Looking younger and more attractive is every person’s dream. However, as we age, our body, particularly our face and skin, starts showing signs of aging. The body’s mechanism to replace old cells with new ones and create more pigment-containing cells slows down. The outer layer of our skin, the epidermis, starts thinning and loses its firm and healthy appearance. This is when wrinkles begin to form around our eyes and on our neck and forehead.
Although the aging process occurs naturally, factors like extreme weather conditions, stress, eating habits, and sun exposure can speed up the process and cause the skin to age prematurely. People living in an arid climate such as San Diego are prone to premature aging due to warm and dry weather year-round. The good news is that premature aging can be prevented.
By adopting simple lifestyle changes and following precautions, you can avoid premature aging and slow down the natural aging process. Continue reading to discover seven ways to prevent early aging and maintain a youthful body and skin.
Take Advantage of Plastic Surgery
The advancement in science and technology has resulted in miraculous developments in medicine. Today, there are numerous surgical and non-surgical options when it comes to regaining a youthful appearance and preventing signs of early aging. Plastic surgery is among the safest options to tighten and rejuvenate the skin and eliminate wrinkles.
Cosmetic surgery is rapidly gaining popularity. Hundreds of aesthetic clinics and healthcare facilities perform plastic surgeries, including facelifts, eyelid surgery, laser skin resurfacing, and facial restructuring.
Living in the populated city of San Diego, you have access to world-class plastic surgery institutes and clinics. When you look up best facelift San Diego, you will find some of the most renowned cosmetic surgery clinics, such as Aesthetic Art Institute of Plastic Surgery. These credible institutes have experienced surgeons who have extensive expertise in removing fine lines and wrinkles and fixing common facial problems like sagging jaws, loose skin, and a loss of volume in facial features.
Procedures such as brow lifts and laser resurfacing can help to improve skin texture and tone. Moreover, non-invasive procedures such as Botox injections, dermal fillers, and chemical peels can also be used to help prevent signs of early aging.
Avoid Excessive Caffeine and Alcohol Intake
Excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine can cause skin dehydration and dry patches and trigger the aging process prematurely. It can also induce blood vessel dilation and inflammation, resulting in broken capillaries, puffiness, and dark circles under the eyes. Furthermore, drinking can impair sleep quality and cause a weary, aged appearance.
Limiting alcohol and caffeine intake can help prevent signs of early aging by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. Reducing or eliminating these substances can help keep skin looking healthier and delay the signs of aging.
Relax Your Face and Avoid Repetitive Facial Expressions
While you can’t completely avoid using facial expressions like smiling, frowning, squinting, laughing, or lifting eyebrows, limiting its frequency and relaxing your face whenever feasible can greatly help prevent the formation of wrinkles and fine lines. Moreover, wearing accessories like sunglasses can reduce squinting lines.
Stress is another major factor that results in premature fine lines and wrinkles. Following are some simple and easy ways to relax your face and alleviate stress:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Facial exercises, such as the happy face exercise, slack jaw, brow furrow, eye squeeze, etc
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Sauna/hot bath
- Facial massage
Limit Sun Exposure and Wear Sunscreens
UV radiation from the sun is a major cause of damage to the skin, including sunburn, age spots, and wrinkles. It can also increase the risk of skin cancer. Limiting sun exposure and using sunscreens can help keep your skin looking healthier and delay the signs of aging.
When you limit sun exposure, you reduce the amount of UV radiation that the skin is exposed to. To limit sun exposure, it is recommended that you:
- Avoid sun exposure during the sunniest part of the day.
- Check the UV index before going out.
- Wear protective clothing and use a moisturizer with at least SPF 30, which blocks 97% of the sun’s UVB rays.
- Wear a hat and sunglasses.
- Apply sunscreen before leaving.
- Using a moisturizer with SPF will also help in preventing signs of early aging
Regulate Sleep-Wake Cycles
Sleep is critical for your physical and mental health, as well as your overall appearance. Lack of sleep negatively impacts your facial appearance. People who have an irregular sleep-wake cycle often have droopy eyelids, swollen eyes, dark circles around their eyes, and dehydrated, paler skin. Lack of sleep accelerates the aging process and causes wrinkles, fine lines, and droopy corners around the lips.
Regulating sleep-wake cycles has a positive impact on your overall health and your appearance. Good sleep helps prevent signs of early aging by allowing the body to repair and rejuvenate itself. When you sleep, your body creates collagen. Collagen is a protein that helps keep the skin tight and elastic and also repairs damaged cells. Establish a strict bedtime routine and get at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Eat a Balanced Diet
A healthy and balanced diet provides the body with the necessary nutrients to maintain healthy skin, nails, and hair. Foods rich in antioxidants, minerals, and essential vitamins can prevent signs of premature aging by protecting the body against damage from free radicals. Free radicals are a major culprit behind premature aging and various long-term health conditions.
To keep your skin looking young and healthy, try to incorporate all the essential components of a healthy diet, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Keep Yourself Hydrated
60% of our body is made up of water. Hydration is directly associated with your skin, appearance, and overall mental and physical well-being. Loose and dull skin is one of the earliest and most noticeable signs of dehydration, making it prone to wrinkles and fine lines.
Keeping yourself hydrated can prevent signs of early aging by ensuring that the body’s cells and tissues are thoroughly nourished. Ensure you drink at least 8-10 glasses of water daily.
Final Thoughts
Maintaining a healthy and vibrant appearance is as simple as following the steps outlined above. Even if your body has already shown signs of early aging, trying out surgical procedures and adopting these simple lifestyle changes can help you slow down aging and preserve a youthful look. Before deciding on surgical treatment, consult with your doctor and provide them with a comprehensive medical history. Your doctor will be able to determine the feasibility of a cosmetic procedure and offer the best solution to eliminate obvious signs of aging from your face and skin.
