You Have More Control Over Aging Skin Then You Think

We don’t give our skin the recognition it deserves, considering the magnitude of what it does, which can lead to the look of aging – you know, those dreaded lines, wrinkles, sagging and dark spots.

Skin is our largest organ, and it has the incredibly important job of protecting us from bacteria, toxins and the elements. It is on guard 24/7 to keep us safe.

Not all skin is created equal.

The skin on your face and chest is thinner and more delicate than the skin over the rest of the body, with the skin around the eyes being the thinnest and most delicate. The thinner skin of the face is in need of greater attention and care, especially as we get older because as we age, so does our skin.

Time and genetics play a role in the appearance of skin.

This is called intrinsic skin aging and we don’t have control over it; it’s simply nature taking its course. The telltale signs include dryness and a pale skin tone, fine wrinkles caused by facial movements and reduced elasticity and fullness.

There is another type of skin aging, which is attributed to the environment and the lifestyle we lead.

This is called extrinsic skin aging. This is the type of skin aging that we have control over.

Extrinsic skin aging is characterized by coarse, deep wrinkles, dark spots, and the degeneration and accumulation of elastic tissue, usually seen around the mouth and defined by deeply wrinkled, thickened, yellow skin.

Common causes of extrinsic aging include stressors in the environment, such as sun exposure and air pollution. Other contributors include smoking, poor diet and lack of sleep – all things that we CONTROL!

We don’t have complete control over our environment, but there are steps we can take to work around it. For instance, we can’t stop damaging ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun, but we can control our exposure to it, and we can reduce skin damage with antioxidant products that can restore and rejuvenate the skin as well as consuming fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants that fight free radicals.

P.S. To learn more about antioxidants and why they’re so important to younger looking skin click here