I was always an ugly duckling until recently at the age of 35 I blossomed into a beautiful swan, well not really but after years of bad skin, bad hair I now look a whole lot better so thought I would share my beauty tips because it has never come naturally to me I've had to work so hard to have what little success I have had.
- Wear sunscreen everyday,even in winter and even indoors some modern eco light bulbs emit UV light so if you can avoid them and use ones which don't. I still mainly use old fashioned bulbs.
- Use a humidifier in your home, this is very popular in the states and in asia they are a bit of a commitment because they are a bore to clean and maintain but they really transform your skin and hair in winter especially. Also consider using an ioniser.
- Exercise: you must exercise most days but in moderation, build your routine around resistance and stretching and do moderate cardio obviously if your an athlete then do what you need to do but most research point to regular moderate exercise being better for longevity and anti-aging.
- Drink 3 liters of water a day also drink peppermint tea, rooibos tea, white, green and match tea. Also some milk thistle tea no all of them every day but rotate them though the day all are super for your skin keeping hormones in check, scavaging free radicals and blocking the emzynes which degrade collagen.
- Yoga, Meditation & Breath work can literally make you younger they protect your telemores and increase GABA production which helps you cope with stress and you don't produce as much cortisol which is the "anti beauty" hormone. Also it helps fresh blood get around the body and stimulates lymph so they body's own internal housekeeping functions better (especially as this slows down as we age).
- Food: Eat a mainly plant based diet I eat some fish and the odd bit of game but most of my diet is plant based. Excess protein is heavily implicated in premature aging and in diseases of aging such as dementia and heart disease. Of course to get the benefits of such a diet you need to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Experts now suggest ten servings of fresh fruit and veg is the baic requirement we should aim for. Supplements are fine but nothing beats real food because their are still all sorts of compounds and co-factors in food that we don't even know exist yet and relying to much on supplements means you could still miss out. So its both rather than either or.
- Sleep basic really but just get enough sleep around 8 hours and keep it regular, your body loves routine. Once I got into a good sleep routine and did it consistantly the lines under my eyes and around my mouth vanished and my skin tone became very even.
- Skincare: Everyone is different so not everyone can use the same products and get results but somethings seem more universal so with that in mind I here are my thoughts:
A. I would suggest you do not use a foaming or soap product to cleanse your face use something really mild and creamy even if you have oily skin.
B. Do not over exfoliate, there is an epidemic of over exfoliation at the moment and no wonder as so many products have acids or retinol in them its so easy and you may not even realise your skins barrier function is damaged so read your ingredients and take care. I now use an exfoliating toner (Clarins brightening toner) a couple of times a week and I also have a clarisonic I once or twice a week max as well as a retinoid product 2 - 3 times a week as needed. Anything else is over kill you may need to play around a bit to see what works for you.
C. Look for skincare with skin barrier friendly ingredients so things like ceramides, lanolin, fatty acids etc so things like rosehip seed oil or Eucerin replenishing face cream works great and stopping the top layers of your epidermis drying out which is a big cause of fine lines. (Also a very low fat diet can also reduce the amount and quality of the lipids your skin produces so make sure you have plenty of good fats from flax and walnuts in your diet).
- Massage: Massage your face, massage your body, go for a massage or get your partner to do it. Massage increases mitochondrial biogenesis helping your body to repair and renew itself. The effects of massage very much enhanse and compliment a health diet, sleep and exercise regime.
Ok so those are my tips I really do feel and see the differance in myself when I am consistant with the above.
I'd love to know your beauty tips so please do share!