There are very few, if any of us that relish the thought of having our skin resemble a prune. Yet, we often do the very things that make that happen. The best anti-aging skin treatment involves a holistic process. Your skin interacts with your whole body; therefore to have beautiful radiant skin a holistic approach must be used.
Phase 1 of your anti-aging skin treatment deals with lifestyle
- If you bask in the sun, quit. Think about it this way, people for eons have used the sun to dry foods. Think leathery. Is that the effect you dream of? Wellll, that’s what happens to your skin when you bask. In addition, the lighter skinned you are, the less protection from that DNA wrecking UV. Guess why your skin tans. Come on, quick answer. Hint: It’s not to be beautiful. It’s actually your body producing melanin as a way of trying to protect itself from the damaging effects of UV. That alone should tell you something.
- If you smoke, quit. Smoking definitely contributes to pruniness. There has been so much written about this, I won’t go into that here. Why? Because chances are you already know why.
- If you drink, do it in moderation. Ever noticed the face of heavy drinkers? Quite often you will see tiny red lines on their faces. Alcohol expands blood vessels. Excessive alcohol consumption causes tiny blood vessels (capillaries) to expand permanently. A beautiful look, huh? Not!
- If you don’t eat a healthy diet, start. You know the mantra, lots of fruit and vegetables. In addition to that, make sure you’re getting enough calcium, trace minerals and vitamin D in your diet. Take a good quality multivitamin to help compensate for what lacks in your diet. (Note: vitamins are not a substitute for a good diet. It’s a nice thought though.)
- If you don’t drink much water or other fluids, start. Consider this. Roughly 60 % of your body weight should be water. According to the Mayo clinic you need roughly 8 cups of liquid a day just to replace the fluids you lose in your urine, stool, breath, and perspiration. You’ll need more if sweat more due to the temperature, exercise, or both. If you don’t intake enough fluid, you will be contributing to your poor health and pruniness.
- If you don’t get enough sleep, start getting it. Sleep is the time for your skin to regenerate and repair itself.
- If you are normally stressed, learn to get that under control. Long term stress hormones surging through your body will affect every other aspect of your health including digestion, your ability to sleep well, your mental attitude and will cause skin conditions like eczema to worsen.
- If you don’t exercise, start. The simple act of walking increases blood circulation and that helps nourish your body including the skin that covers it. In addition, exercise helps your lymphatic system remove toxins and waste from your cells more efficiently. Healthy, well nourished skin cells prevent that dreaded prune-like look.
Phase 2 of your anti-aging skin treatment: creams and lotions
- If you don’t use a sunscreen, start using one. When you go outside even on cloudy days, wear sunscreen. Some dermatologists recommend SPF 35. I use SPF 15, but hey, I live in the Seattle area. Sun, you say. What’s that?
- If you aren’t using a good moisturizer, start using one. It will help reduce wrinkles and build up collagen and elastin. Make sure your moisturizer contains glycolic acid (not for around your eyes) and retinol. The product should also contain antioxidants to help reverse free radical sun damage. Green tea extract and vitamins E and C are good examples.
- If you aren’t using an eye cream, start using one. Don’t use glycolic acid around your eyes. Glycolic acid is bad juju around that delicate tissue. For around your eyes look for a specific eye cream product containing vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin E and retinol.
Summing it all up
Above all, remember that your skin is a part of the whole you. You can’t isolate it from the rest of you. Simply slathering cream on it is not the only anti-aging skin treatment necessary to keep you looking good. Yes, you can camouflage scars, age spots, even some malignancies with make up, but that’s not the way to go for ultimate long term benefits. Do the whole tamale and your skin will thank you in ways you will appreciate.
If you follow the total anti-aging skin treatment guidelines presented here, it will not only be your skin that thanks you. You will feel good both mentally and physically and have a ton more energy. Boiled down, that means more fun and enjoyment out of life.
Now go have fun and relax.
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