Conquering Old Age with Skin Care
Skin is where age makes its appearance first and wrinkles sound the first warning bells of advancing age. People know that they can’t close the doors on wrinkles for ever but then no one is in love with the idea of getting old as well. People like to delay the process and there are enough ways for proactive skin care and also plenty of skin care products around to help them manage it.
Causes of skin aging and wrinkles
Elastin and collagen are two components of the skin that gives it elasticity and smoothness. With advancing age, the functioning of these becomes less effective and production of oil from glands in the skin also slowly grinds to a halt. This leads to dryness of the skin. The cumulative action of all these result in a skin that has lost all its luster, and the skin also starts sagging where it is heavy.
This much skin problem is the cross of everyone. In the case of those people, who are forced to have their skin exposed more frequently to elements of nature like sun, wind, or cold, dry skin and wrinkles make their appearance faster. And it is still worse for smokers, or those who are forced to live in areas where air is extra polluted due to emission from factories or exhaust fumes. Their skin may age faster than them.
Sun is the arch enemy of skin. The radiation from the ultraviolet rays in the sun can cause a lot of damage to skin by penetrating its unprotected layers. The oxidants that the ultraviolet rays produce can cause cell damage in the skin. Preventing skin exposure to sun, by avoiding walking in the sun, or by using sunscreen lotions, is an important part of proactive skin care.
Like ultraviolet rays, smoking also enhances the release of oxidants that can cause skin damage. Oxidants damage the skin by effecting the production of elastin and collagen. Smoking also harms the skin by limiting the flow of blood to the surface of skin. Deprived of its necessary quota of nutrients, the skin loses luster. The most effective skin care to neutralize the effects of smoking is to go in for a balanced diet full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Laughing, frowning, and smoking involve the working of muscles around the mouth, and in the long terms this promotes wrinkling and hardening of the skin. Polluted air damages skin by depriving it of vitamin E, which is also an antioxidant.
Skin care for anti-aging and wrinkles
If prevention is better than cure for everything, it is more so for the skin, in order to prevent aging and wrinkle forming. The importance of proactive skin care cannot be overemphasized, especially since it is very difficult to regain skin elasticity when once it is lost by age. Skin should be always kept clean and moist, by cleaning it with a mild soap and warm water. Skin should only be patted dry and not rubbed dry. Extra care should be given while removing eye makeup. It should not be roughly scrubbed off since that area is more prone to wrinkling.
A balanced diet, good exercise, avoiding junk food, alcohol, and cigarettes, is the best defense equipment for preventing aging of the skin. In short, a healthy way of living is the best proactive skin care.
