Easy steps to hide your age
Following tips are very useful for keep yourself smart, young & beautiful
Wear Sunscreen
I can't stress this enough. A large percentage of
the visible signs of ageing (wrinkles, age spots) result from the cumulative
effect of ultraviolet rays on the skin, over time. Wear sunscreen and you'll
keep these at bay.
Get enough sleep
The whole idea of beauty sleep is not a myth. Your
body needs time to restore itself overnight and that includes your face, too.
While you sleep, cells are busy repairing DNA damage from the day before, so
snuggle down and give them a chance to get on with it.
Resolve to eat
more oily fish
None of us consume enough essential fatty acids,
which as well as helping our brains to function more smoothly are considered
vital to keep skin-cell-membranes in good health and therefore stop the skin
from getting too dry.
Drink plenty of
water
Particularly hard to do at this time of year when it
is so much easier to reach for warming coffee, tea or hot toddies. It won't
hydrate your skin directly, but it will improve the way your insides work and
good gut health is soon reflected in glowing skin.
Take up yoga
It is soothing, distressing, improves your posture,
helps loosen the knots of tension that we all accumulate in our bodies and can
be done anywhere. All you need is the space to unroll a yoga mat. Also, yoga
devotees usually look remarkably youthful – and if you can't beat them, why not
join in and see if it works its magic for you.
Cut sugar from
your diet
The body doesn't need it and sugar, according to
nutritionists and skin experts, exacerbates a process called glycation, which
accelerates ageing in the skin.
Add the odd
facial into your beauty regime
Regular TLC from a skincare professional will pay
dividends in terms of a fresher-looking complexion with more bloom and spring
to it. If you feel guilty about treating yourself, ask for one as a present.
Revise your
make-up
Most of us are guilty of falling into a make-up time
warp and ignoring the fact that what suited us five or 10 years ago might not
look so good today. Also, cosmetic formulations are constantly improving, so
newer products are nicer to use, with better results.
Exercise
regularly
Whether it's walking the dog, rock-climbing, or
scuba-diving, anything that gets you moving will improve your circulation. That
in turn will encourage blood flow to the skin and help give it a healthy,
youth-enhancing glow.
Give up smoking
Just in case you need another reason to quit. It
deprives the skin of oxygen, accelerates the process of skin ageing by
hastening the degradation of collagen, which means more wrinkles – faster. Oh,
and it's not great for your health, either.
Take up meditation
Not the most obvious way, perhaps, to roll back the
years, but if you can learn to achieve the odd patch of focus and stillness in
your life, it will help. Getting into the habit of relaxing your face as you
concentrate on your breathing will ease the lines of tension and worry that we
all develop with the years.
Eat more good
bacteria
If you have what nutritionists call gut dysbiosis,
or an unhealthy gut, this will be reflected in the condition of your skin. Taking
acidophilus, a probiotic supplement, every day will enhance levels of good gut
flora, which should soon result in healthier-looking skin.
Take expert
advice on your hair color
"Having a few lighter strands around the face
suits almost everyone and will take years off your face," says Susan
Baldwin, creative colour consultant at John Frieda.
Learn to curl
your eyelashes
Give them a squeeze with an eyelash curler, which
looks like a giant pair of nail scissors with a clamp on the end, before you
apply mascara and see how it opens up your eyes.
Wear blusher
Get blusher right – the right colour, in the right
place – and your face will look instantly fresher and livelier. The easiest way
to start is with a sheer gel blusher – simpler to use and to spread thinly.
Smile, pat onto the apples of your cheeks, and blend up and out from there
towards the hairline. And remember that less is more.
Get a great
haircut
Updating your hairstyle can be enough to make you
look years younger and a fringe hides a multitude of frown lines. Cosmetic
surgeons will often send would-be clients off for a makeover; frequently, a
haircut will give them enough confidence to skip the scalpel.
Spend time doing
things that make you happy
You'll feel better and look better as a result. And
in the same vein, try to smile a bit more. It's nicer for everyone else and it
tricks the body into changing its mood. It also uses fewer muscles than
frowning.
Treat yourself
to a professional make-up lesson
Many of the staff on department-store make-up
counters is professional make-up artists. Seek one out and see what they can
suggest for you. And if you don't like it, all you have to do is wipe it off,
and try elsewhere.
Don't diet too
strenuously
It's sod's law, but if you lose enough weight to make
an appreciable difference to the size of your stomach and hips, the other place
where the loss will really show is in your face. You don't want to end up
looking gaunt – even the word is ageing.
Practice
relaxation
We're all super-busy these days, which raises stress
levels, which is ageing in itself. Relaxation is a habit that can be learnt.
Taking time, watching the clouds, practicing deep breathing – will all help
ease the lines of stress and worry that settle in through habit and then become
a permanent part of the landscape of our faces.
Find the shade
of lipstick that suits you
The right color, whether nude-y beige or cerise,
will light up your face. Experiment at make-up counters, and consult the Bobbi
Brown Lipstick Wheel (at counters nationwide) which tells you that if you're,
for example, a "Tulle Brown" sort of girl, which other colors will
also work for you.
Have more sex
Studies have found that couples who make love
frequently look more than 10 years younger than the average adult who has sex
less often. The current thinking is that the pleasure derived from sex is a
crucial factor in preserving youth.