Getting Old
/
Change Your Habits, Change Your Skin, Change Your Health
Aging and mortality have been on my mind lately.
Maybe it was that hurricane which barrelled down on my family last year. (All are safe, now thank goodness). Maybe it's my hormones. Maybe I’m just getting older! I see the backs of my hand with its bulging blood vessels and age spots and I realize that they look more like my grandmother's hands—beautiful as they were-- than my kid's hands.
Yet wrinkles aren’t just a vanity thing.
When your skin is damaged, it's less healthy, making it prone to more damage and premature aging. But with all the science out there, we can plunge into some pretty effective prevention.
Want to turn back the clock? Here’s where to start. . . .
1. What We Put In Our Mouth
- Hydrate. with water, lemon, grated ginger or collagen peptides, which have been shown to increase skin’s elasticity and moisture which decline as we age.
- Eat your eggs. Egg yolks contain Vitamin A, which is essential for skin renewal.
- Avoid trans & hydrongenated oils. That means no buttery spreads, margarine or canola. Opt instead for real butter, ghee and coconut butter, which contain more stable fatty acids.
- No processed grains. Yep, that means bread, pastries, pasta, etc.
2. What We Put On Our Skin
We often think of the sun as the main villain in skin damage, but using the WRONG sun protection and skincare products can be equally to blame. Finding safe sunscreen can be a challenge. Here are some tips:
Beautycounter Protect Sunscreen: I’m a big fan of getting outside. It boosts your mood, helps your body produce Vitamin D and regulates your circadian rhythm; and if you know anything about me, you know how important I think sleep is. But sometimes, in order to avoid the burn, we just need to slather on some sunscreen. But 5 out of 6 common sunscreen chemicals can drive breast cancer growth. That’s why I’ve picked the anything-but-common Beautycounter Protect Sunscreen line (they have a lotion, body stick and face stick). It’s made with non-nano zinc oxide, is water-resistant, protects from both UVA and UVB rays, and nourishes the skin with organic coconut and acai fruit oils. Best of all (according to my 12 year old daughter) - it goes on clear!
* Primal Life Organics Coffee Bean Serum & Primal Life Organics C-Ex: 3 drops of this coffee in the morning will help improve your skin’s elasticity, encourage the regeneration of skin cells and improve tone. Another 3 drops of the C-Ex in the evening will add softness and fight damage. The C-Ex was developed by skincare expert, Liz Wolfe, and I’ll be honest, that’s why it’s on my list. This gal knows her stuff and there are very few people I trust more than her when it comes to skincare.
* Beautycounter’s Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion: Want to know the secret to preventing your skin from aging? HYDRATION! It doesn’t matter how many oils, lotions and creams you use, if your skin isn’t hydrated, they won’t work. Beautycounter’s Countermatch Lotion will not only hydrate your skin but it will help neutralize and protect your skin from damage caused by free radicals, which come from things like pollution, UV exposure or stress, which I’m guessing you know a little about.
* Beautycounter’s Rejuvenating Line: This is what has turned back the clock on my skin. When I first started using this line, I just wanted something that would make my leathery neck not look like a football. What I didn’t know was that just about all anti-aging products contain hormones, especially estrogen, because hormones can increase collagen production and skin hydration, creating a more youthful appearance to our skin. However it also increases our cancer risk. Enter Beautycounter, a company that has a list of 1,500 ingredients that they will never use because they are carcinogenic, impact our reproductive system, or are hormone disruptors.
I love the Rejuvenating Day Cream and Toner Pads (which I cut in half and use on the backs of my hands), but my absolute favorite product in the Rejuvenating Line is the Rejuvenating Night Cream. But don’t just take my word for it. In 3rd party testing…
100% of women showed a significant increase in skin hydration, and 81% of women showed a significant improvement in skin elasticity after eight hours. (Results based on independent, 24-hour, 26-subject, single-blind clinical and consumer perception study.)
