This week’s blog reaches out in particular to those of you who are over 40, but it is never too early to understand the top seven beauty tips that every woman over 40 must know. Some of these you probably already know, but others may come as a bit of a surprise. So let’s get straight to it, shall we?
Stay active!
Along with the obvious benefits of maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, staying active can also provide many benefits to your complexion as well. Physical activity increases your heart rate and flow of blood throughout your body (including to your skin) and can boost your immune system to help fend off the damaging effects of toxins, pollutants or sun damage to your skin. From a biological perspective, exercise can boost the activity of cellular organelles called mitochondria, which are effectively the micro-engines in your body’s cells that provide energy for all cellular functions. Like the engines in our cars, they don’t function as well as they age, but exercise can help restore their activity. Exercise is also a great way to reduce stress, which we know can lead to hair loss, an increased susceptibility to breakouts of acne, dermatitis, and psoriasis, and an otherwise dull appearance of your skin. It also releases endorphin hormones, which can help reduce stress, make you feel better, and reduce pain. We also know that sleep is another important component to your beauty regimen and remaining active throughout the day can help you get to sleep more easily and provide your skin with that time to rejuvenate itself. Just don’t work out right before bedtime – that will have the opposite effect and keep you up. Finally, regular exercise can help replace fatty tissue with muscle mass, helping your skin appear firmer and smoother.
Use coconut oil in your beauty routine
If you are a regular reader of our blog, you will already recognize the benefits of coconut oil for your hair, skin and nails, as this was the subject of an entire blog only a few short weeks ago. But to recap, coconut oil has magnificent moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that can greatly benefit your general beauty. However, it may not be for you for application as a facial moisturizer if you are prone to acne, as coconut oil can block pores, leading to breakouts of acne or blackheads. But feel free to use it as a natural first-level cleanser or makeup remover. Just ensure that you cleanse gently afterward with your normal face wash product.
Protect your skin
Every women over 40 must know this. Again, if you are a regular reader of our blogs, the importance of protecting your skin when you are out in the sun will be easily recognizable by the vast number of different blogs where this has been discussed. It all relates back to the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays that can put your skin in a serious state of oxidative stress and lead to damage, burning, premature skin aging, and wrinkling. The importance of putting on sunscreen before you venture out for a day of fun and frolic in the sun cannot be overemphasized.
Eat a healthy, whole foods diet and supplement if necessary
This is another theme that has cropped up regularly in our blogs. Recall that our skin is our largest organ, and it needs essential vitamins and minerals to be maintained just like our other organs. Just like our other organs, it will function best when we avoid fast foods, fried foods, those high in saturated fats, and those pre-packaged foods with a lengthy list of chemicals in the ingredients, usually with an overabundance of salt. By eating a healthy diet consisting of whole foods, it is much easier to keep track of what we are putting in our bodies and provide us with a good idea if we are not getting, for example, enough of the antioxidant power of vitamins C and E, or lysine and methionine to help promote keratin and collagen production to help maintain healthy skin and nails. In which case supplementation could be very helpful.
Always hydrate
Keeping your skin moisturized is a key to maintaining healthy and glowing skin and the first step you can take towards this goal is to drink plenty of water. As mentioned earlier, our skin is our biggest organ and needs water, but so do our other organs and they take priority. So if we don’t drink enough water, there will be far less available to help hydrate our skin. Eight glasses of water per day is a common recommendation, but if you find that difficult, you could always consider adding high-water content foods to your diet, such as lettuce, cucumbers, celery, and watermelon. Furthermore, if you use topical moisturizing products to prevent dehydrated skin, then it is important to keep your skin clean so it will have the best chance of penetration to maximize their effectiveness. You can also help maintain skin hydration by consuming foods that are rich in omega fatty acids (or supplements), which make up the membranes of your skin cells. Finally, another important compound for skin hydration is hyaluronic acid, which has an extremely high affinity for water, so it goes without saying that having healthy levels in your skin will help maintain its hydration level. This is a big reason why it is one of the ingredients in our product.
Make facials a regular part of your routine
The first reason why you would want to do this is they can not only make you feel wonderful and relaxed but can also reduce stress. And just like how a massage can improve blood circulation throughout your body, a facial does the same thing but specifically targets your face, ensuring that the nutrients and oxygen that your cells need to function best are transported efficiently through your blood circulation system. This will promote cell regeneration and collagen production to help your facial skin look its best. Facials are also an excellent way to “deep clean” your skin and rid it of the toxins, pollutants, and general grime that accumulate during the day that can clog your pores and otherwise give your skin a dull appearance or lead to breakouts. A good facial can help remove all those toxins and rejuvenate a radiant appearance.
Maintain a good posture
And our last tip is one that may come as a bit of a surprise. Maintain a good posture. If you maintain good posture, people will observe someone who is strong, graceful, and empowered, and will affect how attractive you appear in their eyes. By holding your head, shoulders, and body in alignment, your body is kept in a state of balance that enables many of its physiological functions to operate at their best, such as digestion. When we don’t maintain good posture, muscles are stretched or contracted to compensate, which over time, can lead to chronic pain. Sitting at a desk all day is one of the biggest culprits of poor posture, so do look at your workplace set up with an ergonomic eye and don’t be afraid to speak up if it is not perfect – you and your body should not have to adapt. Over time, your body will thank you for doing so.
Take away message
This week we have listed our top seven beauty tips that every woman over 40 must know (though you certainly don’t have to be over 40 to benefit from all of these). Some were likely pretty obvious, such as staying active, staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water, eating a healthy whole foods diet with vitamin supplementation and using sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun. Others were perhaps not quite as obvious and could be a new part of your beauty regimen, such as incorporating coconut oil in your daily routine. And who needs an excuse for a facial anyways? Not only are they relaxing and can help reduce stress, but they provide so many benefits to your skin. And finally, we discussed the benefits of good posture, both in terms of how you appear to others and its potential effect on leading to long-term chronic pain. So like your mom used to tell you – stand up straight!
