Seven habits that age your skin faster

An important part of any anti-ageing skin care programme is to know what you may be doing that is harming your skin and speeding up your skin’s ageing process.
Here are seven habits that contribute to ageing skin, making you look older than your years:
1. Cigarette smoke: Whether you smoke, or you spend time with a smoker, cigarette smoke is damaging — and ageing — to your skin.
Research has shown that exposure to cigarette smoke significantly increases skin wrinkles and dryness. This is partly due to the behaviour of smoking, and also because cigarette smoke depletes your body of Vitamin C, which is a key ingredient for keeping skin plump and moist.
Some researchers believe that exposure to cigarette smoke (whether you smoke or not) is as damaging to ageing skin as exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
2. Sun exposure: Sun exposure is very ageing to skin. Unprotected skin that is exposed to the sun becomes more mottled in appearance.
Freckles can turn into brown sun spots, the skin takes on a dry, leathery appearance, and wrinkles and sagging increase. The risk of skin cancer is significantly increased by sun exposure.
The good news is that sun damage is avoidable, and if you start now, you can improve the condition of sun damaged skin.
– See your health care provider to assess the amount of sun damage you may have, and to rule out possible skin cancers. He or she may be able to prescribe medication that can help to reduce existing sun damage.
– If you want to avoid ageing skin but don’t want to avoid the sun, make sure you use sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays.
Choose sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher, and use it all year-round, even on cloudy days. Clouds do not protect you from ultraviolet ray exposure.
3. Lack of exercise: Living a sedentary life contributes to ageing skin, because exercise helps to tone your muscles and get your blood flowing. Exercise should be an important part of every anti-ageing skin care programme. Researchers have also discovered that sedentary older adults are at higher risk for dementia .
In addition to the physical benefits of exercise, the benefits of a regular exercise programme will show on your face. Having a bright smile and lots of energy will help you look and feel younger, at any age.
4. Exposure to cold weather: Cold winds and low temperatures contribute to ageing skin by making skin dry, so if you venture out in the cold be sure to use a good moisturiser.
It’s important to use moisturiser indoors too, as heated rooms can be very drying to skin. Consider using a humidifier to help keep your skin more comfortable and reduce the ageing skin effects of heated rooms.
5. Alcohol use: Alcohol contributes to ageing skin by dilating small blood vessels in the skin and increasing blood flow near the skin’s surface.
Over time, these blood vessels can become permanently damaged, creating a flushed appearance and broken vessels on the skin’s surface.
6. Stress: Maybe you’ve heard this expression “Don’t frown, your face could stay that way”. Stress and worry cause frowning, and over time the muscles in the face actually conform to that movement.
To help reduce ageing skin due to stress, be aware of your stress level and try to vary your facial expressions during the day. A good anti-ageing skin care programme should include meditation, yoga, gentle exercise or other relaxation techniques. Keeping stress in check — and frown lines and ageing skin wrinkles to a minimum — will help you look and feel younger.
7. Lack of sleep: Too little sleep makes you look and feel tired.
One of the first places that lack sleep shows up is on the face, with dark circles and bags under the eyes, and sagging skin.
Lack of sleep is also a major factor in memory loss and symptoms of depression that include low interest in daily activities and negative thinking.
Research has shown that most adults function best with 8-9 hours of sleep each night.
Reduce caffeine during the day (with none in the evening); avoid eating at least two hours before bedtime; and maintain a sleep routine that includes going to bed at the same time each night.
For more sleeping tips, see How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep.
If you are having trouble sleeping, for any reason, it’s important to see your health care provider.
While some signs of ageing skin are inevitable, there is a lot you can do to look your best at any age. Taking good care of yourself is the most important step in your anti-ageing skin care programme.

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