Anti Aging

We all want our skin to look flawless, spotless, soft and radiant. After all, your face is the first thing that people notice about your personality. Having a beautiful, youthful face would certainly get your compliments. But it is that easy to get a perfect-looking skin? NO. You have to take a lot of care of your skin to prevent it from aging. Yes, aging is something that causes maximum damage to your skin and demean your facial look. Wrinkles, fine lines, blemishes, dark patches, etc. are signs that your skin is aging. Thus, anti-aging skincare routine becomes a must for people above 30s. Let us brief you about skin aging, its causes, symptoms and more here.

What Causes Skin Aging?

Apart from advancing age, there are so many other causes of aging skin that you should know about.  

Obesity- Excess body weight can cause several skin issues and aging is one of them. With increased weight, the skin also stretches that makes it lose its elasticity. This, in turn, causes wrinkling and visible appearance of fine lines. There are several other skin conditions like psoriasis, patchy skin, cellulitis, varicose veins, etc. are also associated with obesity.

Gravity- With loss of elasticity, the skin starts to become loose. Gravity causes drooping of the skin that leads to droopy eyelids, loose cheeks, and double chin.

Daily facial movement: With loss of elasticity, daily movements of your skin also escalate the aging process. Laugh lines are the perfect example of this and they become more prominent with age. Wrinkles and fine lines are also caused in the similar manner.

Sleeping position: How you sleep also accelerates the aging process. Many people do not know this but their sleeping position can impact the skin. Creases are formed during sleeping that becomes visible over time. These are more common on the forehead, eyebrows and temples. Changing your sleep position can prevent your skin from aging too early.

Smoking: Amongst the many ill-effects of smoking, skin aging is one. Tobacco is injurious for health and it also affects your skin. It tends to darken the complexion and trigger the formation of wrinkles. This is possibly because tobacco affects the blood purification and its flow.

Dry skin: People with dry skin tend to have higher visible wrinkles and aging lines. Loss of hydration and moisture is therefore a risk factor for skin aging. 

What are the visible signs of aging skin?

We have explained to you the causes of aging, let us now tell you the noticeable signs of skin ageing.

• Dry, itchy and rough skin
• Wrinkles on forehead, around the cheeks and neck
• Visible fine lines and smile lines
• Loose skin that looks likes hanging from the face. This is due to the loss of collagen(essential skin protein) and elastin.
• Increased skin fragility
• Transparent skin which is due to thinning of the topmost layer and deepest layer of the skin.

These aren’t the only sign of ageing as the effects can be more alarming. Aging can change the appearance of your face where it may showcase other visible changes such as:

• Loss of fat under the subcutaneous layer which is situated below your eyes, temples, nose, cheeks and chin. This can give you a skeletal appearance. This is probably why older women either have droopy or skeletal skin.
• Cartilage loss in the nose makes your nose look bony. This becomes highly evident after 50s.

What are the different types of aging?

Do you know that there are several subsets of aging based on the factors and damage it cause to the skin. Here are all the types of skin aging explained:

Intrinsic aging

Intrinsic ageing is rather the natural skin aging process which is relatively slower than other. It occurs at its own pace. You’d see the effects emerging slowly resulting in dry skin with loss of elasticity and smooth pale appearance. The wrinkles won’t show until the person reaches the older age. This comes under the natural ageing process where the skin shows dermal and epidermal atrophy, less collagen, decreased number of fibroblasts and more MMPs. The nutrient transfer between the dermal layers is reduced that leads to increased skin fragility.

How to reduce untimely skin aging?

There are several measures that can help in preventing premature skin ageing or untimely aging. If you follow them, you can keep your skin youthful and naturally beautiful for the maximum time. Find them in this list:

• Protect your skin from the harsh UV rays. For that, prevent going out in the direct sunlight and avoid exposing your skin to the sun. Apply a good amount of sunscreen on your face, neck and hands. If possible, cover your face with scarf or use an umbrella. Keep reapplying sunscreen every 4-5 hours.
• If you smoke, quit smoking for your good health and longevity. Stopping smoking would prevent premature aging and also lessen the risk of chronic illnesses such as cancer.
• Eat a healthy and balanced diet to prevent untimely aging. They have essential nutrients that promote skin health by boosting collagen levels and retaining the elasticity. To avoid ageing, avoid sugary and starchy foods as these are known to accelerate aging.
• Drink a lot of water to keep the skin and body hydrated.
• Wash your face twice a day with salicylic acid-based moisturiser and apply moisturiser after every wash. This keeps the skin hydrated and prevents it from becoming dry that causes wrinkles.
• Scrub your face twice a week to exfoliate the skin and gently remove the dead skin cells. Also, sleep with a clean and moisturised face.
• Exercise daily as it boosts blood circulation that helps in achieving a natural glow.
• Use only natural or organic skincare products. Avoid anything that contains chemicals as it can harm the skin.