Younger looking skin is the greatest anti-aging gift you can give yourself - keep your skin looking 10 years younger and you  will age well.

There are two types of skin aging: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic aging is the rate of aging that occurs with the passage of time.  It's what many people call "the aging process" and how and when it happens to you is influenced by genetics. 

Extrinsic aging on the other hand is the skin's response to external damage and is controllable to a large degree by you.  The external causes of aging are well-known and include: sunlight, air pollution, inflammation caused by harsh detergents, rough treatment, bad cosmetics and disease.

To understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic aging compare the skin on your face with the skin on an area of your body that is usually covered.  The chief cause of the difference - exposure to sunlight. 

Skin exposed to sunlight is generally more wrinkled and discolored and less taut than skin that has been kept covered.

How the beauty clock is ticking..

Extrinsic damage is made worse by the fact that your body's ability to repair itself declines with age.  We are all subject to the process of aging and our skin will naturally go through certain changes as we age.

So just what is the aging process - what exactly happens to your skin and when?

Increase in dryness - whatever your skin type, from about the age of 30 less oil is produced by the sebaceous glands every year

Production of melanin declines from your late thirties - reducing your skin's natural ability to fight sun damage 

Reduction in the skin's supply of collagen and elastin - bringing a loss of elasticity and firmness.

Declining ability to repair damage from free radicals by your fifties you have a greatly reduced ability to repair damage from free radicals - near perfect when you were a child 

Thinning of the skin's fat layer - from around 40 the dermis and your skin's fat layer begin to thin producing sagging and loss of plumpness in the skin

You're in control of extrinsic skin aging…

You may have read that list and thought you may as well give up now - why bother if the aging process is determined by your DNA?

In fact - time is not your skin's greatest enemy.  Yes - there is a natural aging process going on and you will experience it to a greater or lesser degree depending on your genes.  But that's is not the end of the story. 

The natural aging process can be accelerated or resisted depending on the choices you make. All of the following accelerate the natural aging process and most of them are within your control:

sun exposure

cigarette smoke - inhaled or second hand

environmental toxins

a nutrition-poor diet (a diet lacking in vitamins A,C,E and folic acid yet high in fat and salt)

excess alcohol consumption

stress

harsh soaps or detergent-based moisturizers

sleep deprivation

Study after study shows that people who take these factors into account during their lives look younger and are much healthier than those who choose to ignore them.  But then you probably don't need a study to show you that - you will have seen it all around you in the faces of the people you know.

How extrinsic damage happens..

Exposure to the sun is the number one cause of extrinsic aging.  In fact, the sun has such a profound effect on your skin that it's responsible for 90% of aging skin symptoms!  

UV radiation causes collagen to break down far quicker than it naturally would and also damages your skin's elastin reserves. The result? Premature wrinkles!  UV radiation is also a major cause of free radicals, which not only lead to wrinkles but can also cause DNA changes that can trigger the onset of cancer.

Cigarette smoke depletes the body of vital vitamin C and inhibits the production of collagen, both key ingredients in keeping skin plump and moist.

You may not have realized that exercise not only strengthens your body, but also reinforces your skin? When you subject your body to pressure in a work-out, you also exercise your skin. The increase in blood circulation increases the renewal of cells and makes the capillaries stronger.

Stress is also a factor that can lead to wrinkles. You probably won't be surprised to learn that stress accelerates the aging process. 
We lose our bodies natural balance which causes damage to hormone secretion, cell repair and collagen production. 

You don't have to have premature wrinkles..

Although some changes in your appearance are inevitable as you age, by limiting or avoiding your exposure to external factors that will accelerate your skin's aging process you can slow down the sands of time and stay looking younger for far longer.

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