Unlike a fine line or a single malt, the quality of human skin does not improve with age. Instead, it loses moisture, elasticity and resilience making it into a wrinkle.
Skin undergoes basically two types of aging, the first one is intrinsic aging and the second one as photoaging. Intrinsic aging is genetically programmed, you cannot do much about that without the help of a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. The second one you can delay by photoaging it is the result of damaged caused mainly by the sun. You can delay photoaging by making certain lifestyle choices. Here is some expert advice to keep wrinkles from taking too much of a toll on your skin.
Sleep on your back: – While sleeping on your side or front with your face squashed into the pillow causes wrinkles. Sleeping on your back will certainly eliminate this problem.
Wear sunglasses: – A major area for wrinkles is around eyes, partly due to screwing up your eyes in bright sunlight. A good way to lessen the formation of crow’s feet is to wear sunglasses in bright weather.
Keep a straight face: – Lots of frowning, smiling or any other repeated facial expression aggravates wrinkles. It does not mean that you should not smile or frown but be aware of how often you are doing it – especially frowning.
Avoid smokers face: – A long-term heavy smoker can be easily identified by his facial looks. Smoking robs the complexion of oxygen by causing constriction in the capillaries and decreasing blood circulation to the facial skin.
The wrinkle of smokers has a number of distinctive features, as they come very early and are more extensive, especially around the lips and they are deeper and often leathery-looking. The smoker’s face often has a yellow-grey tinge.
Use a sunscreen: – Today’s tan can lead to tomorrow’s wrinkles. As obvious excessive exposure to sunlight is going to increase your chances of developing wrinkles. So choose a sunscreen, preferably with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 and win both ultraviolet (UV) a and B protection (also known as broad-spectrum).
Avoid tanning beds: – Even twenty minutes on a tanning bed is equivalent to a whole day on the beach without sunscreen. If you love your skin avoid them and if you want to look brown, use self-tanning lotion and a bronzing foundation.
Wear a hat: – Whenever you are out on your vacations or off to the beach or spending time outdoors in the midday sun, put on a hat with a 10 cm-wide brim to keep the sun off your face and neck. But never rely on unlined loosely woven straw hats as they let the sun rays through. Baseball caps don’t protect your ears, the back of your neck or even most of your face from the full sun. A sun hat needs a wide brim and a sun-protective cloth lining.
Stay out of the midday sun: – Which clearly means 11 am to 4 pm in summer and midday to 2 pm the rest of the year. This is the time when the ultraviolet radiation is at its peak.
Sit in the shade: – Wrinkles arises basically due to excessive sun exposure, so try to retreat to a shady spot on sunny days time to time. At the beach or in the garden sit under a large umbrella. If you are outing or boating, wear tightly woven clothing if it is not too hot. This will help to stop rays from penetrating your skin.
Keep your weight steady: – If your weight fluctuates in a great way, your skin will expand to accommodate the weight. But it might not contract the same way when you lose your weight. And as you age, you will need a little more weight to keep the wrinkles at bay.
Use a moisturizer: – If you have dry skin you need to nourish your skin with daily moisturizing lotion which can plump up your skin and temporarily hide smaller wrinkles that form on the surface of the skin. However, this is not a long-term solution but it leaves your skin healthier.
Exfoliate: – Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), found in plants and fruits are used in some skin products. They act by removing the dead skin cells on the surface to expose the younger cells on the surface to expose the younger cells underneath. They help in plumping up the skin and smooth the areas which cause wrinkles. But if your skin is too sensitive for AHA, you might try beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) which includes salicylic acid. It is available in moisturizers and cleansers and exfoliates the skin like an AHA but with less irritation.
Top up on omega-3s: – Two of the dietary changes can help to maintain skin moisture. Eat oily fish which includes salmon, trout, mackerel and fresh tuna which are rich in omega-3 fatty acid, at least twice in a week to help to restore the moisture to dry skin. Flaxseed or linseed oil are high in omega-3s which can be easily stirred into fruit juice or added to salad dressing. You can keep the oil in the fridge otherwise it will go rancid.