What Age Should I Start Using Anti-Aging Products?
Once we hit our 20s and 30s, it’s inevitable that signs of aging will start to show. Since this is a fact of life, it’s never too early to start thinking about the health and well-being of your own skin.
How Does Skin Age?
When we age, our bodies slow down in many of their functions. Skin tissue loses its firmness from an increasing lack of elastin and collagen, which work together to give skin its elastic support. Since the body doesn’t reproduce elastin the way that it does collagen or skin cells, it’s important to avoid stressors that encourage the breakdown of the supportive tissue. Environmental factors like UV light, cigarette smoke, and free radicals from foods with a lot of sugar or preservatives contribute to dehydrating and breaking down our skin’s internal structure. Without this, skin starts to be loose and thin, and wrinkles will become more prominent.
Preventative Care for Firmness
Luckily, the best way to keep skin healthy is maintaining a simple skincare routine. In our teen years, paying attention to our skin is very important. The hormonal changes from puberty increase the likelihood of oiliness and acne, which can lead to skin complications down the line if not cared for properly. Regular exfoliation when you wash your face will help you be sure that your pores are clear of buildup, keeping your skin’s surface level even. When your skin’s texture is uneven, it’s often due to new cells growing over buildup.
Using a sunscreen is an essential way to protect your skin when you’re younger to prevent long-term complications as you age. An SPF of 30 or more reapplied regularly protects the skin from UV damage when you’re exposed to the sun. Preventing sun damage is an important way to avoid skin cancer, as well as dryness and dehydration.
Consistent Moisturizing
Keeping the skin moisturized will help cells remain healthy and functioning. Anti-aging creams and oil products aim to provide hydration to your skin and keep moisture in. These products often contain vitamins and minerals as well, delivering nutrients directly to skin tissue. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E help your skin stay healthy, firm, and produce the collagen necessary to hold in the hydration your cells receive from skincare products, food, and water.
Eating for Skin Health
The main way our bodies receive nutrition is from the vitamins and minerals contained in foods. Eating green and orange vegetables with high mineral content like iron, copper, and magnesium helps our body make new blood, grow new cells, and keep our organs, like the skin, fresh and functional. Drinking lots of water is vital to every cell’s performance in the body, and it keeps blood flowing to distribute nutrients to each one. When coupled with topical skincare, a healthy diet supports the skin from the inside out and outside in.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
Sleep is the time when our bodies do the most repair and regrowth. Getting a full night’s sleep (7-8 hours) gives your body and skin the opportunity to grow new cells and turn over the old ones. Since this happens every day, having a regular skincare routine is essential to help your body process dead cells and prevent the buildup that causes acne, wrinkles, and dry, sagging skin.
Professional Support
Regular maintenance with at-home routines and products will help you prevent lines and breakouts, and good moisturization will keep your skin firm. Sometimes you need a professional treatment that can do what you can’t at home, though. Your dermatologist can provide a chemical peel, laser resurfacing treatments, and microdermabrasion to help reduce acne scars, age spots, or winkles and remove buildup to open your pores. When your skin is exfoliated, it can better accept the products that will moisturize it and keep it supple.
Schedule a consultation today to talk to one of our skincare experts and find out what kind of anti-aging products would be best for your skin’s needs.