Aging Skin Treatments and Solutions

Why is it such a crime to want to look good? I supposed to much ego and vanity can be a turn-off, but I'm talking about wanting to prolong your natural beauty for as long as possible, with a little prevention and care. Living a long life is a privilege, but you don't have to look like a total hag in the process.

Vanity is an unwanted internal characteristic that for the most part is a major turn off. Like an inflated ego.

Natural beauty shines from the inside out, but unfortunately, father time takes a toll on the "out"

Luckily though, advanced skin-care has made it possible to prolong our natural beauty for a much longer time. And I'm talking about skincare that is safe (albeit with the exception of chemicals), I'm not talking about cosmetic surgery or trips to the chop shop surgeon.

The new 30 is 40! The time to look your best is daily! Ever notice how women pass 30 then say that every birthday there-after is 29? Ever notice how it's considered "rude" to ask a woman her age? Why? Because we all want to remain beautiful inside and out for as long as possible. Ahhhh...forever 29. Well...you better be doing something to convince others of that or you won't fool anyone!

Have you ever met someone that has had extensive cosmetic surgery yet you can still tell their age by the skin condition on their neck and hands? These bits are often neglected. This is just a friendly reminder that when you try any of these suggestions, you should make a point to take care of these parts too, in addition to your beautiful face!

This includes;

• Necks
• Hands and feet
• Elbows and knees
• Hair and nails
• Lips and teeth

Before you start changing your routine, make sure you're doing some basic care first. Personal hygiene is a must! This includes the basics, like brushing your teeth, washing your hair, and wearing clean clothes. If you look like a model runway in a sloppy dirty outfit with halitosis, you won't look great and may cause people to run screaming. I'm not saying rush off and buy designer materialistic junk you don't need. Just keep things simple and stay clean.

Skin changes as we age and so do internal hormone levels, so it's best to start a skincare schedule young and make modifications at the appropriate time. Your skincare routine and products will tend to change as you age.

Besides just exterior care, you should do the following as well. Seeing a beautiful person with a crappy personality is not attractive, or appealing, and definitely does not give off the "eternal youth" glow we are seeking here.

• Be happy! No one wants to be around a negative person
• Smile often
• Be grateful
• Learn and pursue hobbies and interests! You don't have to have a bachelors to improve your intelligence. Being self-taught is a turn on!
• Get cultural! Try new things!
• Deal with your stress (whatever this means for you, meditation, prayer, hobbies)
• Exercise!!! A youthful face goes great with a youthful body!

If you want to keep your skin looking beautiful, here are the big NO NO's! Or at least limit these as often as possible.

• Don't smoke and don't spend long hours trapped in tiny rooms with smokers! Smoking damages the skin and causes premature aging and wrinkles from the chemicals that come in contact with it.
• Don't use drugs and eliminate unnecessary prescription medications as often as possible
• Don't Drink, alcohol dehydrates the body. Other than dehydration it causes other major health issues. Take care of your organs and thank them for the work they do, good functioning liver and kidneys are vital to removing internal toxins. Alcohol will also bloat you like a blimp as your body tries to retain as much fluid as possible. It also gives you dark under eye circles and makes you feel like you were run over by a truck. And how can you possibly keep yourself looking put together when you feel like that?
• Always use sunblock, no exceptions here! SPF 15 or 30 is usually sufficient. Overcast skies still project sun on your skin. This also happens in the winter months!
• If you are working with harsh chemicals (say for example cleaning your house) wear gloves! This same rule applies if you work in a profession with occupational hazards.
• Don't keep your facial expression in the same crinkly manner for a long time. That old saying "if you keep making that face, it will get stuck that way" is somewhat true! If you find that you squint for long periods have your eyes checked so lines don't develop from not relaxing your face. Same goes for shriveling up your forehead when concentrating heavily on a task. Try to remind yourself to RELAX!
• Don't use acid/chemical peels or Botox. I don't support chemical peels or botox because of toxicity, so I won't be covering those.
• Don't sleep on your face! Sleeping on your face causes your skin to smoosh together and can cause wrinkles.

Moisturizing is extremely important! Find a good moisturizer that you love and use it twice a day. This means morning and night! Guard your moisturizer with your life! This is such an important step, it can't be said enough. You must keep your skin moisturized. You should choose a moisturizer that contains an SPF of a minimum of 15. I personally have used Oil of Olay since I was 16. Since I'm almost 34, I've upped my SPF level to 30. I also use Organic Coconut Oil, not only on my face (mostly at night) but on my entire body. The result is smooth, supple skin, lightening of age spots or smoking-related skin damage and no oily residue. Unfortunately, I smoked for 17 years and have been working hard to reverse the damage I've done as much as possible. Vitamin B3 is amazing for skin, stress, and depression. Look for skin products that contain this vitamin. Alos consider taking it orally.

If you have daughters, start them on moisturizing when they are 15! Or as soon as they start puberty. They will thank you for it when they are grown! And hopefully, by then you'll get confused as sisters if you follow the same protocol!

In addition to moisturizing, you MUST drink plenty of high-quality water. Our bodies are 70% water. Really on average, we are 50-65%, that's roughly 45 quarts! Water helps keep us running like normal humans and eliminates toxins that poison us and cause aging! So drink up! A really good suggestion is to divide your body weight by 2, take that number and convert it to ounces. Drink that much water daily! Don't worry, you'll get used to it, and as long as you have a healthy bladder, your bladder will too.

Next comes exfoliation. It's very important to remove dead skin cells to obtain that desirable "glow" and remove the cell waste your body is sloughing off daily. A simple mix of equal parts Organic Coconut Oil and Sugar will do just fine (I add essential oils to mine because I love the smell and spa ambiance it creates). Use the scrub while you are in the shower, making sure to reach the neglected bits! Don't over exfoliate your face. 2-3 times a week of a good scrubbing will do wonders. And again, after exfoliating use that moisturizer and a skin lotion everywhere, or Organic Coconut Oil. You don't have to go bananas with heavy moisturizer after exfoliation, just make sure you smooth it on everywhere you just assaulted your skin. A light coating will suffice!

Body brushes, exfoliating mitts, and pumice stones for rough scaly feet, elbows, and knees are great for removing dead skin cells in addition to a scrub, I highly recommend getting all of these items.

A good vitamin supplement is essential. Give your body what it needs to repair damage and keep your skin looking young. In addition to a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, and exercise, a good vitamin supplement is imperative. Stop eating a lot of animal protein, these are very hard on the body. Just consider eating less meat.

Women tend to need higher amounts of Iron, and Folic Acid, so look for a supplement high in those. Vitamin C, D, and a good B-complex are also a must. Biotin is great for hair and nails.

Sorry to be repetitive on the water intake, but here it is again...DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!

2-3 times a week give your hair a conditioning treatment. Again, I use Organic Coconut Oil for this. I simply smear it on really good, brush it through and let it sit for 20-30 minutes, then wash as normal.

Most hot oil treatments are inexpensive and work just fine.

You can also use intensive conditioning balms, like Biolage, or Bumble and Bumble. Those products seem to work well for me.

You can still look young with gray or silver hair, but if you dye your hair, this should be done every 4-6 weeks to cover root grow out, it is best to use organic hair coloring when possible. Some brands that make natural coloring are Henna, Light Mountain, and Creme of Nature.

1-2 times a week use Organic Coconut Oil on your hands, cuticles, feet, elbows and knees, rub a generous amount on and wait for 20 minutes before washing off. Or buy some bedtime gloves and socks and put them on, then cover over-night. Awaken to very soft subtle skin in the morning!

A manicure and pedicure are also great things, and typically lasts 1 week. To extend the wear, remember to wear gloves when cleaning or doing dishes! And use stronger products like Sally Hansen or OPI. I do my own nails because I'm cheap and never feel happy with the results from a salon. If you can do them yourself more power to ya! Get to it! Wash hands and feet, trim nails and cuticles, buff nail-bed with a fine nail buffer, apply a base coat, color, hue, or nude, and add a top coat.

A really nice winter treat for dry yucky hands and feet are home paraffin baths. Easy to use, and well worth the money. You can find a bath for $20-$50 dollars, and all you have to buy is wax refills from your local beauty supply store, like Sally's Beauty Supply Or Ulta Beauty. Once you get used to using this handy machine, you'll feel so pampered and refreshed and have younger looking hands! Well worth the effort!

• Battery operated facial brushes (Olay ProX, Sonic Spa, Sirius). I use Sirius. It's inexpensive, waterproof, and I love how it works.
• Micro-needle face rollers
• Home microdermabrasion machines (Crystal Lift, Newbrilliance, Riiviva)
• A Paraffin Bath

These are all contraptions I own and use about once every 3-4 months. They are relatively inexpensive, last for many uses and give immediate results.

A battery or corded facial brush can be used daily, in the shower or out. This will gently exfoliate your skin leaving it soft and smooth, it seems to greatly improve the texture and natural radiance of the skin.

Micro-needling is a roller (looks kind of like a mini paint roller with needles on it, ranging from .5mm up to 3mm). You will wash your skin and gently roll the needled stick across your face, 10 rolls per section. This should be done at most 1x a week, less often if you have sensitive skin, and done gently. A heavy hand is not needed, some people with very sensitive skin will find this is not the form of anti-aging they want to pursue because they find it is too painful, luckily, trying it won't break the bank. Microneedles run from $10 all the way up into the hundreds. Mine was $8/and is 1mm and works fine. I have a high tolerance for pain and have not had any issues with this treatment. To me, it causes slight irritation, a prickly feeling, and some redness. The benefit to using one of these is that it stimulates collagen production, reduces wrinkles, scars, acne, and it can be used on your entire body, it's also great for stretch marks! Make sure to clean the item well with anti-bacterial soap between uses. I use Dial, which is inexpensive and does the job.

At home microdermabrasion machines are now affordable for most people. A decent set up may cost you about $100-$500, but this is much less then what you'd pay per session at a local spa. You will only want to do this procedure every 3 months or quarterly. Envision a piece of sandpaper stuck to a vacuum line/hose, that's what this is. You start by working from the middle of your face out, providing even strokes while not lifting the unit off your face. You do the entire face, paying good attention to be gentle around the eyes and mouth, as this tends to be the thinnest facial skin. This treatment will provide heavier exfoliation that lasts for weeks. It typically feels like a mild sunburn. Make sure you moisturize well after use. If you are concerned with skin irritation, perform this in the evening when you are less likely to go out and can sleep off any discomfort. Again, make sure to clean all equipment well between uses.

Paraffin baths are great for dry skin. Units run about $40. You will require wax refills when you run out, and those come in different assortments and quantities. The wax takes about 20 minutes to fully heat and melt. So don't think you'll do this quickly. I like to dunk my hands and my feet multiple times until a thick layer is built up that will easily peel off. Make sure to remove all jewelry before use!

The fountain of youth may not be as simple as jumping into a fountain for a dip and everyone is different and everyone has skin that behaves differently, but maintaining a youthful appearance is within reach. At least until the inevitable gravity damage occurs.

Find a regimen that works not only for your skin but for your schedule too. And always be open to new products since advancement in skincare is constantly growing and evolving!