7 Tips to Keeping Your Skin Looking Young and Healthy

If you are like most people, you want to keep your skin looking as young as possible for as long as possible. In 2011, the anti-aging industry was worth about $80 billion in the United States alone. Every year, the typical person loses between 0.55% and 1% of their skin’s elasticity. From choosing the right natural skin products to making some lifestyle changes, you can keep your skin looking great for a longer period of time.

1. Wear sunscreen. When you are looking at natural skin products or even looking to professional skin care products, there are few things you can do for your skin that are more beneficial than using sunscreen every day. UV rays from the sun can do a lot of damage to the skin. They can reach us every day, even when it is cloudy so it is important to include sunscreen as part of our daily skin care routine. Preventing wrinkles is more effective than dealing with the after they form so wear your sunscreen and reapply it throughout the day to stay protected. Those UV rays can do a ton of damage to the collagen in your skin.
2. Quit smoking. There are few things, other than the sun, that do as much damage to your skin than smoking. When you smoke any tobacco products matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are created in your body. These substances are very damaging to the collagen in your skin and lead to sagging skin. If you smoke and you want to keep your skin looking young and healthy, you should quit. Even the best skin care line cannot be as beneficial as stopping smoking.
3. Get more vitamin C in your diet. People often associate vitamin C with boosts to the immune system but it is also critical for collagen formation. Research, published by the American Journal of Nutrition, has shown that when women who are over 40 get more of the vitamin in their diets show less in the way of wrinkle development. The amino acids that make up proteins, such as collagen, depend on vitamin C to form the connections that are needed. The best sources of vitamin C are colorful fruits and vegetables such as oranges, tomatoes, deep green, leafy vegetables, red peppers and broccoli.
4. Try products with retinol. You can get natural skin products with retinol and a number of organic skin care products have these compounds in them because they work on wrinkles. Retinol is a compound that is derived from vitamin A. You can get prescription and over the counter products that have this collagen boosting compound in them. This is a very effective way to boost collagen production in your skin.
5. Use an exfoliant. When you are looking at natural skin products, look for an exfoliant. When you use products to exfoliate your skin, you are effectively removing the dead layer of skin at its surface, this will speed up the process of skin and collagen renewal. Many new products for this gave compounds such as gycolic and lactic acid. Be gentle when you do this and make sure you protect your skin with a moisturizer afterwards.
6. Eat fewer sweets. Sweets cause the process that is known as glycation. Glycation is the process by which sugars will adhere to nucleic acids, fats and proteins. When they attach themselves to collagen, it causes premature aging of the skin and wrinkes. One way to prevent this process from occurring is to eat fewer products that are packed with sugar.
7. Get more antioxidants. Free radicals are substances in the body that are looking for an electron to fill their valence shell. They go after healthy cells, such as those found in the skin, to get that electron. When this starts to happen, it can lead to the break down of collagen in your skin. If you have more antioxidants in your diet, you can prevent this process from occurring and save your skin. Spinach and green tea are examples of things you can consume to get the antioxidants you need. You can also get natural skin care products that have antioxidants in them.

The bottom line is you can keep your skin looking great with some work.