8 Top Tips for Aging Skin

U Skin Clinics’ Top Tips for Aging Skin

WE all know drinking water is great, as is eating well, drinking less alcohol and avoiding stress but how can we take that a step further?

1. Sunscreen Sunscreen Sunscreen

No matter what your age, sunscreen is important. Some people say I did my damage when I was young, and this may be so, but you will make any damage worse by more sun exposure. The aging ray is most prevalent at dawn when many go for a walk and don’t wear their sunscreen. You wont get burnt as that is the UVB but UVA, the aging ray travels best in the moist air of dawn so the aging effects will still be happening regardless of the weather or the time. Wear sunscreen all day, every day and don’t forget to reapply at least 4 hourly or more if doing sport or swimming. There are now great powdered mineral sunscreens that are great for a touch up!

Sunscreen must also be worn at the right thickness to be the correct SPF . Wearing really thin layers of an SPF 50 could bring it down to only a 5

2. Serums

If your skincare budget is limited, spend it on serums. The two most effective serums contain Vitamin A and Vitamin C. These travel down to a molecular level and change the structure of the skin, whereas moisturiser sits on the surface. Not that a good moisturiser isn’t effective, but it is the serums that do the bulk of the long term changes. If needed, spend less on your cleanser and moisturiser but get good serums!

3. Skin boosters

We talk about drinking water to improve the skin but what if there isn’t enough hyaluronic acid in the skin to hold it there? All that effort and drinking your 8 glasses is wasted. Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that is hydrophilic which means it attracts water to it. We have lots of this in our skin which gives young skin that plump dewy look. As we age and especially with sun exposure, this molecule depletes in the skin, giving it a rough appearance. We can now inject this molecule directly under the skin to plump it up and bring back the dew. The effects can last from 6 to 12 months

4. Exercise

Exercise keeps your skin soft and glowing. We know that skin is kept healthy from exercise due to the vasodilation that occurs during exercise. This brings more blood flow, increased oxygen and nutrients to the skin. Exercise can relieve stress which again, assists in the aging process. Researchers are theorising that people who exercise frequently have more supple and elastic skin than their peers and that exercise creates body substances that slow down the aging of the skin. 

5. IPL photo rejuvenation

At least once a year – IPL will clean up all those brown spots and broken capillaries we have developed over the summer. It is best to do it in winter. Little do people know however, is that IPL also stimulates up to 30% more collagen in the skin than just having one a year and can be done on any area of the body.

6. Mineral makeup

Use pure mineral makeup and a good primer – pure mineral makeup won’t clog your pores and it has anti-inflammatory effects. This is great for aging skin especially those with rosacea. Make sure you have pure minerals. A good primer will fill all the lines before you apply and make the skin look bright, dewy and fresh

7. Skin Needling

Doing a course of skin needling yearly and using a home roller. Skin needling is a great way to stimulate collagen in the skin and plump it up. The newer skin needling devices are much more comfortable than the old types and something like the dermafrac has no pain and no downtime due to the way it suctions the skin. You are much better in terms of preventing aging to  having a course of needling once a year for collagen stimulation than having a simple facial once a month 

8. Don’t smoke

Apart from being bad for your general health and cancer-causing, smoking is also bad for your skin. Smoking ends up affecting the small vessels that supply nutrients to the skin. Eventually overtime the nicotine in cigarettes irritates the small vessels enough that they collapse which means your skin will not be getting the nutrients it needs to function properly.