In the past several years, the beauty industry has tried very hard to sell products that help reduce the signs and effects of aging. And they have succeeded in this. Now, although I have nothing against people who would want to spend a small fortune on beauty products, I would like to tell you that there are natural solutions for any skin problem. This is how to reduce wrinkles and look younger.
And this includes wrinkles as well. So, bear in mind that there is no magic wand for turning the clock back. You cannot look like you are twenty –something years old when you are actually in your 40s, but you can look beautiful for your actual age.
Bear in mind that very harsh treatments and chemicals can make the situation worse than it actually is in some cases. So, my suggestion is, instead of buying injections and chemical peels that will take a toll on your wallet, let’s look at some of the natural solutions. Just be warned that the results do not come overnight. Your skin reflects your overall health, so if you are not in a very good health, it’s only logical that you will have some skin problems.
Toxins in your food, chemicals in the environment, chronic stress, lifestyle choices – all of these somehow affect the condition of your skin. If you only change one, you would feel better. If you change them all, you will glow!
- Stop smoking
One of the biggest causes of wrinkles and other aging skin signs is smoking. All right, all right – some of us have to smoke every now and then, but cigarettes are full of toxins that affect the condition of your skin. Smoking will make you look much older than you actually are. It affects the vascular system along with your skin pigmentation, texture, elasticity brightness and presence of lines. If you stop smoking, that does not mean you can turn the clock back. Your skin will not look shiny since Day 1. But if you give it some time and as your body flushes out the toxins, your appearance will look much better.
- Aloe vera gel
As I said at the beginning, the beauty industry is trying hard to sell you $100+ products. All of them contain aloe vera gel. If you cannot believe this, just check the labels. Aloe is a staple in all of the skin care products. Facial wrinkles improve in a dramatic way when you apply aloe vera gel on them. Also, you can consume aloe vera supplements as well. The gel increases the production of collagen, and as we know, collagen is the most important ingredient for healthy skin. When your body produces enough collagen, your skin has better structural support. Additionally, aloe prevents collagen from becoming damaged in the first place. Not only with just phytonutrients, aloe vera gel will take care of everything related to skin. As previously mentioned, the gel can be applied topically as well as added to a smoothie.
- Red ginseng extract
Red ginseng extract consists of ingredients that include antioxidants, immune boosters and anti-aging agents. With so many beneficial nutrients, this extract is world widely considered to be one of the best natural remedies for wrinkles. Additionally, not only just to wrinkles, but red ginseng will also improve the elasticity of your skin and help with pigmentation. Similar to aloe vera gel, the extract improves the production of collagen and increases collagen synthesis in the dermis. In the Asian and Korean cultures, red ginseng has been known for many years that it improves circulation. It can be found in powders, tinctures, capsules and liquid extracts. I recommend tinctures as the best solution.
- Pine bark extract
The pine bark extract will counteract the signs of skin aging. It is available in most of the food stores as well as online. A safe yet effective solution pine bark extract reduces pigmentation of age spots as well as improves skin color.
In addition to helping your skin health, pine bark extract will as well improve your heart health, brain function and arterial health.
- Sleep on your back
As previously mentioned that certain lifestyle habits affect the health of your skin, the way you sleep is also one of them. So, from now on try to sleep on your back. In case you aren’t used to it, work for it slowly and you will get there eventually. Sleeping on side or on your stomach could cause sleep lines. They are etched into your skin and they don’t disappear when you wake up. As the time passes these lines will become a permanent facial texture. Additionally to sleeping on your back, make sure you purchase silk sheets and pillowcases to lessen the effect of sleep lines. Furthermore, if you need scientific proof, the American Academy of Dermatology has warned against stomach and side sleeping for many years.
- Change your diet
What appears on your skin is what you eat. Do you know the saying “you are what you eat” ? Well, this one is true for wrinkles. As a general rule of thumb, you need dietary fat and vegetables. This means that you should consume more yellow and green vegetables. Doing this constantly will reduce the amount of wrinkles on your face. As for fats, there are good fats and bad fats. Please make sure to include good fats in your dieting. You can source them from grass-fed meat, fish, diary products, pastured poultry, coconut oil, eggs, olive oil and other omega-3 rich foods. For vegetables, you shall ingest those that are rich in beta carotene and antioxidants. They include broccoli, spinach, zucchini, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, winter squash, mustard greens, Swiss chard, collards, cabbage and arugula.
- Cut back on sugar
For your last lifestyle change, the amount of sugar you consume shall be very lowered. If you didn’t know this by now, sugar is one of the biggest causes of health problems. High consumption of sugar leads to obesity, heart problems, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and so on and so forth. Sugar affects your skin as well, and consuming a lot of sugar leads to facial wrinkles. The link is in a process called glycation, which is the chemical process that occurs when your blood sugar levels are very high. The molecules circulate in the blood, and they bind to other components. If and when you reduce your sugar consumption, you will then improve your overall health and in terms of skin problems, you protect your elastin and collagen.When one of these two is damaged, wrinkles appear. There is one important note: when you will try to lower your sugar consumption, please make sure to check foods with hidden sugar – because you might be eating sugar without knowing it.