People tell me very frequently that I can pass as a teenager or in my early 20s. However, I’m closer to 30 than to 20. There’s a few secrets that I’ve been wanting to share regarding my skin looking young and with minimal wrinkles. Having genes that will help you accomplish this is great, but obviously that’s not the whole equation, there’s other factors that also help and actually end up making the biggest difference.
1. Wear a facial sunscreen every day – SPF 15 or higher
Sun is one of the main suspects when it comes to developing wrinkles on your face. It’s best to avoid the harmful UV rays that the sun exposes our skin to. Of course you can’t hide from the sun, not even when it’s cloudy. The #1 secret to a young skin, and which I discovered by mistake, is wearing facial sunscreen every day, even when it’s cloudy. When I was a teenager, I had sun spots that made my face skin color very uneven. My dad then got me some facial sunscreen and told me I needed to wear it every single day. Within weeks my face looked so much different; the color was a lot more uniform, lighter and had a fresh look to it. It wasn’t until years later that I noticed that facial sunscreen is not just great for keeping uniform skin color but also to keep it smooth-looking and fresh.
2. Drink water even when you’re NOT thirsty
Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink water. When you become thirsty, you’re actually already dehydrated. Drink at least 2 liters of water per day (equivalent to 4 0.5L water bottles), or more if you exercise or do strenuous activities.
3. Avoid certain foods
Avoid processed sugar, fried foods, cured meats such as hotdogs, hams and bacon. Also avoid drinking alcohol as much as possible. The best diet for healthy skin involves consuming different types of lettuce and greens, fruits, legumes, salmon and oatmeal.
4. Eat your greens!
As mentioned above, food plays an important role: eat leafy greens at least once a day: I am a huge failure at this, but I try my best. Try making leafy greens salads fun! Don’t eat boring iceberg lettuce, get the Spring Mix! It’s the best tasting combination and once you add a citrusy vinaigrette and some cheese here, some nuts over there, you’re good to go!
5. Avoid staying up
Staying up will be your worst enemy, not just for wrinkles but for everything you can think of. If you have trouble sleeping, consider taking a Melatonin supplement, there are really fun ones such as sweet gummies that are impossible to skip! Make sure they don’t have gelatin ingredient though. A good time to go to sleep is between 8pm the earliest and 10pm the latest. Anything past 10pm you’re pushing your body to work harder and become unable to complete its nightly processes in an optimal way.
6. Avoid the bad kind of stress
Yes, we can’t simply kick stress out of lives completely, we all have jobs, school, personal projects and businesses to run, however, take some time to learn to recognize the toxic type of stress, the kind that your body is telling you that is taking years away from your life. Whether it’s a particular job that you need to quit, or a partner that doesn’t appreciate you enough, there are endless solutions to everything and anything. Don’t despair.
7. Remove dairy from your diet
Avoid dairy as much as possible if you want clear skin with no random pimples popping every other week: dairy in general is loaded with hormones and extra saturated fats that end up somehow on our face. There’s lots of cheese and milk plant-based options out there than taste great and can be a good replacement for regular dairy.
Health and beauty come from within, make sure you are giving your body the nutrients and care it needs in order for your biggest organ (your skin) to shine ♥
I took these pictures with zero makeup and did not apply any filter to them. I still need to fix some habits but I have already noticed a huge difference doing these simples steps.
