Dr. Howard Murad, the father of modern wellness famously stated- ”aging is a fact of life. Looking your age is not.” While signs of retreating youth can start showing in the few strands of grey in your hair, you will probably continue to have youthful looking skin for a while after that. However, without proper care, it’ll be a short ride till your face starts showing the ravages of time from frown lines and wrinkles to deep creases and loss of elasticity. Yet, despite this cruel turn of nature you still have A-list celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Kate Beckinsale proving that skin isn’t time-sensitive. That too without resorting to cutting-edge procedures or skin grafts, as they claim.
How on earth do they do it?
With consistent skincare of course. If all it takes is the right care and consistent practice to stop time on your face, don’t you think it’s worth it? Nothing in life comes easy, especially not the good things. To get the “forever young” kind of skin and that too without going under the knife, it is definitely worth investing time and effort into your skincare ritual. Imagine having a clear crease-free complexion even when you’re over 40. Now, that’s something to die for!
So, what’s the big secret? It’s time to take a deeper look and see what some of our celebs have to say. While there’s a bevy of skincare products out there, each one claiming to produce better results than the others, let’s try to focus on simple but effective, tried and tested tips given by some of the world's most beautiful women.
1. Lifestyle
One of the biggest external factors contributing to aging skin is oxidative stress. It is a process that releases harmful molecules that damage skin at the cellular level. This process is exacerbated by lifestyle factors such as poor sleep patterns, smoking, a poor exercise regimen, unhealthy diet, etc.
Changing your lifestyle is the first and most crucial step to consolidating your youthfulness. This will obviously take a few sacrifices but needs to be done in conjunction with your skin care routine for the best results.
“First off, I have to say right away that sleep and health play a big part in looking fresh. If I'm over-tired or stressed, no amount of make-up and hair can disguise the impact of that on one’s face.” – Kate Winslet. Even the Oscar-winning actress doesn’t spend too much time in the make-up chair, which says a lot about where the naturally good looks really come from.
2. Cleanse and Moisturize
Moisturizers over make-up, anyday, everyday. This is another big one to keep in mind if you’re interested in healthier, fresher, youthful looking skin. Make-up will make your skin look good today, but a cleansing and moisturizing regimen will make it look good every day for a very long-time. That’s the trade-off.
In a detailed interview about skincare and beauty, Emma Watson passionately mentioned “I have a bath every single day of my life. And if I have two or three – amazing. Nothing terrible is going to happen in the bath, so I always find time for that.” Something as simple as regularly cleansing yourself can produce a big long-term difference in your skin's development across time.
Keeping your skin clean is one of the best ways you can take care of it. Bathing not only cleanses but also moisturizes your skin. And we all know how important it is to hydrate skin in order to keep it supple.
3. Nutrition
To quote an old adage which applies strongly to skincare, “you are what you eat”. If you eat foods with impurities, they’ll eventually surface in the form of breakouts or poor skin health.
Drinking enough water and watching your food intake is a requisite for healthier skin. No amount of make-up can erase or hide the effects of consuming unhealthy foods, drinking too much alcohol and not staying hydrated.
If you don’t believe it, ask Kate Beckingsale, the
47-year-old who can give many
25- year-olds run for their money. Her diet consists mainly of vegetables and
lean proteins. She almost completely avoids carbs, processed sugar, and
alcohol. “Carbs and processed sugar make me feel very sluggish,” she said once
in an interview. “I’ve never actually had an entire glass of anything
alcoholic,” she added. Alcohol severely dehydrates the skin.
Only goes to show that while cosmetics and cosmetic procedures are great, skincare is better. With a few simple lifestyle changes, we can successfully turn back the clock and while we cannot stop the aging process, we can definitely change the way we age.