10 Beauty Hacks To Delay The Signs Of Aging

Skin aging is a natural process influenced by many factors, which include both those that you can and cannot control.

While there is no way to stop or reverse this process completely, there are things you can do to slow it down. These include cosmetic treatments, invasive procedures, and preventive measures.

# Wear sunscreen

The sun emits ultraviolet (UV) radiation that penetrates deep into the skin, damaging both the epidermal skin barrier and the underlying dermis.

In addition to increasing your risk of skin cancer, sun-induced UV damage can contribute to the appearance of brown spots, red spots, and wrinkles. All these are signs of premature skin aging that will make you look older than you are.

Sunscreen is one of the best weapons for protecting your skin against UV radiation. It forms a protective shield that blocks the UV rays from entering the skin. Sunscreen should be a part of your daily skin care routine even if you are staying indoors or when it’s cloudy/foggy outside.

# Keep your skin properly moisturized

Dry skin tends to be less elastic, making it more susceptible to creasing and tearing. This kind of skin damage ultimately manifests in the form of wrinkles, fine lines, and saggy skin.

This points to the importance of using a good-quality moisturizer to keep your skin properly hydrated in order to avoid premature skin aging. This is why most antiaging products contain a moisturizing agent as their secret ingredient.

Plus, there is a natural decline in the production of sebum within the skin as you grow older, making it all the more necessary to moisturize your skin regularly. The sooner you start, the better your prospects of delaying the onset of skin aging. Once the skin damage occurs, it can be impossible to undo.

# Follow a healthy diet

What you eat shows on your skin. Consuming a nutritious, well-balanced diet can nourish, heal, and protect your skin to keep it healthy and young.

- Consume adequate amounts of protein as it helps repair damaged tissues quickly, mediates many of the skin’s physiological functions, and provides energy.

- A lot of people don’t get enough micronutrients through their daily diet, which can be a major loss for your skin health. For instance, copper promotes blood circulation, zinc helps maintain the epidermal barrier, iron promotes the proper functioning of the antioxidant enzymes in the skin, and selenium helps scavenge the reactive oxygen molecules that cause cellular damage through oxidative stress. Hence, you must include foods that contain these vital micronutrients in an overall healthy diet.

# Try Gua Sha

Gua Sha is an ancient Chinese therapy that makes use of a little flat pebble of jade to promote the reduction of inflammation. The tool is used to chisel out cheekbones you didn’t even know existed, de-puff hangover eye bags, temporarily tighten the skin to soften fine lines, enhance the brightness of the skin, and relieve pain.

In this therapy, experts use the tool on the skin in short strokes to improve the microcirculation in the dermis, (12) which brings in an influx of nutrients that promote cellular repair and collagen production.

Oil blends such as almond oil and coconut oil mixed with essential oils such as peppermint oil or rosemary oil can also be used during the massage. The expert may also vary the pressure of the tool on your skin.

You can either get this treatment done by an expert or purchase the tool for home use. If you want to use it yourself, then buy the one with the shape and variety that fits you the best. Apply even strokes to your skin with mild pressure, preferably in the direction of lymphatic flow.

# Seek dermatological treatments

Although you can follow several self-care measures to ensure that your skin does not age prematurely and remains fresh and bright for a long time, natural aging is inevitable, and many people embrace this natural course cheerfully.

However, others seek ways to manage the associated features such as wrinkling skin (as everyone ages differently, and some may experience more prominent signs of aging). Several dermatological treatments can be discussed with an expert, including Botox, Fillers, high-intensity focused ultrasound, radiofrequency microneedling, skin tightening lasers:

- Botulinum toxin injections help reduce frown lines (glabellar lines) in between the eyebrows and crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes, and they can also make facial muscles tight

- High-intensity focused ultrasound is a noninvasive procedure that is a safer alternative to surgical procedures such as a facelift, and it stimulates collagen production, lifts the skin and makes it firmer

- In radiofrequency microneedling, the heat generated by the radiofrequency waves stimulates collagen production in the microneedled skin.

# Take nutritional supplements

Skin aging is not merely one of the processes of getting older, but it is the cumulative result of multiple factors. Both natural and premature aging is accelerated by the oxidative stress unleashed by free radicals on cellular structures.

Free radicals are reactive oxygen molecules that attack healthy cells to cause inflammation, apoptosis (cell death), and even DNA damage (shortening of the telomere), which can lead to cancer. This kind of free radical damage breaks down the skin fibers, including collagen and elastin, that are responsible for the structural integrity of the skin.

Several nutritional supplements can minimize and repair this kind of cellular damage to slow down skin aging. But always consult your doctor before starting any of these supplements, especially if you a history of medical conditions.

# Avoid stimulants

Consumption of stimulants such as alcohol and tobacco smoke is detrimental to the skin and accelerates the aging process. The harmful free radicals that are produced by smoking damage cellular repair systems, thereby affecting wound repair. Plus, they decrease the production of collagen and elastin proteins while also reducing blood flow to the skin.

Alcohol, in particular, impairs systems that fight the damage done by UV radiation. Studies have shown that heavy alcohol use (eight or more drinks per week) was associated with increased severity of nearly all features of skin aging. The kind of alcohol you drink also determines the severity of aging.

All in all, the harmful effects triggered by these stimulants within your body contribute to pronounced wrinkle formation, under-eye puffiness, nail discoloration, dull hair, uneven skin tone, and loss of facial volume.

# Establish a good skin care routine

A very basic and important step for maintaining healthy skin is following a stringent skin care regimen.

Your skin is a self-regeneration organ that keeps repairing itself by shedding the damaged cells and replacing them with new ones. But as your skin matures, its ability to regenerate itself by forming new skin cells gradually slows down due to a natural decline in the production of collagen and elastin. These are structural proteins that make up your skin cells and give your skin its volume and elasticity.

As a result, the skin regeneration process becomes slower and slower, allowing wrinkles, fine lines, dark spots, and other signs of aging to set in. This kind of deep skin damage can be hard to repair once it occurs, so it’s best to be proactive with your skin care

# Invest in the right antiaging skin care products

When it comes to fighting skin aging, choosing the right skin products is of primordial importance.

Low-quality antiaging products can react negatively with your skin and trigger symptoms of dermatitis such as itching, dryness, redness, and irritation. Even though these symptoms may not accelerate the aging process, they can certainly give rise to other skin problems, which can be a whole new ordeal.

When talking about product quality, it applies to the ingredients used in the product. Many products contain the same ingredients and offer the same benefits, but only some are worth a try, while others can be downright harmful to your skin. The distinguishing feature is not their composition, but how unadulterated and well formulated their ingredients are.

# De-stress

Psychological stress impacts your entire body and not just your mind. It triggers various adverse reactions that disturb your body’s homeostasis.

Your body responds by activating certain systems to correct the imbalances. However, if these systems remain active for too long, they can cause long-term immune dysfunction, increased production of free radicals, and DNA damage, all of which are known contributors to skin aging, among other health problems.

Stress can also exacerbate other mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, make you lethargic, trigger insomnia, and promote weight gain, among other conditions that can make you look older than you are.