Best Way to Protect Your Face

Here are some ways to knock years off your looks

• Protect your skin from the sun: the sun is the number-one villain in ageing skin – exposure to it degenerates the skin’s collagen and elastin fibres. A sunblock is your best defence.
• Stop smoking: smoking is the second most important cause of ageing. Because nicotine depletes the body’s supply of vitamin C and deprives the cells of oxygen, the skin loses its elasticity and becomes thinner.

• Fight stress: stress accelerates ageing by slowing down the cell-renewal process.
• Moderate your intake of tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar and junk food: consuming excessive amounts will negatively affect the body’s intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
• Drink two litres of water a day: if your body is thirsty it will rob the skin’s cells of moisture, leaving the skin vulnerable to dehydration.
• Age-proof your face: invest in a good face cream that nourishes and protects your skin from the ravages of the environment.
• Drink freshly-prepared vegetable juice: it is packed with nutrients and is one of the best methods for improving your skin’s health.
• Fight line-forming free radicals: pollution, drugs, smoking, radiation and sunlight exacerbate these cell-destroying molecules. To mop up excess numbers of free radicals, increase your intake of antioxidants.
• Lubricate your skin from within: do not cut fat out of your diet completely or you will find that your skin ages more rapidly. Introduce essential fatty acids (EFAs) into your diet by dressing salads with EFA rich oils.
• Exercise: it increases the rate of cell production, oxygenates cells, tones the muscles and keeps skin looking younger.
• Massage your face with cleanser: to improve your skin tone, eliminate the build-up of toxins, relax tense muscles, boost blood circulation and promote cell renewal.
• Exfoliate your skin: as we get older the skin renewal process slows down, so we need to slough off dead cells in order to encourage cell production and improve the skin’s texture.
• Breathe deeply: this is essential for oxygenating cells. Also, get plenty of fresh air.
• Step up your nutritional intake: strengthen your skin’s defences by eating a healthy, balanced diet, including plenty of raw, fresh fruit and vegetables. You could also include anti-ageing supplements in your diet. Some of the supplements available include antioxidants: vitamin A, C and E, grape-seed and pine bark extracts; GLA supplements: evening-primrose or borage oil; as well as cod liver oil, wheatgrass, selenium, spectrumzyme and full-spectrum amino acids.
• Keep your environment healthy: in stuffy, centrally-heated and air-conditioned offices a humidifier – or even just a bowl of water – will help prevent your skin from becoming dehydrated. Keep your home well ventilated.

• Prevent sleep lines by sleeping on your back: if you can’t sleep in this position, apply a dab of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to areas that are vulnerable, such as your neck and decolletage.
• Control your facial expressions: try to refrain from frowning or squinting habitually.
• Smile: you’ll look years younger. (Marlene Dietrich was once overheard telling a young, up-and-coming actress: ‘When you are young, never smile – it causes wrinkles. But when you are old, smile all the time – it hides them.’)