4 Dos & 4 Don¡¯ts to Help Slow the Aging Skin Process
You¡¯re in your 20s or early 30s so this can¡¯t be you, right? Wrong. You may be surprised to find your skin is prematurely aging even at your age. Here¡¯s how to tell.
If you smoke, have spent a lot of time in the sun or experience high levels of stress, you may find yourself in this category no matter your age. Skin doesn¡¯t keep track of your age, it simply reacts to how it¡¯s treated, so if exposed to sun, smoke and stress, the skin will start ¡®acting old.¡¯ It will lose it¡¯s glow or its elasticity. Lines will develop or open pores won¡¯t go away. This can happen in your 20s & 30s as well as your 40s.
Here are 4 dos & 4 don¡¯ts to help slow down the aging process and leave your skin glowing at any age.
- Do stop smoking. Smoking is the 2nd biggest cause of skin damage after sun exposure. The nicotine constricts your blood vessels & decreases the flow of oxygen to the skin.
- Do cleanse daily. You¡¯ll want a cleanser that contains alpha- or beta-hydroxy acids to help shrink open pores which seem to get bigger as we age.
- Do exfoliate often. A gentle scrub or peel-off face mask removes dead cells and keeps the skin glowing.
- Do use an eye cream daily. Eyes are one of the first places to show aging. The skin around the eyes is extra thin. Protect it with eye cream.
- Don¡¯t pull & rub your skin. Aging skin has been under attack by UV rays, stress and carbon monoxide. You don¡¯t want to stress it more by pulling on it.
- Don¡¯t forget to moisturize. Rich creams are your friend. Dry, dehydrated skin leads to aging. The more hydrated the skin, the less noticeable lines and wrinkles are.
- Don¡¯t ignore your neck and chest. The neck and chest are first to show the signs of aging, yet most of us ignore them. Look for moisturizers that have age-fighting ingredients like vitamin A (retinols), kinetin, copper or vitamin C.
- Don¡¯t forget the sunscreen. This is a no-brainer. You¡¯ve had it ingrained in your head since youth, but seriously, even in winter it can take just 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to damage the skin.
