Maintaining Natural Beauty as You Age

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When you’re young, with firm skin and no wrinkles, you tend to take these assets for granted, unaware of how fleeting the youthful period of our lives will be. Many of us try and hold back the years with expensive face creams and beauty treatments, and increasing numbers of people opt for cosmetic surgery to retain their youthful appearance. The obsession that societies have with youth has been around for generations now, and we’re all used to the focus on the new, young faces, and comments about how well (or not) various celebrities have aged. It can be frustrating to feel that you’re being written off just because you’re past the first flush of youth, but the last thing you should do is believe that life is over because you’re entering middle age.

How aging affects your skin

When you’re young, your body is all tight and new and elastic; it springs back into shape like a fresh rubber band. As you age, the collagen in your skin that keeps it taut starts to deteriorate, so your skin becomes thinner and less resilient. As the skin starts to soften, fine lines and creases can start to appear, and eventually wrinkles. The key effect most women seek from beauty treatments is simply not to look older than they are, and preferably to appear younger. No-one would expect a person in their eighties to have a taut, wrinkle-free face, and it can look quite odd if you see photos of people who have had cosmetic surgery that has completely smoothed out their skin. Older adults should have a few lines, as a mark of their experience and status as senior members of society.

The effects of hormonal changes

Middle age brings about the menopause, the so-called change of life that sees the end of a woman’s fertile years and the stopping of menstruation. As the levels of female hormones estrogen and progesterone fluctuate and then decline, this contributes to the thinning, softening, and drying out of the skin, and can also make your hair seem lacklustre. The main treatment for counteracting the effects of the menopause is hormone replacement therapy, which involves, as the name suggests, replacing the diminishing female hormones with synthetic or naturally sourced substitutes. For most women, this is an effective method of reducing and delaying the symptoms of the menopause, so when you start to notice the onset, it’s a good idea to get in touch with an HRT specialist clinic like BodyLogicMD. Women with a history of circulatory conditions like deep vein thrombosis may not be suitable for HRT, in which case specially formulated food supplements and complementary therapies are worth considering.

Taking care of your skin

Avoiding over-exposure to the sun will go a long way to helping you ward off premature wrinkles, so always protect your skin when you’re out in the sunshine. Keeping your skin hydrated is another important factor, so make sure you drink plenty of fluids every day and avoid too much alcohol, which doesn’t contribute towards hydration. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is as important as ever, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and high-quality sources of protein. Smoking is another bad habit, so try and get rid of it, because it is a chief cause of prematurely wrinkled skin, in addition to the serious effects it can have on your health in so many other ways. The same kind of beauty routine will still apply, removing makeup, cleansing and toning, and moisturising, but use products designed for older skin to get the best results.

Anti-aging skin treatments

These fall into main two camps:

  • Mainstream, big brand anti-wrinkle creams and serums which are developed to keep the skin firmer and reduce the signs of aging. The advertising for these products is very persuasive, and there’s nothing wrong with trying some out to see if you find one you like and that works for you. However, they aren’t a miracle solution, and you should look at the evidence for any claims made before trying them. They are usually expensive because manufacturers know women will pay more for anti-aging treatments, meaning you could spend a lot of money unnecessarily. In many cases own-brand products are just as effective as the large cosmetic company products, so find out more about any treatment you want to try before taking the plunge.
  • The Internet miracle ads, which you are bound to come across, probably on a regular basis. Remember the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is? Well, in this case, that’s definitely true. Adverts that claim they can perform miracle reversals of aging are almost certainly scams, designed to take money from women who want to maintain their appearance as they age. There is no product which can do what these ads claim; they are just sales funnels designed to draw you in and get you to buy perfectly ordinary products.

Facial exercises

If you haven’t come across the concept of exercising your face before or think it sounds implausible, then find out more about it, because it is actually one of the best ways of maintaining your looks. The face is made up of many muscles underlying the skin, which enable it to make all manner of facial expressions. Improving the tone of these small muscles will help you keep your face looking youthful and firm, helping to treat and prevent hollowing, wrinkling, sagging, and double chins. It won’t stop you aging, but it will make a big difference in delaying the process. There are several different programs available to follow, and it does involve making some very odd faces as you exercise those muscles, but it’s well worth giving it a try.

Don’t be afraid of getting older; there are countless women around who still look stunning into their senior years. By taking care of yourself on the inside, and looking after your skin on the outside, you will find that you will keep getting complimented and people will be surprised if you tell them your age!

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