In this post, we reveal the secrets of natural anti-aging skincare and show you how mother nature holds the secret to the smooth, glowing skin you’ve always desired. We explain how the skin ages, what is natural anti-aging skincare, what are the best natural skincare ingredients for aging skin, which chemical anti-aging ingredients should be avoided, and what skincare practices will keep your skin young. Let’s get started!
- Introduction
- How Does the Skin Age?
- What is Natural Anti-Aging Skincare?
- What are the Best Natural Skin Care Ingredients for Aging Skin?
- Which Chemical Anti-Aging Ingredients Should You Avoid?
- Which Skin Care Practices Will Keep Your Skin Young?
- Bottom Line
Introduction
Aging is a natural part of life. No matter how much we would like to avoid it, we cannot. As you age, your skin loses its youthful appearance. It develops lines, wrinkles, loses its luster, and finally, sags. That said, while you can’t put a stop to it completely, it’s quite possible to slow down aging. With the right skincare practices, you can also successfully reverse some signs of aging. All you need to know is which skincare nourishing and rejuvenating products to use.
First of all, you need to remember that youthful skin is as much a result of what’s in your body as it is of what you apply. In addition, whatever you use on your skin usually ends up in your body, some even in your bloodstream. That’s why it’s important to know what every single skin product you use is made up of.
When looking for skincare products, most people simply grab the bottle that looks the most appealing to them or the one with the most recognizable brand name. Another thing that many shoppers look for are good prices. Rarely does anyone ever look at the ingredients list.
It goes without saying that synthetic lotions, body wash, deodorants, and body creams make up most of the skincare products in stores. While there are some which contain useful ingredients, most of them are usually manufactured using harmful chemicals. Most of these chemicals work slowly, gradually building up in your body and ultimately resulting in health issues such as liver damage and skin cancer.
Synthetic products have several unpronounceable ingredients, and telling the good ingredients from the bad ones can be difficult. In this article, we’ll be looking at the chemical anti-aging ingredients to watch out for. We’ll also explore why natural anti-aging skincare products provide a safe alternative.
How Does the Skin Age?
While everybody grows old, the process is different for everyone. You may not know it already, but how fast you age could be totally up to you. What you eat, drink, and apply on your skin has a lot to do with your aging process. The outer layer of the skin, known as the epidermis, exhibits a lot of aging signs. With time, it gets thinner, loses its firmness, and becomes translucent.
These changes occur as a result of decreasing pigmented cells and low production of sebum and collagen in the skin. Collagen is a structural protein that keeps the skin firm and elastic. Its production reduces as you age (normally after the age of 20), which means the skin loses its strength and elasticity.
Inadequate amounts of sebum in the skin paves the way for dryness. Pigments in the skin help to fight off the effects of UV exposure. When pigmented cells in your skin decrease, you’re exposed to UV radiation. That can result in the increased appearance of wrinkles, premature aging, and even skin cancer.
The good news is that you can avoid dry, spotted, and sagging skin long into your prime years and beyond. Let’s take a look at how to do that.
What is Natural Anti-Aging Skincare?
Anti-aging skincare aims to reduce the effects of your lifestyle, time, and sun exposure on the skin. Natural anti-aging skin care involves the use of natural, non-synthetic products to bolster the skin and keep it looking young. You can reduce the signs of aging on your skin by:
- Using skin products made with natural ingredients
- Incorporating a healthy nutrient-rich diet into your lifestyle
- Taking care of your mental health
It’s necessary to combine all three if you want to achieve the best results. By doing so, your sebum, collagen, and skin pigmentation will be maintained at levels that keep the skin looking young and feeling soft.
What are the Best Natural Skin Care Ingredients for Aging Skin?
For every synthetic skincare product on the market, there’s a purely natural alternative for it. What sets natural ingredients apart from synthetic ones is that they come with far fewer side effects, if any at all. The right mix of natural ingredients can take your skin a few years back in terms of aging. Natural ingredients can also ensure that your skin ages at a much slower rate. If you make these ingredients part of your daily skincare routine, you’ll likely notice smoother, softer, and firmer skin after a few weeks or months.
Many people are now becoming more conscious of what they’re applying on their skin. As a result, there have been increased breakthroughs in natural ingredients that provide a safer, non-toxic alternative to the products that fill store shelves.
Some of the best and most effective natural ingredients for your skincare routine include:
Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
This ingredient is naturally produced in the body and is found in the skin, eyes, and connective tissues. Hyaluronic acid helps retain water. That keeps the joints, skin, and eye tissues well lubricated. As you age, the production of HA diminishes. That makes it harder for the skin to retain moisture, leading to dry skin and easy formation of fine lines.
Fortunately, hyaluronic acid can be sourced from outside the body. It’s now available in skin anti-aging serums, lotions, creams, and supplements. With constant use of HA, the skin builds up its moisture-retaining capacity, considerably reducing dryness of the skin and the appearance of wrinkles.
Coffee Oil
Coffee oil has a high concentration of vitamin E, sterols, and fatty acids. All these three have high antioxidant levels. Antioxidants are especially useful in the fight against aging due to their effect on free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable molecular byproducts of cell function in the body. They can also be produced as a result of smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, air pollutants, or sun exposure. When they try to stabilize themselves using electrons from other molecules in the skin, they damage the skin’s DNA. That results in accelerated aging, which manifests itself in the form of wrinkles, dull skin, and uneven skin tone.
Antioxidants act by binding the free radicals, which neutralizes them and keeps them from damaging other cells.
Pomegranate
High levels of vitamin C and punicic acid have made pomegranate an essential ingredient in natural anti-aging products. Punicic acid and vitamin C contain antioxidants that play a major role in increasing the firmness of the skin. That is because of their ability to destroy the free radicals that otherwise lead to the degradation of skin cells. Vitamin C can even help with maskne – check out this post from Susan Said What to learn more.
Vitamin E
There are more antioxidants found in vitamin E which also fight free radicals, hence preventing premature aging of the skin. In addition, vitamin E has been proven to promote the growth of new cells. This increases the production of collagen, which in turn strengthens the skin.
Green Tea
Green tea is one of the ingredients with the highest antioxidant levels. That makes it quite effective in the fight against free radicals. An antioxidant called EGCG facilitates the repair of DNA that has been damaged by pollution, chemicals, and sun exposure, therefore, effectively reversing the aging process.
Green tea also has antibacterial properties, which are effective in treating acne. Antioxidants in green tea known as polyphenols act by destroying bacterial membranes. That leaves behind smoother, younger-looking skin. Green tea is also rich in B2, a nutrient that helps maintain collagen levels.
Which Chemical Anti-Aging Ingredients Should You Avoid?
With many natural ingredients for skin care available, it’s possible to steer clear from common synthetic ingredients that may do more harm than good. Some of the key ingredients in anti-aging products that have been shown to have negative effects on your skin health include:
Parabens
Parabens prolong the shelf life of products and are some of the most popular chemical ingredients in anti-aging skincare products. They include methylparaben, butylparaben, and propylparaben. Parabens keep skincare products effective for long by prohibiting the growth of bacteria and fungus.
However, parabens affect hormone function in the body. Usually, they mimic estrogen, which leads to an abnormal increase in breast cell division. That may trigger the growth of tumors and could potentially lead to an increased risk of breast cancer. For some users, parabens may bring about skin irritation and allergies. The skin may also develop rashes, become brittle, dry, or swollen.
BHA
Butylated Hydroxyanisole, commonly referred to as BHA, is a preservative widely used in beauty products. It’s also one of the ingredients used to create fragrances. BHA disrupts the normal working of hormones, leasing to excess toxicity in the reproductive system. Extended use of skin care products containing BHA may cause cancer.
Formaldehyde
Some anti-aging creams contain formaldehyde in them. While you may not find formaldehyde in the ingredients list, you may find names such as Diazolidinyl urea, bronopol, quaternium-15, and DMDM hydantoin. These are called formaldehyde carriers. When they’re included in a product formulation, they gradually release formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is highly toxic and carcinogenic, and when used repeatedly, it has a high chance of causing cancer.
Fragrance
Fragrance may seem like a harmless ingredient. However, there’s a lot that manufacturers don’t reveal to consumers about how they actually make them. Anti-aging skincare products with scents may have more than ten chemicals that aren’t included in the ingredients list. Most of these unnamed components may be harmful to the skin. For instance, formaldehyde is one of the chemicals used, but it remains hidden under the name ‘fragrance’. Fragranced skincare products may cause allergies, asthma, dermatitis, and even contribute to infertility.
Which Skin Care Practices Will Keep Your Skin Young?
Even the best anti-aging skincare products may not be the secret to youthful skin. A good skincare routine involves using anti-aging products and living a healthy lifestyle. Here are some daily habits that will leave your skin looking young and healthy:
Eat a Balanced Diet
The right foods carry all the right ingredients for healthy, youthful skin. In fact, nourishing your skin from the inside out is critical. You could be using the best anti-aging face cream but still not have soft skin because of a poor diet. Foods that are especially good for your skin include citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, root tubers, and nuts. Such foods are filled with antioxidants and essential fatty acids which help to keep the skin firm.
Remove Makeup Before Going to Bed
Sleeping with your makeup on can bring you a host of skin problems, including acne. That is because when makeup mixes with dirt and oil, it clogs the skin pores. Also, when makeup mixes with environmental pollutants during the day, it increases the free radicals in your skin, causing premature aging.
Moisturize Your Skin Every Day and Night
Keeping your skin properly hydrated creates a balance so that the skin isn’t too oily or too dry. That alone helps you avoid breakouts. Hydrated skin also remains firm for longer and keeps away wrinkles. A moisturizing anti-aging face cream is a great example of a product that can keep your skin soft and healthy throughout the day and night.
Get Enough Sleep
Your body repairs itself while you sleep. Getting eight hours of sleep every day gives your skin time to recover from the effects of air pollution and sun exposure during the day.
Exfoliate Regularly
Exfoliate daily if possible. Your skin cells die every day, and new ones are generated in their place. Exfoliation helps you to get rid of the dead cells. While exfoliating, there will also be increased circulation in your skin, which will encourage faster cell regeneration, ultimately, causing your skin to remain soft and young.
Drink Enough Water
When your body is dehydrated, important processes such as the transport of nutrients and detoxification are affected. Drinking at least eight glasses of water each day means that all the essential nutrients will be transported to your skin. That will keep your skin nourished, hydrated, and young. Toxins are also removed from the skin, thus protecting your cell DNA.
Do Physical Exercises
Regular physical exercises such as running increase the circulation of nutrients and oxygen in the body. Activities that encourage healthy circulation also keep the skin vibrant and healthy. An increase in the blood flow as a result of exercising carries nutrients and oxygen to the body, including your skin. Also, blood flow helps to carry away products such as free radicals from the skin.
De-stress
Stress can take a toll on your skin. That is because anxiety, depression, insomnia, and high blood pressure brought on by stress can accelerate the aging process. Try meditation, physical exercises, and other ways to avoid negative emotions which take a toll on not just your mental but also physical health.
Bottom Line
It’s not impossible to have youthful and healthy skin. Harmless and effective natural anti-aging skincare products, healthy eating habits, and taking care of your body through regular exercises will fight off aging better than you’ve ever imagined. In addition, avoiding harmful chemicals protects your skin from adverse effects. With such healthy skincare practices, you’ll no longer have to reminisce about how you looked in your twenties!
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