These are 7 mistakes I commonly see people making.
All of them are surprising ways you’re unknowingly ageing your skin more quickly.
It’s a common misconception that you’re not being exposed to dangerous UV rays when it’s overcast or when temperatures drop outside. The sun’s rays may feel weaker during these times but don’t let that fool you! The rays that cause premature skin ageing and skin cancer (UVA rays) are approximately the same strength year round and can penetrate through clouds, even on a snowy, rainy day.
It’s so important to get into the habit of using a moisturiser with sunscreen built right in. You’ll want to apply it every morning, every day of the year, rain or shine, inside and out. The very best antiageing product in the entire world is sunscreen.
If you stay up past your bedtime, chances are you’ll be yawning more. When you yawn, it encourages your eyes to water, which creates swelling and puffiness. This repeated swelling weakens the elasticity of the surrounding tissue by stretching it out, which causes an acceleration of wrinkles. The loss of elasticity is like a rubber band that’s been stretched repeatedly; at some point it doesn’t snap back any more, and that is what happens to the eye area.
Anytime you squint your eyes from bright lights or blurry vision, you’re weakening the elastin fibres around the eyes. This will accelerate the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
Did you know that second hand smoke may actually be more dangerous than first hand? The components of second hand smoke are more concentrated since there is no filter at the end of the cigarette. The levels of nicotine, tar, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide are at least twice as high in second hand smoke.
So what does this mean for your skin? Simply put, you are getting much of the skin damage that smokes get, if not more and you’re not even a smoker. Amongst other things, second hand smoke affects the skin greatly because collagen-destroying enzymes (MMPs) ramp up when exposed to tobacco smoke. This leads to premature wrinkling and visible ageing.
Try to avoid second hand smoke and always use antioxidants in your skin care products, such as a vitamin C serum every morning under sunscreen to protect skin cells from oxidative damage to keep skin looking fresh.
Just like squinting, repeated facial expressions and movements will break down collage and elastin fibres over time. When drinking out of a straw you have to purse your lips, causing unnecessary lines and wrinkles around the mouth, similar to smoker’s lines. Drinking from a narrow bottle may also case this to happen. You should drink your beverage from a glass instead so that your mouth doesn’t have to purse so tightly.
With the surge of at home exfoliating products available, there is a trend of 'if it isn’t burning or stinging, then its not working', and 'more is better!'.
In the quest to look younger ad have smoother skin, many people are doing way too many aggressive exfoliating treatments. This is actually injuring their skin and causing what is known as a damaged moisture barrier. Results include flaking, redness, dryness, dehydration, inflammation and possible destruction of heathy cells. Not good at all if your goal is healthy skin!
Every type of skin responds differently to exfoliation but the general rule is, it should not be performed daily unless the product especially says so.
Think it’s unnecessary to wash your face in the morning if you cleanse the night before? Wrong. The reason it’s important to wash our skin in the morning is that while you sleep at night your skin is in repair mode. This causes your skin to secrete toxins and sebum (oil). The benefit of washing your face with a cleanser in the morning is that you’re getting all of that off along with your nightcare products. This creates a clean slate so your daytime products (especially sunscreen!) can perform their best.
You don’t want anything to interfere with proper sun protection. You have 365 chances a year to get your morning skincare routine perfect. Washing your face in the morning is a key step in ensuring healthy and happy skin.
Lodge