Skin is fresh and dewy looking when we're young. Apart from a roughtime during adolescence, it can stay that way for several more years.
It's all about the collagen. That magical elixir that your body produces effortlessly allows your skin to rejuvenate itself frequently.
Until your mid-twenties, that is. Then, your collagen production slows down, and your skin begins to lose elasticity. .
Wait, what?!
Yep. Mid-TWENTIES.
Then,as you age a bit more, your skin's ability to rejuvenate itself is dramatically impaired and slowed down. I'm not talking silver-haired retirees here, by the way - I'm talking from about 35 onwards.
The skin becomes thinner and drier. Wrinkles begin to appear. All of this is the natural aging process. Your genetics play a role in this too. So, how to stop this descent into old-looking skin (a.k.a. natural aging)?
Your skin ages along with the rest of you. That's just the way it is.
BUT it's ok. There's more to it than that. Your environment and your lifestyle also affect the appearance of your skin. Luckily, there are things we can do.
Environment.
Living in NZ, you know about the hole in the ozone layer above us and your increased risks of skin cancer. I'm guessing you're probably pretty good at slip, slap, and slopping in the summer when you head out into the sunshine. But are you wearing sunscreen daily all year round to look after your skin? If you're not, sun damage will be happening, whether or not you feel it. Wind also dries out skin.
Even on a cloudy day in NZ, your skin will be getting damaged by the sun.
Pollution and the general grime that collects on your skin during the day clog your pores and make your skin look tired and wan. So, if you're not cleansing a couple of times a day (more if you're doing sweating exercise), that'll be taking a big toll.
And what about lifestyle?
Here are a few things that really DON'T help skin health.
Booze.
Deliberate tanning.
Not drinking enough water.
Not cleansing.
Not using/reapplying sunscreen.
Mask wearing.
Extensive computer use. Bluescreen is now also known to create pigmentation!
Not moisturising.
Not enough quality sleep.
Air con.
Stress.
Skincare products that are wrong for your skin.
Smoking.
Poor diet.
Lack of exercise.
If you're not looking after yourself well, you can be sure that your lifestyle will be reflected by your skin.
This is especially noticeable once you get into your 30s and beyond. If you're already in (or have been through) your 30s and 40s, you'll know that your body can start to feel like it's slowly drying out.
Nails can get more brittle, hair can dry out, the scalp can get itchy, and people can start to experience things like dry, flaky and itchy skin.
(Yeah, I know. SUCH fun. Not).
Don't panic, I'm not saying you've suddenly got to transform into a paragon of virtue or end up like the hide of an elephant! But you can literally avoid prematurely aging your skin if you take action to counter the effects of both lifestyle and environment. This will make a real difference to the look and feel of your skin.
Even if your skin has taken a severe hammering up until now, don't panic, it's NEVER too late.
There are heaps of things you can do to reduce the impact of the environment and your lifestyle in the skin aging process. Let's reverse engineer that list.
Limit alcohol.
Protect your skin from the elements. Especially the harsh NZ sun! Be careful. Marketing can be misleading. If sunscreen isn't giving you a value of SPF30 or more for outdoor use (SFP 15 for mostly inside with short periods outside), it's basically useless!
Drink lots of water.
Cleanse at least twice daily. It's gross how many toxins there are. Getting rid of them by cleansing is a subject dear to my heart. I'll be writing more about that next time in this blog.
Moisturise daily. Cleansing without doing this is like shampooing your hair without conditioning it.
Eat healthily. Research a food regime that will work for you. Depending on where you are on the journey, things like essential omega oils can really help your skin.
Sleep more - and better! Get off those devices long before sleep time.
Don't let stress rule your life. (Ha, yeah, easier said than done, tell me about it!).
Don't smoke. Obviously. Unless you want your mouth to look like the wrong end of a cat.
Avoid air conditioning when you can - and if you can't, drink more water and moisturise more.
Eat well. Your body is a temple.
Move. That temple needs to exercise!
An extra note on sunscreen.
If there is one thing I truly regret, it’s that I didn’t start using a daily sunscreen when I was young.
Even if you can’t afford to spend anything else on caring for your skin, invest in sunscreen. Also, the beauty industry has seen huge developments with sunscreen in recent years. There are now some really effective, lightweight options. Lots of make-up and moisturisers also now have sunscreen in them. Choosing these variants can be a comfortable and non-greasy way to ensure you're always protected.
Here are a couple I recommend: Bella Vi SPF 15 Perfecting Primer Anti- Aging Skin Repair Moisturizer and Dr. Schrammek SPF 15 Blemish Balm Honey.
If you’ve got kids who are teens or young adults, help them get into great habits now.
And if you’re still young, start today. Your skin will stay looking good for much, much longer. I’m not saying don’t party. That would be crazy! But I am saying that getting into good habits ASAP is a really good idea. Your future self will thank you, believe me.
So, is that all? I make a few lifestyle changes and I’m good to go?
Sorry, not quite. Even if you do your very best, you’re never going to be able to counter the effects of environment and lifestyle as much as you’d like to. It’s hard to incorporate enough of the vital omega oils you need for good skin health into your daily life purely via food.
There are only so many tuna sandwiches, nuts and avocados a person can handle a week, right?
Luckily, there are supplements you can take as capsules or add to food like salads or smoothies, to help with this. There are also heaps of beauty treatments and products that can help, too. For example, hyaluronic acid is an ingredient that’s a staple in any quality beauty product. It hydrates the skin and gives it a healthy and vibrant appearance. Products with collagen in them are also magical for re-creating that youthful feeling of firm, healthy skin.
Keen to add omega 3 oils to your diet but the idea of eating seafood makes you want to barf? Try these little beauties from KiKa.
Or these, from OCosmedics.
Want to introduce a basic (and pleasurable!) cleansing routine into your life? Grab this easy bundle.
The bottom line is, even a little something is better than nothing, when it comes to skincare.
What's your skincare routine? Any hot tips? Funny old wives' tales? Comment below.