Every part of our bodies age, but one area where aging is particularly visible is the skin. During your senior years, your skin becomes drier, thinner, and less elastic, which leads to wrinkles, roughness, and age spots. In addition to natural aging, things like medications, health conditions, and lifestyle choices change the appearance and texture of skin. By improving your habits and adopting a skincare routine, you’ll keep your skin healthy and reduce the signs of aging.
1. Avoid Intense Sunlight
It’s useful to spend some time in the sun everyday to meet your vitamin D requirements. However, too much sunlight reduces the elasticity of skin and leads to premature aging. During the summer, it’s best to avoid being outdoors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is at its most intense — this includes when the sky is overcast.
2. Use Clothing to Cover Your Skin
If you do need to be out in the sun, cover your skin in protective clothing. Long-sleeve shirts paired with pants or a long skirt will minimize the amount of skin you have exposed — choose lightweight, loose material to avoid overheating. It’s also worth wearing a wide-brim hat to shield your face from the sun. Finally, don a pair of sunglasses to ensure you don’t hurt your eyes in the bright light, which could contribute to crow’s feet.
3. Always Apply Sunscreen
If you’re heading outdoors for any amount of time while the sun is out, apply sunscreen. Make sure it has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 — higher if you know you burn easily. Choose a broad spectrum product to protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays, as both contribute to aging (UVA rays more so, but UVB rays cause most skin cancers).
Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours to stay protected. If you’re swimming, you’ll need to reapply sunscreen more often. In fact, you need to be extra careful when you’re in or around water like a lake, a pool, or the ocean. The sun’s rays are able to pass through water to reach your skin. Plus, they reflect off the surface of water to become more intense.
4. Wash Your Skin the Right Way
The way you wash has a big impact on your skin. Washing correctly will prevent your skin from becoming dry and itchy.
One important thing to do is avoid washing too often. As you become older, your skin produces less natural oils. Washing more than once a day will strip your skin of these oils. Other ways to maintain a healthy level of natural oils is to limit the amount of time you spend in the shower to no more than five to 10 minutes and to use warm rather than hot water.
You should be gentle with your skin. Choose a soap, cleanser, or body wash that is free from fragrance, alcohol, and exfoliants. It’s even better if the product contains moisturizing ingredients, such as glycerin, lanolin, or hyaluronic acid. Apply the product using a soft cloth — never anything abrasive like a buff-puff or bath brush. After bathing, pat your skin dry rather than rubbing it with a towel.
5. Use Moisturizer
Apply moisturizer to your skin every day. An ideal time is after bathing — before your skin has completely dried, to lock in the moisture and keep your skin hydrated. You may also find you need to reapply moisturizer throughout the day. If your skin is especially dry, you may see better results with an ointment than with a cream. Ask your dermatologist for recommendations.
6. Shave After Bathing
Right after bathing is also the best time to shave, as it takes advantage of your moist skin. Protect your skin with a shaving cream, gel, or lotion, by using a sharp razor that you rinse off after every stroke, and by shaving in the same direction as the hair grows.
7. Steer Clear of Tanning Products
You may think that tanning products could help improve the appearance of your skin. In fact, they are more likely to cause long-term damage that leads to further signs of aging. Avoid tanning beds, sunlamps, and tanning pills.
8. Quit Smoking
If you need another excuse to quit smoking, think of your skin. Smoking affects its appearance in a few ways. One is that it narrows the blood vessels near the surface of the skin, which reduces blood supply and results in a dull look. Narrow blood vessels also mean a decreased amount of oxygen and nutrients reaches skin cells, resulting in slower wound healing and deeper wrinkles.
Furthermore, smoking damages collagen and elastin. These fibers naturally decrease with aging, but the effects are more pronounced in smokers. A lack of these fibers in the skin results in sagging.
Lastly, the repetitive movement of smoking causes the muscles around your lips to develop a permanent pucker. You may also have more wrinkles around your eyes due to squinting from the smoke.
9. Improve Your Diet
Your skin reflects what you eat. Think of your skin (and overall health) when choosing what to eat — rather than giving in to your cravings. Ensure your diet is rich in vitamins and minerals by eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid highly-processed foods and refined carbohydrates to reduce inflammation and irritation.
10. Stay Hydrated
The only way for your skin to stay hydrated is if you provide it with plenty of water throughout the day. Drink pure water whenever possible, limiting your intake of beverages with added sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.
11. Invest in a Humidifier
Another way to keep your skin hydrated is to ensure the air around you is humid enough. At home, keep indoor humidity between 45% and 60%.
12. Manage Your Stress Levels
Stress has an impact on all aspects of your health, including your skin. On the flip side, you’ll naturally look younger if you’re relaxed and happy. Although it’s often difficult to avoid stress entirely, there are things you can do to prevent stress from becoming overwhelming. For instance, you should try to sleep enough, exercise every day, make time for the activities you enjoy the most, and practice meditation or mindfulness.
13. Protect Your Hands
The skin on your hands may dry out or become damaged by daily activities such as cleaning and gardening due to exposure to irritants. Protect your skin by wearing gloves when you’re doing chores or working in the garden.
14. Monitor for Signs of Health Issues
Skincare is about more than just how your skin looks and feels — it’s also important to ensure your skin is healthy. Check your skin regularly for indications of health conditions that may require medical attention. In particular, look out for moles that are painful, change size, bleed, or become scaly.
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