Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Anti-Aging Skin Care For Free!


Here is a photo of me back in my twenties visiting the ruins of the
old fort in Manama, Bahrain.  I was young and beautiful.  No, I am not
bragging, everyone is beautiful in their twenties.  Super slim, long hair,
deep dark tan. Young, beautiful and stupid!  Why stupid?  Because 
here I am standing out in the hot and blistering sun in midday and no doubt,
not wearing sunscreen!  My idea of skin care back then was a quick shower,
throwing on some lotion, shorts and a tee and heading out the door.  I,
like others who are young, thought I had all the time in the world and
that aging was just not in my future.

Jump ahead to 2017 and I have a completely different perspective.
Now I take care of myself and learn all I can to slow down the 
aging process.  So, let me share with you what I have learned 
about how to care for your skin and slow down and help prevent
the dreaded wrinkles and sagging that the passing of the years
can bring.

First of all, not everything we do to look younger must have a big
price tag.  Many of the things we can tweak to make us look
younger are free or close to being free!




1.  SLEEP BABY SLEEP

During sleep our bodies repair tissues.  Sleeping less than 7 hours per
night can prevent us from rebuilding the collagen that keeps wrinkles
at bay and helps to prevent the dreaded sag.  Sleep heals and restores and
aids in flushing out toxins.  How can we help ourselves to get a good
night's sleep?  Turn off the TV (I know that most of us have them in our
bedrooms) because the TV is not our bedtime friend.  Keep the room as
dark as possible.  Get a sleep mask to block out the light from clocks,
street lights, etc.  A sleep mask works wonders for me.

Also, sleep on your back if you can.  Dreaded chest wrinkles can be
avoided by doing this one little thing.  I try to do it, but so far I have
been unsuccessful.  I start out on my back, but during the night I end
up on my side.  Hopefully, you will have more luck than I.




2.  ADD SUPER FOODS TO YOUR DIET

I start almost every day with a bowl of slow cooked oatmeal and
a handful (well, more than a handful because I am an overachiever)
of berries.  I love raspberries and blueberries.  I buy frozen because
they are picked ripe and freezing keeps their vital nutrients fresher
longer.  



Learn to love salmon.  It's on every anti-aging diet regimen I have
read.  Get it fresh, frozen or canned.  Grill it, bake it, use it in salads.
Salmon is heart healthy and full of Omegas that help keep our skin
plump and happy.



Eat your leafy green veggies.  My husband will be cringing right
now if he is reading this.  He is not a fan, but I am, so I often eat veggies
for lunch.  

Other super foods are walnuts and almonds.  Other fatty fishes like 
tuna and sardines.  Slow cooked oatmeal is good too.  

While on the subject of superfoods, let's talk about wine.  There are
many studies that show that the resveratrol in red wine is beneficial
to our health.  I am not disputing those studies, however I also know
that too much of a good thing can be bad for us and will be wrinkle
producing.  Alcohol in all forms is dehydrating and we need to
remember the old saying from biology class ~ a turgid cell is a happy
cell.  Let's keep those skin cells fat and happy!  So, limit that glass
of wine or spirits to one, or not at all.  We want to always be
friendly to our livers too if we want it to keep clearing out the toxins.

Also, cut back on sugar.  Sugar is not our friend in the anti-aging
battle!




3.  SLATHER ON THAT SUNSCREEN!

There is no doubt that the very most important anti-aging skin care
we can purchase is sunscreen.  We need to wear it every day, all day,
365 days a year.  It doesn't matter if it's cloudy because the rays of
the sun sneak right through and onto our skin.  Although we are 
talking about wrinkles here, we want to prevent skin cancer too.
Don't forget to reapply!



4. LEARN TO LOVE HATS

Last summer when we were staying up in Austin at the Barton Creek Resort,
David bought me this hat with UVA protection built into the fibers.  I wear it 
when I am working out in the garden along with my sun glasses and my
sunscreen.  Lots of long sleeve swim shirts come with UVA protection in 
the fabric fibers also.  Check them out!



5. EXERCISE!!!

Exercise keeps us lean and limber.  It aids with keeping our bones strong 
and our hearts healthy, but did you know that it also thickens our dermis?
Well it does and a thicker dermis means less wrinkling and sagging.  
The outer layer of our skin ~ the stratum corneum, is what we see when we
look in the mirror. The dermis lies underneath providing support for what
we see.  As we age, this dermis gets thinner and loses its cushioning
effect.  The good news is that no matter what our age right now, we
can build up our dermis with exercise and we can do it in just a few 
short months!!!  I am going to send you to this LINK where you can
read for yourself.  Now you have no excuse not to exercise if you are
serious about keeping your skin looking beautiful.

Next time I will talk about lotions and potions that help to
turn back the clock, but remember that although there are
products that we can slather on our skin to help us to look younger,
a good healthy foundation is what we all need.  No lotion or
potion will help us look younger if we don't sleep, eat a 
healthy diet, forget to protect our skin from the sun and refuse to
exercise.  

We all want our houses to look their best and we want to 
look our personal best too.  To give you a jump start on this 
process I want to introduce you to my favorite YouTube anti-aging
personality, Angie from Hot and Flashy Over 50.  Some of
you already know her, and if you do not, you will find her
no nonsense approach to anti-aging refreshing.  You can read
her blog HERE and you may visit her YouTube channel

Every 28 days we have a chance to build healthier and younger
looking skin.  It's never too late to get on track!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley










6 comments:

  1. Great post, Susan. I have the same issues-from tanning for years with no barriers when I was young...and trying to enhance the sun with baby oil mixed with iodine! Crazy--but it is what we did back then.

    I need to do a more rigid exercise routine. I know that. I am busy, busy, busy but don't have any specific routines I follow.

    I don't drink at all so I am good to go on that tip. Hope you have a happy, healthy rest of the week- xo Diana

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    Replies
    1. We always say we don't have enough time to exercise ~ I say it too, but all we need according to the study reference is 30 minutes twice a week. Let's do it together!

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  2. All very good suggestions. Some I do and have done. However, at my age, kinda slowed down. I used to walk a lot miles, but got out of the habit. Need to get back.

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  3. Truly great suggestions! I could definitly use more exercise but there are just not enough hours in the day.

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  4. some people grow old and beautiful.... That's the thing to do! :)

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  5. I love this post, sister! I totally agree with everything. How we are all paying for "laying out" in our teen years and those tanning beds, the worst! I have been on a program since March 1. Basically, clean eating and exercise. I have dropped a few inches, but I will keep it up. Now about that wine. How about 1 glass of wine, with 2 glasses of water??? lol

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