How to create an anti-aging skin care plan

Anti-aging skin care tips

1. Protect your skin from the sun: Sun protection forms the foundation of every anti-aging skin-care plan. The sun’s rays make our skin age more quickly. We have so much evidence that the sun prematurely ages our skin that there is actually a word to describe this effect. This word is “photoaging.” To help patients protect their skin from the sun and other harmful UV rays, dermatologists offer these tips:

• Seek shade: Be sure to seek shade between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and whenever your shadow looks shorter than you are.
• Cover up in style: Whenever possible, wear a wide-brimmed hat, pants, and long sleeves. Gloves help to minimize common signs of aging on our hands such as age spots. Sunglasses help reduce fine lines around our eyes.
• Slather on the sunscreen every day before going outdoors: To protect your skin, apply sunscreen to all skin that clothing will not cover. You want to use a sunscreen that offers broad-spectrum protection, SPF 30 (or higher), and water resistance.

2. Forget about indoor tanning: The sun, tanning beds, and sun lamps expose you to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. These rays accelerate skin aging.
3. Apply moisturizer every day: As we age, skin becomes drier. Fine lines and wrinkles appear. Moisturizer traps water in our skin, giving it a more youthful appearance. For best results, use a facial moisturizer, body moisturizer, and lip balm. 
4. Wash away dirt and grime twice a day: How you wash your face can affect your appearance. For best results, you want to wash with warm water and a mild cleanser rather than soap. You also should avoid scrubbing your skin clean. 
5. Stop smoking: Tobacco smoke contains toxins that can lead to smoker’s face. Signs of smoker’s face include dull and dry complexion, loss of skin’s firmness, premature lines and wrinkles, and leathery skin. 
6. Eat healthy foods: A healthy diet promotes healthy skin. Make sure you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. 
7. Get enough sleep: It’s called beauty rest for a reason. Sleep gives your body time to refresh and renew itself.

6 Diet Tips for Youthful Skin

6 Diet Tips for Youthful Skin

A beautiful, radiant and glowing skin is every girl's dream. It's easy to achieve it by avoiding sugar as much as possible and by eating products such as olive oil, avocado and macadamia nut oil.

Doctor Stefanie Williams shares simple changes to your nutrition intake that will greatly impact your skin.

- Cut out the sugar: The less sugar we eat, the better it is. Many natural sweeteners like honey and agave syrup are high in fructose and should also be avoided as should sugary fruits (tropical fruits are the worst), fruit juice and dried fruit. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame should be strictly avoided. Not only are they nasty chemical substances, but they have also been connected to obesity and diabetes.

- Eat more healthy fat: One of the crucial things our body and our skin needs for long-term health is fat. Studies have shown that eating more fat makes our skin more elastic and less wrinkly. The increase in fat consumption has to be done in conjunction with sugar and grain reduction. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, avocado and macadamia nut oil are well-known to be good for us.

- Greatly reduce your grain and starch intake: Most people believe that a diet rich in grains is good for health; whole grains in particular are touted as especially healthy. But starches, the carbohydrates in grains, are simply long strings of sugar molecules and eating them will still make our skin and body age prematurely.

- Eat lots of vegetables: Vegetables will also provide you with plenty of fibre and antioxidants. However, make sure to cut down on starchy vegetables, as they can have a surprisingly strong effect on our blood sugar level. For example roast parsnips can bring up our blood sugar more than pure table sugar. Good fruit options are berries, as they are relatively low in sugar and high in antioxidants.

- Don't forget your daily protein: Protein provides important building blocks for our entire body. However, our body has little capacity to store protein. So, to supply our body and skin with all it needs, we have to provide it with sufficient amounts of protein on a daily basis.

- Spice up your life: Herbs and spices including rosemary, garlic, curcumin and cinnamon are a great addition to any skin health and longevity eating plan. Not only do spices greatly add flavour and variety of our food, but they also contain bioactive substances with positive effects on general health, skin and life span.

How to Create a Skin Care Routine

How to Create a Skin Care Routine

This simple, step-by-step routine covers the basic types of products everyone should use and the order in which to use them every day. These steps apply regardless of your skin type (oily, dry, normal, or combination).

EVERY MORNING

1. Cleanse - Oily and Combination skin types may find that a gel-based cleanser works better for them, while often times dry and sensitive skin types will find a cleansing milk better suited to their skin type.
2. Tone - Toner’s role in your skin care routine is to: remove any traces of cleanser left behind after cleansing, tighten skin, prepare skin for the absorption of serums and creams, reduce the appearance of pores, and help to regulate oil production and secretion.
3. Day Serum - Apply 1-2 drops and smooth in gently all over face and neck area.  If your skin feels sticky or tacky, you've used too much product.  Try decreasing the amount of product you apply.  What are serums, and why should you use them? 
4. Eye Serum - Apply 1-2 drops for both eyes. Gently massage around the eye area on the orbital bone.
5. Essence - If you are using the essence as a preventative method, you can replace your serum morning and night with the Essence for one week of the month. If you are using it as a restorative method, use one drop essence and one drop serum to cocktail.
6. Day cream - Listen to your skin.  In drier winter months, you might need the protection of serums and creams.  In warmer summer months, you might prefer to omit either the serum or the cream.
7. Eye Cream - Dab a small amount around your eye area.  Using your ring fingers, lightly dab a under the orbital bone and around the eye area, but never on the eyelid.  Never rub, as this pulls the delicate eye area, and can damage the skin, causing the look of pre-mature aging.  Even if you are not seeing any signs of aging, proper hydration and maintenance can help your skin stay youthful looking for longer.

Masks -  Masks help to address a myriad of concerns - from redness, to acne, to dullness, to purifying - find the mask that speaks to your concerns, and incorporate it into your routine.  Always remove make up before using a mask, and thoroughly cleanse afterwards.  Use it as a great way to relax before your evening skin care routine.

Exfoliate - If you're not using a product line that includes exfoliating agents (e.g. glycolic acid), it's a good idea to include a gentle exfoliator 1-3 times a week, to slough off any build up of dead skin cells, which may make your skin look dull, and can cause break outs.  When including an exfoliator in your routine, use it after your cleanser and follow with toner.

Pads - Eye Pads / Face Pads are your instant gratification fix, if you want to give your appearance a little boost.  Eye pads help to reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines.  Face pads plump up the look of skin for a firmer looking skin.  They're perfect for getting ready for a big night out and getting yourself red carpet ready.