It's Time to Look Young Again

Are You Making Yourself Look Older?

Aging and You
by Robynne Boyd

You can use knives, needles or lotions. But if you're doing what's on our list of surprising but sure-fire agers, you'll never be able to slow time and stay youthful. Gain the wisdom of your years without looking like it.

You Are Scowling at Me?

Each time you make a particular facial expression, a tiny crease forms under the surface of your skin; the more you do the expression, the deeper the crease. As you age and your skin loses some of its moisture and elasticity, these lines turn into permanent deep grooves. To prevent this, keep your eyebrows, forehead and eyes relaxed. But please, don't stop laughing and smiling.

Yo-Yo Dieting

Yo-yo or crash diets have problems. Obviously, they're not a sustainable way of keeping your weight down. Also, repeatedly stretching the skin by gaining and losing weight harms its elasticity, which makes it sag and hang. Look for a diet that will work over the long-run for you.

The Dark Side of a Sweet Tooth

You already know that sugary foods leads to weight gain. But studies also show that all those innocent cupcakes can cause wrinkles. Sugar speeds up the degradation of elastin and collagen, both key skin proteins. Replace processed sugars with fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Feeling Stressed Out

Life can be stressful. But there's a big difference between daily stress -- being late for childcare pickup, traffic -- and uncontrollable stress. Feeling out of control raises the catabolic hormones in our bodies, as well as adrenaline and neurodrenaline -- our internal aging chemicals. Deep-breathing activities such as yoga and meditation can counteract that.

Broiling in the sun

While the warm glow of the sun may make you look "hot" in the short-run, years of exposure can cause skin to become splotchy, wrinkled and dry. Sunscreen, a minimum of SPF-15 daily, and low exposure makes all the difference.In return, your skin will retain its youthful moisture, and absorb the sun's cancer fighting and bone-building vitamin D.

Take It Off. Take It All Off

There's nothing wrong with wearing makeup. Sleeping with it on, now that's a different story. If you don't thoroughly wash cosmetics off before bedtime, your pores can become clogged, causing your skin to get irritated, break out, and lose its luster. After thoroughly washing your face, a good moisturizing cream can replenish the skin overnight.

Sleeping on your side

Getting your beauty sleep may be more complicated than you'd think. Surprisingly, sleeping in certain positions, like on your side or belly, with your face planted sideways on the pillow can cause wrinkles. Over time these sleep lines slowly becomes permanent wrinkles on you face. To get the true meaning of beauty sleep, try sleeping on your back.

Sucking on a cigarette

We all know that cigarette smoking damages the lungs, causes cancer and increases the risk of heart disease. Not to mention that it smells bad, turns teeth yellow and makes you huff-and-puff when exercising. Perhaps less publicized is that cigarettes also cause premature aging. The chemicals from cigarettes dry out the skin, and can deplete the body of vitamin C, which keeps skin hydrated, healthy and radiant.

A Toast to Everlasting Youth

An occasional drink can enhance your overall health and mood. Too much, however, harms the skin, not to mention the liver. Alcohol dilates the small blood vessels, which can become permanently damaged over time.This creates a flushed appearance and broken vessels on the skin's surface. Best to stick with the recommended up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people.