How to Prevent Skin Aging

Muscle Toning

Electrotherapy involves the stimulation of the underlying muscles of the face with a mild, painless, electric current. This treatment is costly and requires constant maintenance sessions after the initial course.

Antioxidants

Skin is constantly under attack from free radicals, rogue molecules that accelerate premature ageing. Vitamins E and C and beta-carotene are antioxidants that help put a stop to free radical activity. All working in slightly different ways, the overall effect of antioxidants is to mop up free radicals as they form, preventing them from doing serious damage within the body. Antioxidants in creams will protect the skin from environmental factors, while antioxidants taken orally, in tablet form or from foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables help to neutralize the by-products of this oxidation process. Antioxidants should be an integral part of any anti-ageing regime.

Massage

If you include simple massage movements in your existing beauty regime, you will see the benefits in a couple of months. When applying a moisturizer, try lightly circling your hands up from your chin to the center of your forehead and gliding each hand down each side of your face, repeating 12 times. To keep facial lines from setting in around your mouth, over-exaggerate smiling, and then gnash your teeth together. Repeat each motion 24 times. To prevent a wrinkled neck, sweep your hands up under your chin and down again. Repeat 12 times.

Pressure Points

The acupuncture face-lift is one of the more unusual alternatives to surgery. This treatment aims to re-balance the body’s energy flow and also improve the appearance of the skin, tone the facial muscles and step up circulation. Normally 12 needles are inserted at specific regions of the face (just below the skin’s surface), which address the body’s inner health and outer beauty. It’s a pain-free procedure that leaves your feeling as good as you look. For best results, a course of these facials is recommended.

Lymph Stimulation

Women can suffer from water retention on both the face and body. Stimulating the lymphatic system helps address this problem. Lymphatic drainage facials help reshape the face by reducing puffiness around the eyes, cheeks and chin.

Line Fillers

For those who want to lessen the appearance of wrinkles caused by frowning and scowling, line-filling injections are an option. Synthetic collagen or the body’s own fat, which is removed from an area such as hips or thighs, is injected into wrinkles. The results are short-term, as collagen is absorbed into the body within three months and only some of the fat remains permanent. To maintain effects, top-up treatments are essential.

Chemical Peels

High concentrated of alpha hydroxyl acids are used to peel off the outer layers of the skin, removing fine lines and wrinkles. The concentration of acids used ranges from 15% strength, commonly used in beauty salons, to 70% strength, administered by surgeons and dermatologists for severely damaged and mature skins. Recovery periods vary depending on the strength of the peel. It can be a painful process but it does result in younger, smoother skin.

Laser Resurfacing

A good alternative to surgery, laser resurfacing removes the outer layers of the old, wrinkled or sun-damaged skin. It can also treat age spots and uneven skin tone. This non-invasive treatment is more accurate and less painful than the surgeon’s knife, and the skin heals faster than if you’ve had cosmetic surgery. Recovery periods vary, usually 10 days after a treatment the skin is red but can’t be concealed with make-up. Within six weeks it will have healed totally.

AHAs

Alpha-hydroxyl acids (AHAs) or fruit acids are naturally occurring compounds that break down the inter-cellular cement causing redundant skin cells to stick together. With regular use, AHAs improve overall skin texture and make aging skins look more radiant. They are also reputed to boost the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid (the skin’s natural water-retaining substance). For the best results, users of AHAs should avoid washing their skins with alkaline soaps. Preparations enriched with AHAs should be applied to cleansed skin and left for 10 minutes before further preparations are applied to the face.