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Men and women are finding it increasingly important to maintain their appearance well into their later years. Doing so enables individuals to stay more competitive in the job market, boosts confidence in relationships and gives an overall sense of well-being that encourages them to continue living healthy.

Skincare Secrets to Looking Younger

You’re probably acquainted with the most important, age-defying skincare tips: Eat well, use sunblock and don’t smoke. However, there are plenty more things you can do on a daily basis to give yourself younger-looking, healthy skin. Making these habit in your 20s and 30s will go a long way toward helping you age slowly and gracefully, but even if you’ve passed the 40-age marker, implementing them now will still help.

Sunblock:

Use sunblock every day, even when it’s not sunny; UV rays still come through on cloudy days. Sunblock takes about 30 minutes to fully activate, so remember to put it on half an hour before you go outside.

An Anti-Aging Diet:

Make sure you include Omega-3s and purple foods in your diet. Omega-3s have anti-inflammatory properties and moisturize dry skin. Purple-hued produce is rich in anthocyanins, which help fight the free radicals that damage skin and speed up aging. Vitamins A, C and E can all be taken orally or topically to help fade brown spots, while vitamin K can reduce under-eye circles. Just be prepared to wait several weeks before noticing the difference.

Botox:

Botox is gaining popularity as a preventive technique, rather than just a corrective one. The injectable is as effective at delaying the onset of wrinkles and fine lines as it is at correcting and smoothing existing lines. Anti-aging research suggests that smoothing out lines when they are still barely visible can prevent deeper wrinkles later on in life.

Be Gentle on Your Skin:

Pay attention to the way you touch your skin throughout the day. Rubbing the face too much while washing it, scrubbing too hard while you’re showering and absentmindedly tugging at the skin on your hands, neck, knees or other areas will increase gravity’s effect on your skin over time. Whether you’re applying make-up, toweling yourself dry or just putting lotion on, touch your skin gently and never pull at it.

Lighten Up:

Making repeated, intense facial expressions will all loosen your skin over time. The next time you find yourself furrowing your brow, allow your forehead to relax instead. Calm facial expressions are the antidote to wrinkles – and they have the added bonus of helping you feel calmer.

Chemical Peels:

A chemical peel can make you look years younger by removing damaged outer layers of skin, smoothing its overall texture, and – best of all – encouraging the growth of new, healthier skin cells and collagen.

Laser Therapy:

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing treatments also remove a superficial layer of your skin so that brand new skin cells and collagen can begin forming. Laser resurfacing improves scars and fine lines while simultaneously tightening oil glands.

Corrective Measures for More Youthful Skin

If your skin has aged to the point that you need a little more than a diet change or chemical treatment, there are some measures you can take to restore your face to a more youthful looking you.

Eyelid Lift:

Because the eyelids are often the first area to show age, a procedure as specific as eyelid surgery can turn back years on your face. After lifting up sagging skin or removing excess skin from around the eyes, your eyes will look more awake and alert – and you will look younger and more relaxed.

Neck Lift:

Excess or sagging skin around the neck is a telltale sign of age that a neck lift can completely erase.

Face Lift:

As one of the most common cosmetic surgeries in the pursuit of younger-looking skin, a face lift makes sagging skin, deep lines and excess fat a thing of the past. A face lift undoes the damage that time has done, and the tighter skin that results from the procedure can help delay further aging.

We Discovered the Fountain

Looking young is important to many people from an aesthetic standpoint, but it also helps people feel more energized and gives them one more reason to continue taking care of their health as they age. If you’re interested in an anti-aging cosmetic procedure like laser resurfacing or facial plastic surgery, contact Livingston Plastic Surgery for a consultation.
Dr. Chris Livingston is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), a plastic surgery consultant for cosmetic procedures on WedMD.com and the Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston – the Division of Plastic Surgery and the Department of Otolaryngology.