Anti-Aging Basics: 4 Tips To Battle Wrinkles

Aging, we all know about it and it is inevitable, but what can we do about it?

The anti-aging industry is huge—globally it is a $115.5 billion dollar industry. That’s a lot of skin cream.

We recommend by sticking to the basics. While these recommendations might seem pretty basic, sometimes the most basic things get lost in the craziness of learning about anti-aging ingredients and how well they work.

1. Cleanse: On a daily basis you need to clean and wash your face—especially if you wear make-up. Your face produces sebum (that oily substance produced by the glands in your skin), even if your face doesn’t look shiny or greasy. Sebum traps environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and car exhaust as well.

When looking for a cleanser you want a gentle cleanser that does a good job of removing everything without irritating your skin or over-drying your skin. Adjust your cleansing routine with changes in seasons. A product that is great in the summer may be too harsh in the winter. Washing thoroughly with warm water has been shown to be as effective as washing with an anti-bacterial (try to avoid them). Wash with lukewarm (not hot) water to avoid drying out your skin, pat dry and apply moisturizer and treatment products immediately.

2. Exfoliate: Exfoliating removes the outer layers of the stratum corneum, which build-up as skin cell regenerate. By removing the outer layers you reveal younger layers below and help increase your skin’s rejuvenation system.

Don’t overdo though—over exfoliating healthy skin can disrupt your skin’s barrier and may cause irritation. Remember to be gentle and give your skin some time to recover.

Exfoliating may be the fastest way to see results with your anti-aging regimen.

There are two main methods of exfoliation:

• Physical/Mechanical Exfoliation: This should be obvious, pretty much anything that physically disrupts the epidermis and removes cells. You can do this with a scrub, a mask or even a washcloth.

• Chemical Exfoliation: You can also remove dead skin cells by using chemicals such as hydroxy acids or retinoids . Remember that you should ease into using these products, and cycle them on and off to allow your skin to recover.

3. Treat: There are a number of skincare products out there but the most important to treat your skin are retinoids, sunscreens, peptides, anti-oxidants, and hydroxy acids.

4. Protect: WEAR sunscreen! Sunscreen is by far the single most effective therapy for anti-aging. Photoaging does not require you to be burned or have massive amounts of sun exposure. Nor do you get all of your important sun exposure before the age of 18.

You can still do a lot of good by wearing sunscreen of at least SPF 15 every day with broad spectrum UV coverage and avoiding the sun in peak periods such as between 10 am and 2 pm.