I'm really bad at trying to guess people's ages...especially a woman's. One may think, 'How is that possible since you work with skin all the time?' Well, it's because most women I see naturally look years younger or they look years older than their real age. Let's examine why a woman may look years older or what is called 'prematurely aged skin'. Many of you may think that genetics plays a huge role in how we're going to age. It actually plays a very small role...only about 10%. 90% of how we age depends upon our lifestyle. So if your 80-year-old Nana looks great, don't count on you looking the same at that age. So back to the question of what prematurely ages our skin. Here are the top 5 skin agers: 1) The Sun/Tanning Salons 2) Smoking 3) Drugs & Alcohol 4) Unhealthy/Fast Lifestyle/Stress 5) Not taking care of your skin and/or using the wrong products The Sun: Yes, we all need a certain amount of Vitamin D from the natural sun, and even though we now have better sunblocks and more knowledge today to better protect ourselves against skin cancer than they did in the 70's when Malibu Barbie's leather hide tan was "de rigueur" many people still insist on getting a tan to look healthy. So let's first clear up a common myth. There's nothing "healthy" about a tan. When our skin turns a shade of brown (or in my case...red) from over exposure to the sun, it is done to protect the cells from a heat source (in this case the sun). Over time, those surfin' safari weekends at the beach or floating your boat at the lake will catch up with you in the form of blotchy skin (i.e. brown marks called hyperpigmentation), wrinkles & crinkles, lines, dehydration, and a rougher texture. Some of you may even develop skin cancer and yes it is a real cancer that kills around 8,000 people every year. If it doesn't kill you, the doctors may have to cut the cancer out of your ear or nose or some part of your face risking disfigurement. So the question you need to ask yourself...is....having a darker skin tone really worth ending up looking like a shar-pei in your 40's & 50's or more important...risking your life for? Some of you may be thinking that because I'm a pasty white girl with red hair that I'm anti-sun. Absolutely not! I personally love light...it makes me happy! I'm just suggesting that you wear daily sunblock (even on cloudy, rainy days) and when you're at the beach generously apply a sunblock every 2 hours and wear a hat. Regarding tanning booths...don't use them, period! The quickest way to have more lines on your face than a piece of grid paper or more brown splotches than an overipe banana...not to mention increasing your cancer rate by 75%...is to use tanning booths. If you want some color on your skin, use a self-tanner or what I use on clients in my treatment room...a brown-tinted sunblock that gives color and protects at the same time. Smoking: There are no safe cigarettes or cigars, period. Smoking robs the skin and body of vital nutrients, causes your complexion to have a gray pallor or sallow appearance, creates wrinkles, yellows your teeth, makes your breath smell, and are just bad for your health (and everyone else's around you when you puff away and we're exposed to your second-hand smoke). Many people combine smoking with excessive sun exposure which is their choice if they wish to look more like a California raisin instead of a California Girl. Drugs & Alcohol: As with smoking, drugs and alcohol rob the skin and body of important nutrients. Resveratrol is an anti-aging (antioxidant) ingredient found in red grapes and has been featured in many articles. Many in the health field even encourage a glass of red wine for health benefits, but the key here is moderation...not the entire bottle. There are no health benefits to street drugs and even prescription drugs are not healthy if they are abused. Again, those who consume drugs and alcohol are on a fast track to a complexion with many battle scars. Unhealthy/Fast Lifestyle/Stress: What I'm really talking about here is diet, exercise, sleep, and stress. If an individual's lifestyle is primarily made of up junk food, they rarely exercise, they get less than 4 hours sleep per night, have a high amount of stress, and they basically burn the candle at both ends, their unhealthy lifestyle will eventually manifest on their skin in the form of wrinkles and sallow complexion. I'm not suggesting becoming a health nut...I could never give up my Haagen Daz Ice Cream...I'm talking about changing your eating habits to include more fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meat, chicken, and fish. Limit your sweets and save your soda for only special occasions (like when you have pizza). There is no nutritional value in soda and diet soda is worthless as well. Have water instead or sweeten your water with fresh fruit such as sliced strawberries or frozen blueberries...yum!!! Most people need 6 -8 hours of sleep every night. Some nights we may not get in those hours which is okay, but if you make it a habit of getting less than 4 hours of sleep per night, your skin and body will pay for it inside & out. Everyone has stress and there's no way to eradicate it completely from our lives. However, we can choose how to deal with it when it comes our way. Believe it or not...stress can actually prematurely age our skin. So don't take things so seriously and let things roll off your back like water on a duck. Not taking care of your skin and/or using the wrong products: If you don't take care of your skin then it goes without saying that you're probably going to have an unhealthy and a prematurely-aged complexion. How many of you have gone to bed with your makeup on? If you don't wash your face at night, that foundation will eventually clog your pores and create blackheads. If you're using the wrong type of products for your skin you may experience inflammation or dehydration both of which can prematurely age your skin. So what do you do when there are a bazillion skin care products out there all promising you a facelift-in-a-jar? Good question. Here's the rule-of-thumb I'll share with you...most of your best skin care products are found in a spa, salon, doctor's office, medical spa, resort spa or those recommended by a licensed esthetician. Drug store products may make your skin feel soft, but the ingredients are not of the highest quality nor do they have a high enough percentage to actually make a change in your skin. Department store products are just plain expensive and don't work any better than spa or medical lines. You're basically just paying for the beautiful jar and the model representing it. As far as infomerical skin care lines go...well, they have an enticing price, however, I have tried some of the more popular ones and I could not see any difference in my skin at all. Plus, the bottles are super small. Great, I suppose, if you're a traveler or child. Since I'm certified in over 15 professional spa and medical skin care lines, I have a pretty good idea of the best products to use for your skin. At Brazil Appeal Waxing, we use an organic bio-active line that is never heated over 105 degrees in which to feed, heal, and repair your skin. It's like giving your complexion a drink of vitamin-packed, antioxidant water every day! So if you want a healthy complexion wear a daily sunblock, don't use tanning booths, don't smoke or do drugs, limit your glasses of red wine, get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, drink lots of water, eat healthy, limit your sugar, try to reduce your stress, use a professional skin care line, and get facials regularly from a licensed esthetician. |
 |
|||||||
 
|
|
 |
|||||
    |
|||||||
