The anti-aging industry is approaching $200 billion in sales worldwide, and cosmetics make up a sizable portion of this market. Each year, we spend millions of dollars of products that keep us from looking older. But too many times, we over-rely on these products to prevent aging effects. And in some cases, the very products used to keep us from looking older can even cause aging to accelerate. While cosmetics and anti-aging products can be helpful, several other strategies can help you avoid looking older. The following is a list of the 10 most common aging mistakes that people make when it comes to skin care.
Poor Sunscreen Habits
Among the many aging mistakes often made, failing to use sunscreen properly is among the most common. Certainly, not wearing sunscreen often enough can cause your skin to age faster. But at the same time, over-relying on these products to avoid looking older is also a frequent mistake. While sunscreen is a must, wide-brim hats and clothing are also important when you are out in the sun for extended periods of time.
Not Protecting Your Eyes
For some, failing to take advantage of anti-aging eye creams represents an aging mistake. Eye creams can help reduce wrinkles and moisturize the skin. But taking care of your eyes also means wearing sunglasses. Just as the sun can result in your skin looking older, it can also cause accelerated aging around the eyes. Excessive sun also increases the risk of developing cataracts and other eye diseases.
Skipping Sleep
Sleep is your body’s natural way of restoring health and youthfulness. Getting your “beauty sleep” is a must when it comes to slowing the aging process. Most appreciate that sleep deprivation can cause bags around the eyes, but at the same time, poor sleep is associated with higher rates of illness and reduced immune function. That means you end up looking older because your body’s natural defenses become weaker.
Excessive Amounts of Stress
Some stress cannot be avoided, but chronic stress is associated with accelerated aging. When under high levels of stress, we tend to eat poorly, get less sleep, and make unhealthy choices. All of these things, as well as direct links between stress and inflammation, promote aging. As a result, we begin looking older because we fail to effectively manage our stress.
Wearing Too Much Makeup
Cosmetics and make-up may seem like a good option to cover up those wrinkles. But in actuality, this can bring more attention to the wrinkles while accelerating aging. In an effort to avoid looking older, makeup may provide a quick fix. But it can clog pores and sometimes deplete your skin of necessary nutrients and moisture. Using less skin products is sometimes more when it comes to makeup and anti-aging.
Not Doing Your Skincare Homework
One way to keep from looking older is to make sure you’re informed about what skincare products are best for you. This means researching specific products and keeping up with your skin’s needs as you get older. Every skincare product will advertise benefits, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for you or your skin type.
Excessive Face Washing
Keeping skin pores clean and removing dirt from the skin prevents you from looking older. However, washing too much can accelerate aging of the skin. Soaps and cleansers can remove moisturizing oils and cause excessive drying. This can naturally accelerate aging and increase wrinkles. For most women, washing twice a day is ample.
Ignoring Your Diet
Premature aging is linked to too much sugar or alcohol. In order to slow the aging process, eating a healthy diet with fruits, vegetables, and nutritious foods is important. These will provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that will promote health and keeping you from looking older.
Being a Couch Potato
While exercising can certainly prevent you from looking older, being sedentary can be detrimental. Sitting too much has been linked to several health problems, including heart disease. Likewise, too much screen time can advance the aging of the skin due to blue-light radiation exposure. In contrast, daily exercise improves circulation, which naturally helps you avoid looking older.
Keeping a Poor Mental Perspective
While skincare, diet, exercise, and sleep are crucial in avoiding looking older, your mental outlook is also important. Constantly seeing yourself as “being too old” to participate in activities can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you focus on the negative instead of the positive, it undermines your youthfulness. Be young at heart, and it will amaze you how this deters the aging process.
When it comes to looking your most youthful and attractive, avoiding these key mistakes can help you greatly. Adopting healthy habits can go a long way in slowing down the aging process. And as a result, you will look and feel your absolute best for years to come.
