How Your Skin Ages As You Do

Unfortunately it’s inevitable that as we age, our skin ages with us. Though it would be nice to look 25 forever, it seems that nature is against us from the get-go. Despite the myriad of anti aging skin care products available to help delay wrinkles and fine lines, the skin has its own processes it goes through as you get older. With some of these processes you can control your destiny, so to speak, and determine how to age gracefully through skin-damage prevention. Other processes are beyond your control, but maintaining a skincare regimen complete with anti wrinkle products can help you maintain your youth. Here, we’ll take a look at these processes.

The skin ages in two ways: extrinsically and intrinsically. Intrinsic aging is simply how the human body was meant to age, and results from nothing other than genetics. Extrinsic aging is the kind you have a major say in; your lifestyle and daily choices can make a big difference in your skin’s appearance.

With intrinsic aging, you don’t get to control how your skin behaves. Beginning in your 20s, collagen and elastin production slows down each year. With less collagen being produced, the skin begins to thin and becomes more prone to wrinkles. Over time, gravity starts taking its toll, causing the skin — especially in the cheeks and chin — to sag. Facial expressions from your 20s and 30s may come back, as fine lines set up camp around your eyes and mouth.

Don’t let this description scare you though! Your complexion doesn’t have to look your actual age. You can have younger looking skin without resorting to botox or cosmetic surgery if you simply take care of the skin you have and treat your body well. The first step is to understand what you can do to preserve your youthful appearance.

The second type of aging is extrinsic. This is the way you age due to factors in your environment that you can control. Excessive amounts of time in the sun, a pack-a-day cigarette habit, and stress can all age you quickly. In addition, these habits can be drying, which makes you appear even older. However, while you can’t prevent inevitable intrinsic aging (or damage you’ve already done via extrinsic aging), you can use anti aging skin creams and wrinkle reduction products to minimize the damage.

The best things you can do to maintain a great complexion as you age is to wear SPF moisturizers every day, stop smoking, and get healthy; this means a balanced diet, alcohol and caffeine in moderation, and making sure you get enough sleep and exercise. Keep skin moisturized with the help of an anti aging moisturizer, which keeps the skin plump to minimize the appearance of fine lines.