Anti aging skin care routine

Tired of looking your age- or even older than you are? Want to have younger, smoother skin? Well you can, and you don’t need plastic surgery. All you need is some healthy lifestyle changes to get on your way to more youthful skin. Let’s look at what is really causing your skin to age, what you can do about it and what kind of skincare products you should look for.

There are two sources of aging:

1. Genetic makeup. This contributes to how fast aging sets in. It usually starts to show up in your late 50’s.
2. External factors. This would include things like the environment, stress, free radicals and sun damage.

Free radicals and sun damage cause an estimated 90% of early aging, not genetics. That’s right, 90%. I’m going to leave that there for a moment and let it sink in. If you can manage these two things correctly, you can look ageless for quite awhile! Are you feeling inspired because you now realize you have the power to stop signs of aging in their tracks? Good! Because you can. Or are you feeling depressed because you think it’s too late for you and your poor, poor skin? Well fear not! There are even ways to reverse the aging.

First, let’s go over the science of free radicals. I always feel it’s important to have some understanding of what’s going on in order to be able to confront the issue and know what to do about it. A free radical is a damaged molecule that is missing an electron. Think of it as a zombie and the electrons are brains. The free radical needs its electron. It craves its electron. 

It will fight and kill for it, ripping it away from unsuspecting, nearby molecules, like skin cells, collagen and braaaaains. Is this metaphor holding up? Whatever, you get the point. Free radicals attack cells, taking their electrons and turning the once stable molecules into more free radicals. This goes on and on in a domino effect until it has spread across your whole body.

It’s what causes aging, tarnished immune systems, cancer, and more. Things like pollution, physical stress and sun damage cause free radicals and have the largest effect on exposed areas of the skin. Lifestyle choices including a diet of processed foods, drugs and cigarettes also have a huge effect on us and create thousands of them everyday. Here is great example of sun damage aging skin. After 28 years of truck driving the left side of this man’s face looks much older.

Now that you understand what free radicals are and how they affect you, what can you do about it? Supply your body with antioxidants! Antioxidants can sacrifice their own electrons to the free radicals and stop the snowball effect. Going back to my metaphor, they stop the spread of the zombie disease by supplying the zombies (free radicals) with new brains (electrons,) which turns them back into healthy humans. Our bodies are able to produce its share of antioxidants, but it is not enough to help anti-aging.

We have to supply ourselves with more through our diet and skincare products. Skincare products are the most effective method of protection from environmental damage and premature aging. We can find a lot of important antioxidants in plants. Vitamin E, C and A are packed with the stuff. Different antioxidants have different jobs. Some prevent the formation of new free radicals, some stop them in their tracks and some repair the damage they cause. Try to supply your body with all three types.

As you now know, your lifestyle plays a large role in how fast or slow your skin ages. Here are some simple (and healthy) steps to stay young:

1. Cleanse

Wash your face, morning and night to remove makeup, dirt, excess oil and environmental pollution. Not doing so can lead to inflammation which creates free radicals. Dr. Robins Ashinoff, Director of Cosmetic Dermatology at Hackersack Medical Center, says “When makeup is left on, it blocks the natural exfoliating process, which can leave your skin looking dull.”

2. Exfoliate

Exfoliate 2-3 times a week. The older we are, the more our skin’s natural ability to shed dead skin cells decreases, resulting in the old skin cells building up, causing dull and flaky skin. Exfoliating helps our skin along by removing the dead skin, and allowing our fresh, new skin to breathe.

3. Moisturize

Moisturize morning and night. Hydrating the skin allows the cells to quickly repair themselves and create new cells which has got huge anti aging benefits. In a study done by the British Journal of Dermatology, those who moisturize regularly are found to develop wrinkles at a fraction of the rate as people who don’t.

4. Change Your Routine

Making small changes to your daily routine and lifestyle will go a long way. It is important to eat well and do small things to protect yourself against free radicals. Eat lots of colorful, organic produce to ensure you’re getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet. Wear natural sunblock and use creams and washes that have food grade, vitamin rich ingredients.  

If you’re looking for a good antioxidant rich skin care regime, try some of our best selling products like our Eye Cream, Vitamin C Cream, Cleanse + Restore, Cleansing Oil, and Revive+.  They are packed with anti-aging, antioxidant rich ingredients like:

• Aloe Vera
• Coconut Oil
• Avocado Oil
• Manuka Honey
• Walnuts
• Olive Oil
• Hempseed Oil
• Vitamin A, B, C and E

 Head over to our store and give them a try!

I hope you liked this post. If you have any other helpful tips on protecting your skin from early aging, I would love to hear them!