Too Young To Care About Skincare?

Even though your skin may not show it, the skin begins to age in your mid-20s. By developing a skincare routine early on, you can slow down the signs of aging by preventing skin damage.

Try incorporating some of these simple habits into your routine now so that your skin remains looking young later on.

1. Wear sunscreen and avoid tanning beds.

It should come as no surprise that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays speeds up the aging process and accounts for 90 percent of the signs of aging. These rays penetrate the skin and damage collagen fibers and elastin, a proteins in the skin, weakening its strength, bounce and resiliency. This can cause wrinkles or dark spots. Wear sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher daily—even during the winter because UVA rays are still strong. Avoid tanning beds, which not only give off UVA and UVB rays, but also cause you to burn quicker.

2. Wash your face every night.

During the day, your skin is exposed to pollutants. Tiny particles of pollution, known as free radicals, enter our pores and destroy the skin’s natural oils and cause collagen to break down. Without collagen, the skin looses elasticity and firmness and develops wrinkles and dark spots. Sleeping with make-up on exposes the skin to these free radicals and can also clog the pores and cause acne. When you wash your face before bed, you cleanse your skin of any pollution and allow it to naturally recover and detoxify while you sleep.

3. Use an eye cream.

Often times, women pull their skin and hold their eyelid taught while applying eyeliner to keep the surface smooth. This causes the skin around the eye, which is softer and more sensitive than the rest of your skin, to stretch overtime. Apply eye cream to help maintain the firmness around the eye. Look for a cream containing beech bud peptides, which are small proteins that stimulate the production of collagen. This will also help to reduce puffiness and dark circles, which you may currently be experiencing. Other ingredients like antioxidants such as vitamins E and F repair other damage the skin around the eye might suffer from.

4. Limit your alcohol intake.

Since alcohol impairs your liver, it makes it difficult for the liver to filter toxins out of the body that are damaging your skin. As you might have guessed, if you must have a drink, red wine is the best bet because it contains antioxidants, which can help slow the aging process. Just remember that anything in excess will do more harm than good, so don’t rely on a bottle of red as your skin-care routine. Avoid dark liquors, which have more congeners, chemical substances that cause hangovers and contribute to dull skin, and mixed drinks with added sugar like soda and fruit juices.

5. Quit Smoking.

Smoking cigarettes can damage your skin just as quickly as UV penetration. Nicotine prevents blood flow to the outermost layer of the skin by shrinking blood vessels, depriving the skin of oxygen and vitamins it needs to maintain smoothness. The 4,000 other chemicals in tobacco break down the skin’s collagen and elastin, significantly speeding up the sagging of skin and visibility of wrinkles. Quitting smoking will allow your skin to better repair itself now and prevent further damage.