Nipping the Bud: Proactive Tips to Prevent Aging

Doctors will tell you that the best cure for anything is prevention. The same is true for signs of aging – they’re far easier to prevent than they are to remove once they’ve set in. And yes, you actually can prevent signs of aging to a degree. Most of us age prematurely because of factors like sun exposure and our lifestyles, so you can put off wrinkles and age spots much longer than you might expect by taking a few preventative measures.

What are those preventative measures? I’ve got the goods – use these proactive tips to keep wrinkles and other signs of aging to a minimum.

1. Make Sun Protection a Daily Must

For many of us, the worst villain when it comes to premature aging is excess sun exposure. Aging from sun damage is known as photoaging, and 90% of visible signs of aging in your skin are caused by photoaging. Yes, you read that right – 90%!

You don’t need to draw the shades and stay inside all day to keep your skin young. Just following these routines can dramatically reduce your sun exposure and keep photoaging at bay:

• Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and apply it every morning, along with 15 minutes before any time you go outside.
• Wear clothing with more coverage when you’ll be outside, like long sleeves and high necklines.
• When you spend time outside, wear large sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat to shield some of the sun from your face and the area around your eyes.

2. Keep Your Skin Moisturized

Hydration is another major factor in aging. When your skin is dehydrated, it weakens your skin’s natural protective barrier. This makes your skin less resilient to damage from pollutants and other particles which can irritate your skin and accelerate aging. Dryness also makes your skin look older in the moment because dehydrated skin shows wrinkles more prominently (think of a less dramatic version of the difference between a grape and a raisin).

To keep your skin properly moisturized, you have to hydrate from the inside and the outside. Drink plenty of water on a daily basis and use a nourishing moisturizer twice daily too.

3. Enhance Your Circulation

Your blood serves a crucial purpose for your skin – it’s the delivery car that brings your skin the nutrients and oxygen it needs. Your skin needs that nourishment to be able to renew cells and repair damage, so circulation is a major factor in keeping your skin young.

So how do you improve the circulation to your facial skin? There are a few options. Anything that improves your body’s overall circulation will help your skin, and that largely comes from getting exercise on a regular basis. You can also specifically enhance your facial circulation by adding facial massages to your skin care routine. Try using a facial roller for a simple way to massage your skin at home.

4. Invest in Professional Skin Treatments

Most people think of professional skin treatments as a way to repair damage and aging that has already happened, and yes, there are many treatments that can do this. But there are also plenty of milder professional treatments that are designed for aging prevention and maintenance. Think facials, microdermabrasion, and light chemical peels, for example.

5. Start Anti-Aging Products Early

Much like professional skin treatments, anti-aging skin care products are often mistaken for being a remedy rather than a preventative measure, but they actually work best if you use them for prevention. This is the case with retinol products, serums, and other rejuvenating products, so ideally, you want to get started with these anti-aging products as early as your mid-twenties.

Pro tip: everyone ages differently, and part of this is determined by your genetics. If you want to know where you should focus your preventative efforts (like under your eyes vs. crow’s feet vs. laugh lines), look at your parents and their most prominent signs of aging.

Keeping Your Youthful Glow

It’s never too late to start taking care of your skin to minimize aging, but it’s also never too early to start taking preventative measures. The few adjustments above to your skin care routine and daily habits can help you maintain a youthful look for longer so you can keep feeling spectacular and avoid or put off more expensive professional skin treatments.