I often get told that I look much younger than I actually am. I think some of it may be mindset, but I also have a really comprehensive routine that helps keep my skin looking its best. Today I am sharing that routine with you, so you can take years off your face and look and feel your best. My comprehensive routine includes the following:
- Good nutrition.
- Hydration.
- Exercise.
- Avoid tanning and sun exposure.
- Supplements.
- Daily skin care.
Somewhere in my twenties I had a sort of aha moment around taking care of my skin. I became aware that the years aren’t always kind and I figured it would be a good idea to be proactive and start a good routine before I started seeing the signs of age. So, in my early twenties, I developed a good daily skin care routine. However, it was really focused on external approaches. I hadn’t learned about the ways you can improve your skin and prevent signs of aging via internal methods yet. Later, I started to learn more about this somewhat by accident through other things I was doing that I never thought of as being beneficial to my skin.
So, what comprises a comprehensive skin care routine? Well, it is much more than just fancy face wash and anti-aging serums. Matter of fact, I haven’t ever found any of these that did what they claim to do. The truth is you don’t really need expensive face care products to look younger, and you need to do more than treat just your face to really see improvement in your skin.
- Good nutrition.
Believe it or not, youthful looking skin is primarily an inside job. Yes, external skin care is important too, but most of it comes down to how you care for your body internally. A healthy diet comprised mostly of fresh foods, with minimal processed foods is one of the best things you can do for your skin as well as your health. A diet high in vegetables and fruit especially will do amazing things for your skin. - Hydration.
Good hydration is not just good for removing toxins from the body and improving your health overall, it is also great for beautiful skin. Consume water more than any other drink and you will see improvements in your skin. If you want to take it a step further, drink distilled or purified water only. This flushes your system of toxins and even further improves the look and feel of your skin. - Exercise.
I have said it before and I will say it again, exercise truly is the fountain of youth. Not only does it keep your body strong and mobile, it also keeps you looking young. A well-rounded exercise routine will work wonders for your skin. Include strength training, moderate cardio, and stretching to get the most benefit from exercise. Sweating is one of the ways our body regulates our internal temperature when we exercise, but it also helps the body release toxins, which also improves the look and feel of your skin. Exercise also improves the elasticity of our skin, which is one of the things we start to lose as we age. - Avoid tanning and sun exposure.
For years I was so self-conscious of how fair my skin is. I used to have people tell me I looked so pale and that I should get a tan. Rude! Seriously, who does this? Needless to say in my younger years this would make me feel self-conscious and so I’d try to tan. Unfortunately for me I do not tan, I just burn, usually severely with very minimal change in skin tone after it heals.
Eventually I started learning about how bad tanning is for your skin, particularly how rapidly it will age you, especially if you are fair skinned like me. So, I finally decided to heck with what people thought of my fair skin, it wasn’t worth adding years to my skin. I got very diligent about protecting my skin from the sun. If I am going to be out in the sun, I wear a hat and always use SPF 50. I also make sure to use a daily face moisturizer with some sunscreen in it. If you must be tan, I highly recommend alternatives to the tanning booth or sunbathing like tanning lotions or spray tan instead. - Supplements.
Another great way to improve your skin is collagen supplements. I am talking about the ones you drink, not the external ones. Despite how they market the external collagen, it does very little to improve your skin. Collagen is one of the proteins naturally produced by the body. As we age, we produce less of it, which also affects the appearance of our skin, among other things like our hair and nails and joints. To help replace some of the collagen lost as we age, you can use supplements. You need to do some research and make sure you get a good product that includes all the types of collagens and is third-party rated. There are lot of products out there that slap the word “collagen” on the label but won’t do squat for your skin. Don’t go for the cheapest option because you will likely just waste your money. You have to have the right amounts and sources of any given supplement and many products use just enough to put it on the label, but not enough to provide the benefits. - Daily skin care.
Of course, in addition to all the above, you also want to take good care of your skin on the outside. This includes removing your make up every night and washing your face with a good cleansing face wash. I also like to use toner to pick up any residue the face wash doesn’t get. I use daily moisturizer before make-up in the morning and before bed, I use a combination of coconut vitamin E and rose hip oils, followed with my Gua sha routine. If you aren’t familiar with this, I recommend looking it up. You can find some nice Gua sha sets for $20 or less and it really makes a difference in your face. It is essentially a massaging technique on your face using smooth pieces of stone, like quartz. It only takes a few minutes and I do it in the morning and in the evening. Just look it up and you can find lots of free tutorials online.
So, that is my comprehensive skin care routine and the secret to looking ten years younger than you are. I hope you give some of these a try and find them helpful. I would love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments. If you find this helpful and want to continue the pursuit of faith, fitness, and joy with me, please like and subscribe. You can also find Faith Fitness Joy on Facebook and Instagram or check out the Faith Fitness Joy Podcast. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you in the comments and on the socials!