The Best Anti-Aging Skincare Ingredients
We can't reverse time, but we can take steps to slow down aging. Spending a little extra TLC on your skin and investing in a few core skincare products can seriously help you have beautiful and healthy skin for many years.
Aging is a completely normal and inevitable process, but there are specific actions that you can take to slow down the aging process! One of the things I have loved learning about throughout my esthetician career has been how aging works and how to promote and preserve youth within the skin. I want to share with you the 5 actions you can take to have the best age-fighting skincare routine possible.
1. Sun Protection
The first rule to anti-aging is of course sun protection. Estheticians, including me, cannot tell you enough, how crucial protecting your skin from the sun's rays is in defying the aging process. I know I have said it time and time again, but
the sun is responsible for more than 80% of our skin’s aging.
Imagine only aging 20% from the time you are born. We would all look 30 for the rest of our lives if we could manage to avoid the sun for all that time. Of course, this is not practical and there is also no way to live. What we can do though is take our sun protection seriously and apply an effective Mineral SPF daily and hourly when we are outside all day and hide under a hat or umbrella whenever possible!
2. Antioxidants
Another effective way to protect your skin from the sun is to invest in a Vitamin C serum and apply it consistently. As we have discussed in past blogs, Vitamin C is amazing to help prevent and treat sun damage.
The reason Vitamin C helps in protecting your skin from the sun is that it is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are a must in an anti-aging skincare routine. They protect your skin from free radical damage that can be caused by the sun, environmental pollutants, cigarette smoke, toxic chemicals, and more.
Other amazing ingredients that have antioxidant properties and will help to protect your skin from signs of aging include….
Resveratrol
Glutathione
3. Exfoliation
Although aging is inevitable there is a way to tell the skin to repair itself and to continue producing the necessary structures within our skin that maintain youth, like collagen and elastin. This process is exfoliation otherwise known as a form of controlled trauma or injury to the skin. When we use chemical agents such as AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids) we are minimally damaging our skin which tells our skin to heal itself by ridding the dead skin and revealing younger-looking skin. My favorite AHAs for aging skin are Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid. They are both great for treating and reducing both pigmentation and fine lines and wrinkles.
Another ingredient that you can use to signal the skin to heal itself is Vitamin A or Retinol. Retinol should be used nightly as it causes photosensitivity as do AHAs. If you choose to exfoliate you must also choose to be diligent with your sun care or you will actually age your skin quicker!
4. Hydration
Keeping your skin hydrated and moisturized is another way to reduce the look of aging. When our skin is lacking oil or water it can appear, dull, crepey, and even wrinkly. Moisturizers containing ingredients like Jojoba Oil, Evening Primrose Oil help the appearance and the feel of dry skin. You can take it a step further by using a Hyaluronic Acid, it is amazing for allowing the skin to actually hold on to the moisture that helps maintain your skin's plump and youthful appearance. Ceramides are also nourishing to the skin's protective barrier keeping it intact and able to retain moisture as well.
5. Repair
Like we discussed in the exfoliation section, our skin is signaled to repair itself when injured and this starts the anti-aging process. Another way to help the skin repair itself and reduce signs of aging is by using peptides in your routine. Peptides are chains of amino acids. Our skin's fibers, such as collagen and elastin, are made up of proteins/amino acids. They of course provide the structure to our skin and keep it plump. As we age we lose the amount of collagen and elastin in our skin at a pretty rapid and terrifying rate. By adding peptides to your skincare you are providing bonus tools that your skin can use to signal the repair process and preserve your youth.
Although all of the ingredients I have listed are beneficial in an anti-aging skincare routine, it is not necessary to go out and buy a ton of products with every single ingredient I mentioned here. My simple suggestion would be to include at least one ingredient from each category, this ensures you are supporting your skin's youth from every possible angle. Team up with one of our Pomp Estheticians that can help you design your ideal anti-aging regimen!
