Age Defiance
"Someone handed me a picture and said, 'This is a picture of me when I was younger'. Every picture of you is when you were younger. 'Here's a picture of me when I'm older'. How'd you pull that off? What's that camera look like?"
- Mitch Hedberg
Getting older... it's inevitable. Hair starts showing up in places you don't want it to and disappears from the places you would like it to stay, your face thinks it's time to play connect the dots, and you can't remember where you left your house. Maybe one day they'll develop that magic pill everybody dreams of and we'll all be able to stay young forever. But until then, here are a few things you can do to ease the transition.
As age sets in, the skin produces less collagen, the protein responsible for the smooth appearance of young, healthy skin. Also, elastin, the substance that enables skin to snap back into place, has a bit less spring. Dead skin cells do not shed as quickly and turnover of new skin cells may decrease slightly. These effects lead to unwanted features like wrinkles, droopiness, and dull skin.
While you cannot stop the aging process of the skin, the good news is that your lifestyle choices have a significant impact on how your body ages. Fortunately, you can control those! Here are some tips to help you fight back:
- Protect your skin - More than anything else, sun protection will prevent the aging of your skin. Daily use of sunscreen products with at least an SPF of 15 will do the trick. Also, sunglasses with UV protection will not only keep you looking cool, they will also protect the eyelids from aging and will help reduce crows feet by reducing the squinting which comes from sun exposure without eye protection.
- Follow a daily skin
regimen
- Consistent skin care is important in maintaining younger looking skin.
- Don’t Smoke - Besides just being a nasty habit, smoking cigarettes causes biochemical changes in your body that accelerate aging. Even people who have smoked for many years, or smoked heavily at a younger age, show less facial wrinkling and improved skin tone when they quit smoking.
- Exercise - Physical exercise can greatly improve the appearance of the skin through increased blood and oxygen flow throughout the body. While mental exercise, such as doing crossword puzzles and reading, will help keep your mind running like a fine tuned machine.
- Smile - Frowning is more likely to cause you to develop lines between the eyes and at the corners of the mouth. A smiling, pleasant, relaxed expression causes less strain and will help keep you looking younger. It's also contagious... so, in your own little way, you'll be helping everyone around you look young too!
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