary.

Apply an antioxidant moisturizer. As antioxidants help prevent free radicals from damaging your skin, using a moisturizer with this property also protects the skin from harmful factors. You may use an antioxidant cream only in the morning before putting on sunscreen or use both in the morning and at night. If you want to apply an antioxidant cream at night, you have to apply it after a retinoid.

Don’t overact facial expressions. Frowning, puckering, and laughing cause the contraction of the muscles and can lead to wrinkles.

Stress. Stress weakens the barrier that prevents the skin from environmental factors such as UV rays and pollution, resulting in wrinkles, fine lines, break out, and dull skin.

By following these tips and incorporating anti-aging skin care products to your skin care regimen, you will have young-looking skin you want. The sooner you start, the longer the skin stays young because it is much easier to prevent aging skin from developing than to get rid of or even reduce the appearance of signs of aging.