By Natalie Ledbetter CRNA, DAcOM
There have been a lot of searches recently for “How to look younger naturally”. Most of us would like to look younger if we are in our 30s and over, or at least look our best. There is much more to looking or being attractive than looking young and there are many things we can do to help us in this area. There are supplements and nutrients that can nurture our skin and health. Wearing sunscreen, using the best products, and drinking plenty of water can help keep our skin looking younger.
Procedures can help reverse damage and sagging that can occur with sun damage and age. Make up tips can help us look younger, and a smile plus a pleasing personality can go a long way to making us more attractive to all, including ourselves.
Behavior and Personality
One of the most important things we can do to increase our attractiveness is to boost our self-confidence. Also helpful is to foster a pleasant personality. Most people find the qualities of self-confidence, kindness and sincerity, humor, and the ability to communicate well attractive. A smile is always more beautiful than a frown or a scowl.
General Health Maintenance
The sun ages skin and wearing your sunscreen and a hat if you are going to be out in the sun helps protect against the damaging rays. Drinking a half to a full ounce of water for every pound of body weight will help keep you hydrated. If you do not drink enough water, your body cannot run properly. Your kidneys cannot clear toxins well, your blood may become sluggish, and your cells shrink from lack of water. This can lead to dry crepey looking skin as well as less than optimal health.
Adequate amounts of sleep are important to your overall health and can help prevent dark under eye circles. Most experts recommend at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Sleep quality is also important. If you are interested in how to hack your sleep, there are great articles available by Dave Asprey on his website and podcast.
Our bodies, including our skin cells need nutrients to function optimally. Eat a wide range of colorful fruits and veggies (more veggies than fruits) and take a high-quality multivitamin to ensure you are getting the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need. Vitamin C, vitamin e, glutathione, collagen and fish oil are especially helpful for supporting healthy skin.
A great trick I learned in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) school is facial massage. You can use a jade roller, a gua sha tool, or your fingers to massage your facial skin in an upward and back motion to stimulate blood and lymph flow thereby bringing more oxygen and nutrients to the skin and helping to flush away toxins.
Make up tricks
Use a concealer to mask dark under eye circles. Apricot is a good color to counteract the blueish tinge that can be caused by blood vessels just under the skin.
Go easy on foundation and use a dewy instead of a matte finish. Avoid dry powder because it can cake in lines and wrinkles and draw attention to them.
I have found that shimmery eyeshadow can collect in fine lines on my eyelids and make them look worse, so I go for a less glittery shadow color. I also avoid powder in this area as well.
Do not over pluck brows and if you have thin brows, invest in a good brow tech or brow pencil. Thin brows often accompany aging and thicker brows look more youthful. Of course, you want well-groomed thicker brows, no dead caterpillars hanging around above your eyes.
Must Have Skin Care Products
Retinoic Acid
If you are over the age of 30, you should be using a good retinoic acid (retinoid) nightly. This amazing product that comes from vitamin A helps your skin cells turn over faster, so the new healthy cells are visible and not buried beneath a layer of old dead cells. A quality retinoid helps decrease lines and wrinkles, fade age spots, and brighten the skin.
There can be side effects with retinoic acid use so it is best to consult your esthetician or skin specialist when first starting so they can help you choose the best product for your skin. My favorite is Skin Better Alpha Ret. This product is highly effective, but due to the antioxidants and other skin protective ingredients the side effects are minimal if any.
TNS Advanced Serum
Our natural levels of growth factors decrease as we age. They play a pivotal role in maintaining healthy youthful skin. They support the repair of damaged skin, help decrease the appearance of wrinkles, and improve skin tone and texture. The product I use every day that has the highest levels of human growth factor (93.6%) is TNS Advanced Serum by Skin Medica. This product is incredible, and you will see a difference in your skin within 4 to 8 weeks of regular use.
HA5
As we age, our skin tends to hold less moisture and this causes those tiny thin lines, especially around the eyes, that are so hard to hide and that seem to broadcast our age. I use a couple great eye creams in this area that really help, but I love HA5 for overall use to the face, neck, chest, and eyelids. I even use it on my lips to help plump them and keep them from looking all shriveled. HA5 contains 5 different forms of hyaluronic acid to help your skin retain moisture keeping your skin resilient, supple, and healthy.
Technology
Microcurrent, Red LED lights, and radio frequency microneedling are 3 devices that have done a lot to turn back the hands of time. Red LED and radio frequency microneedling help promote collagen production in skin and microcurrent works to tone and tighten muscles which can help lift the face.
Summary
If you want to look younger or more attractive, start with a smile and then try out the tips above such as getting enough sleep, drinking water, wearing your sunscreen, and taking quality supplements. Don’t over do it on the makeup, nix the powder, use a good concealer on dark under eye circles, and take advantage of Alpha Ret, TNS Advanced, and HA5. If you need more help, consider a series of radio frequency microneedling treatments such as the Morpheus 8 to treat lines and wrinkles and tighten skin while stimulating collagen production.
Are you interested in finding out the difference between retinoids, retinoic acid, and retinols? https://lalongevity.com/retinols-retinoids-retinoic-acid/