Nobody wants to look old. Everybody wants to be blessed with youthful skin and beauty. But one cannot escape old age. As people age, their skin loses capacity to rejuvenate. There is loss of collagen, elastin and subcutaneous fat in deeper layers of skin. These changes cause dull and uneven looking skin, fine lines and wrinkling. There may also be pigmentary changes due to repeated solar injury in the form of pigmented spots or patches on exposed areas and prominence of under eye dark circles.
While we cannot escape growing old, we can delay looking old by life style modifications. Environmental factors and faulty life style are one of the chief determinants of skin ageing. In this post, we would discuss what factors contribute to skin ageing and what should we do or don’t do to delay looking old.
What factors contribute to skin ageing?
Skin ageing is governed partially by physiological factors that are genetically determined. Foe example, if your parents had young & glowing skin even at later age, then you may too have an inherent tendency of delayed ageing. But the most important determinant of skin ageing are extrinsic factors like exposure to sunlight, pollution, poor nutrition, poor sleep, stress, smoking and consuming alcohol. By modifying some of these we can really delay ageing process.
What you should do to delay skin ageing?
- Safe sun behaviour: Even 15 minutes of sun exposure daily is enough to do the damage. So always stick to safe sun behaviour. Use sunscreens of SPF at least 15 whenever go out in sun. Use physical sun protection methods too in addition to sunscreens as umbrella, full sleeved clothes, hats and scarves.
- Eat a balanced diet rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and unsaturated fats rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
- Drink at least 8-10 glass of water daily. This keeps your skin hydrated and delays the appearance of fine lines on skin.
- Have sufficient sleep: An uninterrupted sleep of 6-8 hours is a must for youthful look and energy.
- Limit the uptake of alcohol as excessive drinking accelerates the process of ageing.
- Aerobic Exercise & Yoga help you keep fit and young. Many researches have shown benefits of daily exercise and yoga in decelerating the process of ageing process. Aerobic exercises increase blood flow to all the organs including skin thus increase the supply of oxygen and nutrition, imparting rosy looks to your cheeks.
- Recreational activities like holidaying, pampering yourself with de-stressing spas, watching movies, reading books, listening music, pursuing your hobbies and spending time with your family and friends helps to decrease daily stress and boost you with youthful vigour.
- Exfoliate at least once a week to get rid of dead skin cells. It improves skin texture and combats the appearance of ageing. Scrubs and chemical exfoliators like Alpha- hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid) scrape off dead skin cells and reduce fine lines and wrinkles on skin.
- Start using Anti-ageing creams after 30 or 40 years of age onwards. Don’t wait for appearance of fine lines or wrinkles. Earlier these creams are used, better are the results.
- Use Eye Creams regularly, as the skin around the eyes is much more delicate, fragile and sensitive than the skin on the rest of your body, thus it starts to show the signs of ageing earliest. To defer these changes, use a good eye cream daily.
Don’ts to delay skin ageing
- Don’t smoke: With each puff of tobacco you compromise nutritional supply to skin by constricting blood vessels. Moreover, smoking accelerates ageing process by collagen breakdown and initiating free radical injury.
- Don’t practice crash dieting: Crash dieting and rapid weight loss has devastating effects on skin. Your skin loses its natural glow, and it appears dull. Crash dieting speeds up the process of ageing. You will notice signs of ageing on your skin like sagging skin, fine lines and wrinkles early on.
- Don’t rub hard on the Skin: When you apply skin care products, or while exfoliating or while drying your skin after rinsing, make sure you don’t rub hard against your skin. Ageing skin is already exposed to harsh UV rays, and pollution, it should not be stressed further by pulling on it. Just dab on skin care products lightly and pat the skin dry afterwards.
- Don’t forget to moisturise: Keep your skin well hydrated with regular use of moisturiser. Drying of skin accelerates the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Even if your skin is oily, don’t skip moisturiser.
- Don’t ignore Skin of neck and chest: Just like your eyes, your neck and chest too have a delicate and thin skin, and therefore exhibit early sign of ageing like wrinkles & fine lines. So, make sure you use your anti-ageing skin care products on your neck and chest areas as well.
Always remember, it is easier to prevent damage than to repair it. So just follow these life style modifications and slow down your ageing process. Out of these, the one of the most important, effective and easiest thing is to start applying anti ageing cream as soon as you step in your thirties, without waiting for the appearance of fine lines on your face. We would discuss about these anti ageing creams in detail in our upcoming post.
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Dr Monika Misra
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