Generation Z seems to be the generation most preoccupied with dealing with wrinkles. Skin care routines are becoming the norm amongst young adults, where many avoided them in the past.
The topic of how to reduce wrinkles, in particular, is the primary driver for these skin routines. People usually turn to skin tightening or anti-aging treatments.
However, there are 7 other things you can do to reduce wrinkles that don't involve creams or lotions. Consider reading ahead to learn more.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are one of the primary ingredients in a diet that can help prevent and reduce wrinkles. They reduce free radicals in the body, including the skin. This reduces discoloration, loss of firmness, and the formation of fine lines.
While many creams and lotions add antioxidants, many consider including them in your diet as the best form of implementation for improving your skin. Foods that have plenty of antioxidants include:
Pecans
Cherries
Artichokes
Berries
Prunes
Black beans
Omega 3 fatty acid
Granny smith apples
Hydration
You've probably heard this recommendation more than a thousand times, and with good reason. Getting enough water in your system is crucial for a wide variety of bodily functions. Your skin is no exception.
Doctors recommend a minimum of two liters per day. For best results, in tandem with enough hydration, you can tighten and revitalize your skin with specific skin treatments.
Sun Exposure
Even if you drink plenty of water, excessive sun exposure can greatly diminish those benefits. UV rays dry the top layer of your skin and can cause serious damage over time. This includes direct damage to DNA and an increased risk of skin cancer.
Unprotected sun exposure causes premature aging and can heavily reduce your body's immune system capabilities. The good news is that you don't have to skip those sun tanning sessions you might really enjoy.
Consider wearing a hat and long-sleeved shirt for proper protection when you're not sun tanning. Otherwise, drink plenty of water and wear sunscreen. Sunburns can occur, of course, and you can generally treat them by moisturizing and applying aloe vera to the affected areas.
Healthy Sleep Schedule
Setting up, and adhering to, a good sleep schedule is another essential part of preventing forehead wrinkles and eye wrinkles. Doctors recommend around 8 hours of sleep per night.
The reason sleep is so essential, is because it's when your skin generates new collagen. Essentially, it's when your body repairs your skin cells. A person drinking enough water and getting enough rest ensures that their skin is hydrated and improves the chance to reduce wrinkles.
Plenty of sleep also increases blood circulation, improving the appearance of your skin in general. It causes what many consider a "healthy glow."
Stress Management
Stress and anxiety are both very common nowadays. While relatively normal, consequences start when the stress becomes chronic. This leads to high levels of cortisol over extended periods of time, and this can do a lot of damage to your entire body.
Regarding skin damage, high cortisol levels tell the sebaceous glands to excrete more oil. This oil generally clogs pores and can cause inflammation, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, itching, and dry skin.
Dealing with stress is a complicated endeavour. There's no one-fits-all method for reducing anxiety. You might consider taking on meditation, yoga, or getting a few massages per month.
Avoid Tobacco
Smoking is scientifically proven to cause premature skin ageing, psoriasis, and hidradenitis, to mention a few. Primarily, smoking causes dryness of the skin. This is due to the constant need for the lungs to use water to remove soot and other chemicals that accumulate in the lungs.
Your body also uses more water to process chemicals found in the bloodstream, via the kidneys. While you can counteract these effects by drinking more water, ditching the habit is the best option.
Additionally, smoking causes blood vessel constriction. This results in a reduced capacity for your body to fully circulate blood to your entire body. When blood circulation can't properly reach all skin cells, these often dry up and result in damage and wrinkles.
Forehead wrinkles and eye wrinkles are common in smokers. Perhaps more concerning, though, is that tobacco intake can reduce your body's capacity to heal wounds. This can result in serious infections, causing more damage to your skin.
Regular Exercise
Exercise, when combined with a healthy diet and sufficient water intake, can greatly improve your skin. It also helps your body, in general, in a plethora of ways.
For your skin, specifically, one way it helps is by improving blood flow. This, in turn, helps to properly nourish cells and remove toxins found in your skin. This increased blood flow, with a consistent exercise routine, remains constant even when you're not exercising.
Moving your body also calls back to stress management. Getting regular exercise also helps to reduce stress and improve your immune system. It's also been shown to greatly improve your immune system.
Walking, running, cycling, and weight lifting are just a few ways you can also reduce wrinkles. Some research shows that, given enough time, exercise is anti-aging and can shave years off of your skin's appearance. Many people attest to feeling and looking between 5 to 10 years younger after a few months of consistent exercise.
How to Reduce Wrinkles
When people learn how to reduce wrinkles, they think the entire process involves creams, lotions, and visits to a skin care center. While these can help, and often very much so, it's important to build a proper foundation for skin care with good habits. The three most important involve hydration, exercise, and a healthy sleeping schedule.
Only after including those building blocks, along with stress management, less sun unprotected sun exposure, and the avoidance of harmful substances like tobacco can skin care products really help reduce wrinkles.
Finally, it's also essential to include antioxidants in your diet. They're fantastic for removing free radicals in your body and making noticeable changes in your skin's appearance.
At Be Youthful Co, we offer a variety of skin treatments that can help you reduce wrinkles. You can contact us for a free 30-minute consultation, where we'll guide you through the process of implementing a healthy routine and combining it with the right treatment for the best results!