Just about every woman over 40 on the planet has spent her fair share of money on creams, lotions and potions to combat the effects of an aging face. Dr. Tess Mauricio, "America's Favorite Dermatologist," offers her expert advice on anti-aging care. Not so much wrinkle remover tips, these are more like wrinkle avoidance!
Dr. Mauricio says, "Doing the wrong thing can certainly speed up your skin's aging process and you might be surprised at what some of those no-no's are."
She offers five ways to ensure you continue to put your best face forward:
1. Avoid drinking through straws.
I'm sure many of you drink dark sodas, tea and coffee through a straw to prevent staining your pearly whites or to avoid putting your mouth on a can or bottle, right? Do Not Sip From a Straw! It's causing fine lines around your mouth, a sign of premature aging to your facial skin area. Over the long-term, pursing your lips to sip out of a straw causes extra wrinkles around the mouth.
2. Train yourself to sleep on your back.
Resting your face on the pillow in the same way every night for years on end leads to wrinkles. Called sleep lines, these wrinkles eventually become etched on the surface of the skin and no longer disappear when the head is not resting on the pillow.
Women, who tend to sleep on their sides, are most likely to see these lines appear on their chin and cheeks. Men tend to notice these lines on the forehead since they usually sleep with the face pressed face down on the pillow. People who sleep on their backs do not develop an aging face since their skin does not lie crumpled against the pillow.
3. Pull down the shade in an airplane.
You're much closer to the sun in a plane than on land, so it stands to reason that solar rays, which can penetrate windows, are more intense at higher altitudes. This may explain why pilots and flight attendants have been found to be at an increased risk for melanoma and other skin cancers. Plus, the air up there is notoriously dry and without moisture, skin, like any living tissue, simply shrivels.
Drink as much water as you can in flight; avoid alcohol and salty foods, which are dehydrating. Apply a rich moisturizer with SPF 15 or higher 30 minutes before boarding, as sunscreen needs time to be absorbed before it's effective. And if you're sitting next to a window, pull down the shade.
4. Beware beauty creams with toxic ingredients.
Yes, exposure to some beauty cream chemicals do more harm than good. You may be surprised to hear this, but many ingredients in beauty creams actually speed up the aging process.
Avoid buying beauty creams that contain parabens, mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, dimethicone, and other toxic ingredients. When buying a beauty cream, read the label carefully and talk to your dermatologist before experimenting with a new facial product.
5. Maintain a healthy weight.
Packing on pounds can make your skin look plumper on the surface, but carrying excess weight can cause your body's levels of insulin (a hormone made by the pancreas that controls the amount of sugar in your blood) and cortisol to rise, which can break down collagen. You'll see increased sagging from putting and keeping on as little as 10 to 15 extra pounds.
In addition, repeatedly gaining and losing weight can take its toll on the skin's elasticity, leaving behind stretch marks and jowls. Yo-yo dieting also causes premature aging. The repeated weight gain and loss stretches your skin and makes it loose and saggy. Maintain a healthy weight with proper diet and exercise. Aim to keep your weight in the normal range, with a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9.
Dr. Mauricio is the founder and owner/operator of multiple cosmetic dermatology centers throughout the Southern California region. Named La Jolla's Best Dermatologist by the La Jolla Reader in 2011 and previously serving as president of the San Diego Society of Dermatologic Surgery, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California San Diego, and Stanford University School of Medicine. She is currently a Fellow of the American Board of Dermatology and Diplomate of the American Academy of Dermatology.
