Aging is a natural part of life. However, that doesn’t mean that the visible signs of aging are any easier to accept. It can be difficult to deal with common signs of aging that show up on your skin over time. Wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots aren’t anyone’s cup of tea and their continuous development can be very discouraging. You can’t avoid aging altogether; it’s an inevitable process. However, there are many simple, effective ways to avoid common visible signs of aging for as long as possible.
1. Protect Yourself From the Sun
Sun protection is by far the number-one way to avoid visible signs of aging. Every time you go outside, make sure that you are protected from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays that lead to premature wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots. Protect yourself by applying a daily moisturizer with SPF protection or wearing a wide-brimmed hat while you are outside in the sun.
2. Get Out in the Sun
This tip might seem counterintuitive when compared to the last tip, but never going outside in the sun is actually not beneficial for your skin. Getting out in the sun provides your body with Vitamin D, which is vital to the health and youthful glow of your skin. Don’t be so afraid of sun damage that you never go outside. Instead, just be cautious and make sure that you are always protected when you are exposed to the sun.
3. Hydrate Yourself Inside and Out
Hydration is extremely important when it comes to avoiding the development of visible aging signs like wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots. First off, make sure that you drink enough water every day. Drinking a sufficient amount of water helps your skin retain its elasticity and allows it to appear smoother and plumper as you age.
It is also important to hydrate your skin from the outside as well in order to keep it looking young. Make sure that you moisturize your skin all over two times per day. Use a lighter gel moisturizer with SPF sun protection in the morning and apply a heavier cream moisturizer at night for deep hydration.
4. Get Enough Good Sleep
Sleep is important for your health in many different ways. One of the ways in which getting enough good sleep is vital to your health is that it slows the visible aging process of your skin. Make sure you are getting enough quality sleep by avoiding consumption of caffeine after noon and turning off all electronics at least thirty minutes before you head to bed. These simple alterations to your lifestyle can help you sleep easier and longer in order to retain your youthful glow and keep wrinkles and fine lines at bay.
5. Eat Fresh Foods
Eating processed foods that are high in sugar, chemicals, and trans-fats is not good for your skin and causes it to appear aged more quickly and obviously. Try to replace as much of your diet with fresh, un-processed foods instead. Fresh, healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains help your skin retain its elasticity and appear younger for as long as possible.
6. De-Stress Yourself
Stress doesn’t just affect your mind and spirit. It causes adverse effects for your body, too. One of these negative effects is aged skin. When you’re consistently stressed out,your body releases more cortisol hormone. This hormone causes your skin to appear thinner and leads to more wrinkles and other visible signs of aging.
Reducing your stress is more difficult than it sounds. However, there are many ways to effectively reduce your stress and thereby curb visible signs of aging before they appear on your skin. Make an active effort to add relaxation into your life. Go for a walk, read a novel, journal, go out for coffee with a good friend. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that you don’t spend your whole life feeling stressed. Your skin will thank you.
7. Do Not Smoke
Once you’ve developed a habit of smoking, it can be extremely difficult. However, as if you needed another reason beyond its cancer-causing effects to curb the habit, smoking increases visible signs of aging. Smoking cigarettes reduces the blood supply that reaches your skin and causes it to appear thinner, older, and discolored.
If you haven’t started smoking, keep this reality in mind and don’t start the dangerous habit. If you’re already developed a smoking habit, remind yourself that you’re adding wrinkles and age spots to your skin every time you poke a cigarette between your lips.
You can’t hold off the aging process forever. However, there are ways to make your aging process as graceful and natural in order to avoid excessive or premature visible aging signs and retain your youthful appearance for as long as possible.
