By Dr. Chau Phan, Pharmacist and owner of Humaniti Beauty
First, accept that you are aging – and have been since you were born. When you look in the mirror, own – no, cherish – the wisdom and grace represented by the wrinkles and lines. Second, understand you are in control of many things that cause your skin to age prematurely.
If you have been reading my blog for awhile now, you know about the book I wrote on this subject (Age Gracefully: Make the Right Decisions for Your Skin).
This article is a “how-to” guide (summarized from my book) to the most important things you need to know to keep your skin healthy and healthy-looking for years to come.
Develop skin health-supporting behaviors
Many behaviors you can adopt starting today can slow the march of time on your skin. Remember to protect the largest organ in your body by:
- Avoiding extreme temperatures when you can
- When you can’t, applying a moisturizer designed for your type of skin for protection against drying
- Minimizing your exposure to UV radiation indoors and out
- Wearing sunglasses with a “Meets ANSI UV requirements” label, a hat, protective clothing, sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher and lip balm when outdoors
- Remembering that sand, water and snow reflect sunlight, increasing your exposure to radiation
- Minimizing or eliminating exposure to pollution, including secondhand smoke, to protect your skin from damaging free radicals
- Quitting smoking if you’ve started; not starting if you haven’t (that includes vaping!)
- Eating nutritious foods high in a variety of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals to reduce or eliminate inflammation that causes premature aging (see my book for details)
- Minimizing or eliminating from your diet foods that cause inflammation; including refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pastries; fried food; sweetener-filled beverages; red meat; processed meat (such as hot dogs); margarine, shortening and lard
- Getting adequate sleep and exercise to reduce stress and inflammation
- Staying hydrated (drinking approximately 8 8-oz. glasses of water a day)
- Decreasing alcohol intake
Maintain a healthy skin care regimen
These are some practical steps you can take to develop a you-focused skincare regimen:
Don’t…
- Try free samples until you have checked them out with your doctor or pharmacist
- Choose products based on price, packaging or the fame of the spokesperson (quality of ingredients is more important)
- Succumb to the temptation of “quick fixes”, such as creams that advertise inclusion of collagen (hint: the collagen molecule is too big to slip through the outer layer of skin)
- Consider invasive procedures, such as injection and surgery, until you have exhausted all non-invasive means of counteracting aging skin
- Squint and frown so much
Do…
- Follow all my recommendations for developing healthy behaviors
- Learn the effects of different types of moisturizers (emollients, humectants and occlusives) – negative and positive – depending on your skin type and / or skin condition
- Check product ingredients (and combinations of) with your doctor or pharmacist; ask: is this product healthy for me?
- Look for creams that include retinoids (because they reduce the breakdown of collagen)
- Use facial exercises and massage to minimize lines and wrinkles (See my book, my blog article titled “Therapeutic Touch: How Massage Contributes to Healthy Skin” and my vlog interview with an esthetician and massage therapist for the details.)
- Increase your intake of protein to counteract the aging process and maintain your weight and muscle mass (reduced muscle mass causes sagging skin)
I will leave you with the two most important steps you can take to stick with skin care that supports skin beauty:
- Work with medical professionals to learn what to put in and on your body to avoid premature aging
- Focus first on maintaining skin health so that beauty follows
Several of the products I offer on the humanitibeauty.com site may be just what you need to follow my recommendations in this article. If you would like more information about Humaniti Beauty’s products or about me, you can contact me at info@humanitibeauty.com or call me at 510.200.9984.