Feel Good in Your Own Skin…at any age

Even wonder how to (literally) feel good in your own skin?

This is a topic I’ve been following closely! Our skin changes as we age due to previous sun-exposure, hormones, changes in the connective tissue that reduces the skins elasticity & strength…. thinning of our skin, loss of oil glands in our skin, etc. This can make it harder to keep moisture in our skin, resulting in dryness & itchiness and the loss of that soft subtle skin that we once knew.

So what can we do to keep our skin soft and supple?

Here are a few strategies:

Nourish from the inside out: Add collagen and gelatin to meals to help add back in in the amino acids that are essential to the body to maintain or repair healthy skin.

>>Foods that contain collagen: bone broth, eggs, fish, grass fed beef, chicken with the skin on

>>Foods that help naturally produce collagen: broccoli, cilantro, aloe vera, chlorella, spirulina, etc.

>>Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!

>>Eliminate processed foods & avoid individual food sensitivities.

>>Take Vitamin A to help protect against sun damage.

>>Take CoQ10 for more sun protection.

>>“Eat the rainbow” to get those antioxidants (they fight the free radicals that are damaging to the skin.)

More Lifetyle Tactics:

Dry Brush: Eliminate dead skin & toxins with this centuries-old ritual that improves circulation, helps skin absorb moisturizer & GLOW!

Ingredients to look for in your clean skincare products: Vit C, Vit E, Vit E, Hyaluronic acid, Trentinoin (concentrated Vit A which increases production of collagen), Ferulic acid (it is protective and stabilizes Vit C & E).

Sleep!! This is one of the MOST powerful ways to restore ourselves and to glow. ✨

Get a massage! Lymphatic drainage, increased circulation and slathered on moisturizers are just a few benefits. But let’s also pay tribute to the stress reduction that massage can provide too. (See “Manage stress” bulletpoint below.)

Avoid HOT baths and showers (Darnit!) …. Instead, maybe add some nice essential oils to your warm bath.

Moisturize when just out of the shower or bath and skin is not wet, but damp, to lock in moisture and create a barrier.

Avoid over-exposure to sun & wear sun protection. I love non-toxic sunscreens and great shades! (Shown: Shades by Tom Ford)

Exercise to increase oxygen levels, circulation & muscle tone!

Don’t smoke.

Minimize things that dehydrates & depletes the skin of nutrients (alcohol, overdoing caffeine, etc.)

Manage stress! Stress ages us! Higher cortisol/ raised blood sugar/ & glycination damages collagen. It can cause cortisol surges, and inflammation, and when it becomes chronic it can lead to the break down of tissue (yep, including our skin tissue) and can also negatively impact our immune system. (Sick is not usually our best look.)

Wear hats! So chic, and so great to keep us from the sun squints and the hyperpigmentation.

Please share any strategies you have to keep your skin soft and supple!

Mindset shifts… those are some other great ways to feel great in our own skin! See earlier posts that cover that territory.