5 Ways to Prevent Premature Ageing Skin and Stay Youthful
A healthy and radiant complexion reflects good overall health and well-being. However, as we age our skin starts losing its elasticity and firmness, leading to fine lines and wrinkles. The good news is that with a few simple changes to your daily routine, you can help reduce the rate of premature aging, and maintain a youthful and glowing complexion.
What Is Premature Ageing?
Ageing is a natural part of life, but premature ageing is when this process speeds up and occurs faster than it should. Environmental and lifestyle factors are usually the cause, but the good news is we know healthy lifestyle habits can help stop and prevent further premature ageing.
How To Tell If Your Skin Is Ageing Prematurely?
Premature ageing can be noticed when typical effects of growing older happen earlier in life, and hence, your body looks older than your actual age. The most common signs of premature ageing include:
- Skin changes like wrinkles, age spots, dryness, or thinning, loss of skin tone, hyperpigmentation around your chest, and sagging
- Gaunt face (sunken cheeks)
Other signs of premature ageing to watch out for include:
- Constant state of exhaustion
- Feeling forgetful and having trouble concentrating
- Hair loss or graying hair
- Irritated, dry eyes
- Poor digestion
Factors Contributing To Skin Ageing
In most cases, controllable and preventable factors cause premature ageing. This is called extrinsic ageing and includes:
Sun Exposure
Regardless of the activity, whether you’re spending the day at the beach or going for a short walk, sun exposure can cause many skin problems and speed up ageing of our skin. The result is photoaging and is usually responsible for 90% of visible changes to our skin. UV light damages skin cells which contributes to premature changes like age spots. Skin exposure also increases the risk of skin cancer.
HEV & Infrared Light Exposure
High-energy visible (HEV) and infrared light are also highly responsible for skin changes. HEV, also called blue light, comes from the sun and electronic devices, and although infrared light is invisible, we can often feel it as heat. These affect collagen and skin elasticity. To reduce blue-light intensity on a regular basis, we recommend setting your devices on Night Mode (orange light).
Unhealthy Diet & Dehydration
Diets high in refined sugar and/or refined carbohydrates often have vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which contributes to premature ageing. Given food is the main way our bodies obtain energy and nutrients, unhealthy diets are often characterised by consuming large amounts of empty calories, which refer to foods and food-like substances that are high in calories but low in nutrients. Moreover, when our body is dehydrated fine lines are more noticeable and the overall tone and complexion may appear uneven. We need enough water to stay healthy - our body and our skin.
Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can dehydrate and damage our skin over time, leading to signs of premature aging. As simple as that.
Insufficient Sleep
Studies show that sleep loss can speed up the process of aging; just one night of insufficient sleep can make an older adult’s cells age quicker. Not enough sleep means you get less than 7 hours of sleep each night.
Excess Stress
Stressing triggers the release of cortisol, a stress hormone which then blocks hyaluronan synthase and collagen, two substances that keep our skin looking firm and glowing.
Other factors that may cause premature ageing but can’t be controlled include mostly genetics, and skin conditions may be considered both, an extrinsic ageing factor as well as an intrinsic one.
Genetics
Our genetics dictate when the natural aging process commences in our body, and therefore, we can be more likely to start aging at an earlier age compared to others.
Can You Reverse Premature Ageing Skin?
To avoid premature ageing, the most efficient approach is prevention. But if you are detecting signs of premature ageing, certain treatments (one of the 5 steps described below) can help stop, reduce, or even reverse premature ageing depending on the case. Getting on top of the factors described earlier can make a significant difference in getting your skin looking healthier. Moreover, take one step further and implement the following 5 things to avoid premature ageing.
5 Ways You can Help to Prevent Premature Ageing
To help you keep your skin looking youthful and radiant, we’ve put together 5 tips to help prevent premature ageing and keep your skin looking its best.
1. Exercise Regularly
Regular physical activity improves circulation and boosts your immune system. This promotes healthy ageing. Forcing yourself into the gym will probably last a couple weeks at most, so instead, find a sport, an activity, a form of movement that you enjoy and commit to spending time every week practicing. The recommendation is for adults to remain active most days with a total of 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity activity per week.
2. Protect Your Skin From The Sun
Use sunscreen on your face, neck, and hands (at least) daily. The product should be broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, and water-resistant. During spring and summer when the UV is higher, SPF 50 is recommended especially for your face.
3. Get Plenty of Sleep
Getting enough sleep is important for your overall health, but it’s also important for the health of your skin. When you sleep, your body produces growth hormones that help to repair and rejuvenate your skin. On the other hand, lack of sleep can lead to dark circles, puffiness, and dull skin. Try to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night to keep your skin looking its best.
4. Enhance Your Skincare Regime
Just like what you put into your body matters, what you choose to put outside, on your skin, matters too. At The Secret Skincare, we focus on customising and creating bespoke formulations for each individual using medical grade actives, based on their specific needs.
The following products are our doctor’s recommendations designed to work by mimicking que behaviour of younger cells and give our ageing clock the best run for its money.
Cellular Repair Night Cream
This is our hero product. It was formulated using prescription-strength ingredients to create healthy skin cells, which are the blue-print for a smoother, even-toned, and glowing complexion. One of the many benefits this night cream will bring is healthier, stronger, and more resilient skin to external aging aggressors. Pair it with our Cellular Repair Night Eye Cream and take it to the next level.
Day Brightening Elixir
As your daytime Secret to luminous skin, this Elixir contains a mix of prescription and active ingredients to protect the skin from free-radicals it's exposed to during the day, and therefore, prevent aging environmental damage. As a result from daily application, the skin becomes healthier, stronger, and more resilient to support the actions of your Night Cream.
Brightening Day Eye Serum
As we love to say, because it’s highly accurate, this product is the realm of beauty captured in a bottle. We curated a potent formula designed to be your morning pick me up, depuffing, brightening, and hydrating the eye contour. The antioxidants used aid in neutralising free radicals, and the nourishing actives support all of these benefits by hydrating and strengthening the delicate skin around the eye.
Whether you’re looking to add the perfect products to your skincare routine, treat a specific concern, or are interested in finding out if medical grade and prescription skincare is the right option for you, The Secret is here to guide you on your journey to clear, glowing skin.
5. Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices & Eat a Balanced Diet
In addition to using high-quality skincare products, getting enough sleep and protecting your skin from the sun, making healthy lifestyle choices and eating a balanced diet can also help prevent premature aging and keep your skin looking its best. A diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein can help to provide your skin with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and radiant.
If you have any questions or would like to start your journey to glowing skin contact us online or take our skin quiz here.
