A Complete Approach to Aging Skincare

There is a complete approach to aging skincare that involves dietary and lifestyle factors, as well as nourish creams that improve the skin's health. When I was rating skincare products, I always gave high marks to those that contained lots of nutrients and few irritants, because regardless of your age, that's what you need. Here's a look at the steps you should take, if you really want to improve your appearance. These steps will improve your overall health, as well.

Dietary Recommendations

There is at least one dermatologist that believes aging skincare should include eating lots of salmon. He came up with a list of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods. While I agree that most people don't get enough omega 3 fatty acids, which are one of the essential nutrients found in salmon, and I know that there are natural anti-inflammatories, I think the good doctor's dietary recommendations would be difficult for most people to follow. I figure that if a recommendation is too hard, most people won't do it.

So, I just recommend a few simple changes. They are:

<ul><li>Take an omega 3 fish oil supplement every day.</li>
<li>Take a good nutritional supplement every day.</li>
<li>Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and buy organic if you can.</li>
<li>Drink lots of purified water, a minimum of 64 ounces per day.</li></ul>

The reason that high rating skincare products contain nutrients is because of how difficult it is for the outer layer of skin to get its nourishment. Since it has no blood vessels, you have to rely on "diffusion" to nourish it and, honestly, diffusion is pretty inefficient. Using nourishing high rating skincare products is a more efficient process.

Lifestyle Factors

There are some "no-no's" in aging skincare. Don't stay out too late. Don't drink too much alcohol. Avoid cigarette smoke and other pollutants. Limit your time in the sun to 15 minutes, max, and when you have to be out for longer periods of time, use a "sun block", not a sunscreen.

When I was rating skincare products designed for daily use, I never gave a high approval rating to those that sun screening compounds, even though that's popular for aging skincare. First, if they are effective, they can lead to vitamin D deficiency, but most of them aren't effective anyway. People that rely on them too heavily, run the risk of developing skin cancer. Some of the compounds, including oxybenzone and benzophenone, are probable human carcinogens, which again increases your risk of cancer.

Nourishing Creams

In my book, the highest rating skincare products are those that are free of artificial preservatives, added fragrances, allergens, irritants and toxins. The ingredients that are beneficial to the skin's health include:

<ul><li>Functional keratin, a protein peptide complex</li>
<li>Coenzyme Q10, vitamin E and other antioxidants</li>
<li>Grape seed oil, rich in vitamin E and an effective moisturizer</li></ul>

This is not a complete list. The best aging skincare creams contain lots more, but that should get you started in the right direction.

Author: Laurel Levine
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