Wrinkles are a natural part of aging; they add character, sophistication and even beauty. People say that wrinkles show a map of your life, which is pretty darn cool.
But we get it. You don’t necessarily want excessive wrinkles, nor do you want to wrinkle before your time. They’re great for a grizzled, old character in a story, but not on your face, right?
Well, wherever you are in your wrinkle-journey, you’ll be happy to know that you can always take steps to nurture your skin to reduce current wrinkles—and avoid acquiring more at a staggering rate! By giving your skin some good lovin’, you can have younger, healthier skin with—it’s true!—less wrinkles.
And, you don’t have to spend a ton of money at the doctor’s office to achieve a younger looking face.
While it’s a fact that some of the factors that contribute to wrinkles really can’t be changed—such as heredity (it runs in the family DNA, sorry!) and skin type (paler skin is more sensitive to the sun, and thus more prone to wrinkles)—following the tips below, along with a personalized skin care routine can really help smooth your face.
It’s no mistake that wrinkles tend to be most extreme where you get the most sun exposure—the face, neck, hands and arms. The sun is perhaps the most extreme of the wrinkle causing super-villains. I know, we all love the sun, cause, like…light and warmth and photosynthesis and all. But the sun also shoots dangerous UVA rays to planet earth constantly. UVA rays contain a super high level of free radicals, which break down collagen in your skin—causing wrinkles!
UVA rays (unlike UVB rays) will penetrate clouds and windows, meaning you are never safe in day light hours. Luckily, we’ve got a super hero who fights the dangers of UV rays, protecting our faces from premature wrinkling. Can you guess who?
Yup—it’s Sunscreen! Sunscreen fights dangerous sun rays!! If you want your skin to radiate youth, elasticity and health for a long time to come, you’d better slap on that sunscreen.
Without sunscreen, your skin has to do all the work of protecting itself against harmful rays of sunlight, all by itself. But sunscreen will do all that work for you, so your skin has a chance to rest, rejuvenate & work on reducing wrinkles.
Of course, you want to be sure to use a quality, non-toxic sunscreen, so you’re not just pumping poisons into your skin, all in an effort to protect it! Lucky for you, Y'OUR Personalized Skin Care products are all-natural & non-toxic! Click here to order your perfectly personalized regimen & start your journey towards healthy, radiant skin today.
And to learn more about the importance of sunscreen (like cancer prevention!) read our blog post on it here.
Next to sunscreen, moisturizer is paramount. The purpose of moisturizer is to plump up your skin, which works to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The higher the quality of moisturizer you use, the more effective it will be at its wrinkle-reducing job.
Besides quality, you also want to make sure that you’re using moisturizer that works for your skin type.
Did you know that there are 2 types of moisturizers that work in different ways to hydrate your skin? There are water-based and oil-based moisturizers. Water-based moisturizers pull water into your skin while oil-based moisturizers prevent water from evaporating from your skin. And the type that will be most effective for treating wrinkles on you will depend on your unique skin.
For instance, if you have dry skin, you will want a water-based moisturizer to infuse your skin with deep hydration. If you live in a dry environment, you’ll want an oil-based moisturizer since it prevents water from evaporating from your skin.
And if you have dry skin and live in a dry environment? You’ll need a water-based and oil-based moisturizer! Have oily skin? Read about what moisturizer you need for oily skin along with more about choosing the right moisturizer here.
Or skip straight to taking the Skin Quiz, where Y’OUR will assess your skin type using a unique algorithm to ensure you’re getting a moisturizer that actually works—and feels great!
Incorporate vitamins topically!
Vitamins are responsible for cell turnover and renewal throughout our bodies. They are necessary for repairing cells, replicating cells and turning food into energy. If this is the case, just think what vitamins can do for our skin!
Or, rather, think what a vitamin deficiency can do to our skin. Without vitamins to help with cell turnover and renewal, skin will sag, age and wrinkle. That’s why vitamin-packed skin care is so effective! It can soften your wrinkles & reduce their appearance.
Here are a few of the vitamins that are most essential for your skin health:
Vitamin A (AKA retinol) is an antioxidant found in sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach and mangoes and is amazing for skin health. It helps increase the rate of cell turnover, thus easing signs of aging—this includes protecting against and reducing wrinkles!
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin found in a wide variety of fruits and greens, especially citrus fruits and bell pepper. It is a powerful antioxidant and helps create collagen, which keeps our skin flexible and firm.
Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin and antioxidant that protects the fat based skin cells. It is found in nuts, seeds, oils, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Antioxidants: You probably noticed that each of the vitamins noted is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants are amazing because they help protect the skin from free radicals—like those that are constantly bombarding us from the sun and pollution.
Don’t forget to eat your vitamins too! It’s super important to get balanced nutrition inside too—including plenty of antioxidants. Nourishing your skin from the inside out is irreplaceable, and you’ll feel great all around as well.
To eat for your skin, be sure to get plenty of greens! Also eat a good diversity of vegetable and fruits—think all the colors of the rainbow to ensure a variety of vitamins and nutrients. You also want to eat plenty of healthy fats, to keep the skin juicy and glowing. Healthy fats include those that come from nuts and seeds, fish, olive oil and avocado.
More often than not, our skin problems can be traced to an inappropriate skin care routine—and that includes wrinkles! At Y’OUR, we believe in matching skin care routine to skin type and living environment. For example, if you live in a dry environment, and have dry skin, you probably only need to exfoliate once every week or two. Anything more could cause dryness, acne and other problems…like wrinkles.
In fact, over washing is a common mistake that people make. Over washing wears out your skin. Think about it—washing strips your skin of important oils that help to create a protective barrier from detrimental external elements, such as pollutants.
Over washing also kills off healthy bacteria that live on the skin protecting it and keeping the PH balance, among other things. Over washing disturbs this natural bacteria, making it more difficult for the skin to regulate itself. The more the skin has to work, the more it will age. (Read more about over washing in our blog on the topic).
In addition to avoiding washing too often, you also want to be attentive that you not wash too vigorously (no scrubbing necessary!) and never with harsh soaps. Gentle cleansers are where it’s at! You could also consider incorporating more pampering facials into your weekly or monthly routine to plump your face and minimize signs of wrinkles.
The Skin quiz will help you determine the skin routine for you, so you can reduce wrinkles and improve overall skin quality!
Believe it or not, there is a right way to apply creams, makeup and other products. Always sweep product upwards!
This one is really a simple gravity trick: you want to avoid pulling on your skin. Always apply product in an upward, gentle motion. Pulling down on your skin can age it quicker, causing more wrinkles & fine lines to develop.
Even when applying makeup powder, apply the product in an upward, sweeping motion. By drawing the attention upwards, it gives the look of a face lift, causing an overall younger look.
So much in general health comes down to basic lifestyle choices—and this is true of our skin too! There are a few things that are known to age skin and increase wrinkles. They include:
Sleep: Beauty sleep is real! Sleep is the time during which your body repairs itself. Give your skin time to regenerate and make sure you get enough sleep.
Stress: When we’re stressed out, our bodies produce cortisol, a stress hormone. Unfortunately, cortisol is also breaks down collagen in the skin, making it less elastic and thus exacerbating wrinkle creation. Experiment with stress management techniques: take a hot bath to relax, or meditate!!
Smoking: Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, many of which damage collagen. According to the Mayo Clinic, “nicotine in cigarettes causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of your skin. This impairs blood flow to your skin. With less blood flow, your skin doesn't get as much oxygen and important nutrients, such as vitamin A.” These factors contribute to premature skin sagging and wrinkles.
Hydrate: Drink water! Skin aging is largely due to an inability to retain enough water. We moisturize the skin on the outside, but don’t forget to drink plenty of water and electrolytes to keep your skin supple and vibrant.
Besides reducing and preventing wrinkles, there are a few good tricks to minimize the appearance of wrinkles.
Opt for matte finish makeup: Shimmery makeup can be fun, but it can actually accentuate wrinkles. By using makeup with a matte finish, you can ensure the shimmery product doesn’t set into the wrinkles, causing unwanted illumination.
Prime your skin: Primers can be used for more than just makeup prep: using primer to fill in those wrinkles causes the foundation to sit above the wrinkles, rather than filling them in & causing accentuation.
Begin improving your skin today with Y’OUR personalized skin routine! Simply take the Skin Quiz and we will match the ideal formulas to your unique skin type. Say good-bye to unnecessary wrinkles and hello to gorgeous, glowing skin!
