How To Maintain Youthful Skin, No Matter Your Age
As we age, it’s natural to experience thinner, drier skin. You may notice a loss of elasticity or volume, a few fine lines here and there, or discoloration where you didn't use to have it. These changes can be stressful as you still feel younger than your biological age.
Skin aging results from a complex interplay between several simultaneously occurring intrinsic and extrinsic factors throughout our lifespan. Knowing these factors is essential since the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors dictates the skin's health.
Intrinsic factors include the passage of time and genetics. As we age, it's inevitable that the decline in the natural production of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin, causes the skin to lose its firmness, suppleness, and hydration. However, we can take care of other intrinsic factors, such as underlying health issues (metabolic syndrome, disease, inflammation, etc.) and hormone imbalance, with preventive care to slow the aging process.
Extrinsic factors include exposure to sunshine, pollution, smoking, stress, poor nutrition, alcohol, an imbalanced diet, irregular eating, and dehydration. These factors cause the skin to get thinner, flabbier, drier, brittle, pigmented, and vulnerable. Fine lines, crow's feet, and wrinkles appear, and the young, firm, radiant skin gives way to 'more mature' skin.
The most effective way to improve youthful skin is to make changes from the inside out. Healthy skin is a mirror of a healthy body. Positive lifestyle habits include a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, stress management, a daily skincare routine, good sleep, and good health.
At the Tao of Wellness, we emphasize keeping facial skin cool in temperature. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said that heat from inflammation in the body rises to the face as fire rises in nature. When facial skin temperature increases, skin gets dry, and pores expand, stimulating sweat and oil secretions, causing an imbalance in PH. This creates sagging skin and wrinkles. Some tips we advise include:
Avoid direct sunlight, which can cause sun spots, skin cancer, acne, wrinkles, and dry skin.
Avoid consuming excessive stimulants which are “hot” in nature, such as caffeine, spicy, oily, and sugary foods, dehydration, stress, constipation, sleep deprivation, chronic inflammation, smoking, and long-term use of electronic devices with blue light.
Wash your body and face with warm, not hot water, and finish with cool water at the end of your shower.
Rolling with a jade roller can help reduce the skin's temperature, promoting blood circulation, making your skin brighter and more elastic. To use a jade roller, with or without moisturizer, move upward and outward from the center of your face, rolling across your cheeks and forehead before makeup or after cleansing.
With your daily skincare routine, we advise adding the tips below for more youthful facial skin at home.
Avoid Repetitive Facial Expressions Except for Smiling
When making a facial expression, the underlying muscles of facial skin contract. Repeatedly contracting the same muscles causes deeper facial lines. Squinting causes lines around the eye, nose, and forehead. Wear eyeglasses or sunglasses.
Enjoy gentle, bi-weekly Exfoliation
Exfoliation removes dead skin cells allowing us to achieve an even skin tone. Without exfoliation, dead skin cells build up and lead to dryness, creating blemishes. However, too frequent or rough exfoliation can damage your skin’s barrier, causing irritation and dehydration. Add a little grain powder, green tea leaves, or brown sugar to Renewing Facial Cleanser for gentle exfoliation. It contains green tea and potent antioxidants to fight free radicals and reduce inflammation, chamomile as a powerful and natural anti-bacterial agent to neutralize skin irritants, and coconut and alba bark which work together to nourish and moisturize the skin while cleansing. Exfoliate twice a week for smoother, younger-looking skin.
Take an Herbal Bath
Soaking yourself in warm water will relax pores and let your skin “breathe,” absorbing the medicinal effects of Chinese herbs. Try Wellness Living’s Detox Bath, which simulates a natural spring experience with sulfur, which is antimicrobial, and other cleaning and nourishing herbs. Skin-enhancing ingredients also include dried lotus leaves, Poria, wolfberries, aloe leaves, and chrysanthemums. Hop into a warm bath, and soak for 20~30 minutes once to twice weekly. This warm herbal bath relaxes your skin and mind for better sleep.
Enjoy your Beauty sleep on your Back
Good sleep is essential for skin care. Lack of sleep can lead to dull skin and dark circles under your eyes. Take advantage of the golden time for beauty sleep (10 pm - 2 am), when your body releases growth hormones for rejuvenation. We also advise sleeping on your back as sleeping on your side causes your face to rub against your pillow and, over time, creates wrinkles.
Apply Vitamin C Serum and E oil at Night
Vitamin C and E are potent antioxidants that can help brighten the skin, reduce the appearance of age spots, and support the skin's healing from sun damage. Apply Vitamin C Skin Elixir on the face and neck. Besides vitamin C, our Elixir also contains aloe, horsetail plant, witch hazel, and other herbs created to help brighten the skin, reduce the appearance of age spots, and support the skin's overall health while preventing dryness. Afterward, apply Regenerating Night Cream or Radiant Day Cream containing pearl extract, nourishing herbs, and vitamin E oil. You can also use pure vitamin E oil from Jojoba, avocado, rosehip, etc., after allowing the skin to absorb Vitamin C.
Manage Stress with your Favorite Activities
Stress can trigger many skin problems, disturbing hormones and resulting in acne and wrinkles. We advise Calm Meditation and Self Healing Qi-Gong to reduce the stress hormone cortisol and restore the balance of neurochemicals like serotonin and dopamine.
Enjoy a Well-balanced Diet
Youthful-looking skin begins on the inside. No matter how much you care for your skin from the outside, if the things you consume are not good, they will reflect through your skin. Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Protein is also essential because collagen and elastin help maintain the skin's integrity and keep it firm, plump, and vibrant. We suggest taking a Collagen Boost MAX for optimum benefits.
Healthy fats like omega three fatty acids and vitamins (A, C, D, E, and biotin, as a part of the Vitamin B family) are well known for supporting healthy skin and hair. Dark green vegetables, whole grains, egg yolk, nuts, Black soybeans, Black Sesame seeds, pine nuts, walnuts, lotus root, yam, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, mushrooms, olive oil, honey, Royal Jelly, bee pollen, and cherries, also help provide the body with these nutrients.
Enjoy Chinese Herbs as Crucial Ingredients for a Great Complexion
Wolfberries, or goji berries support hormones and promote blood circulation and energy. These berries provide antioxidants that promote skin health and reduce the signs of aging. Wolfberries are light, sweet, and excellent in soups, porridge, meat, and vegetable dishes. You can also add some dried or fresh berries to a cup of tea.
Mung beans detoxify the body, clearing heat and replenishing energy. The easiest way to consume these beans is to put them into a soup by simmering them for 20 minutes. The soup will be ready when the beans split open. A refreshing bowl of refrigerated mung bean soup is excellent during the summer.
Red dates, or jujube, are known for their calming and anti-aging benefits, strengthening your energy and reducing stress. Enjoy two or three dried or fresh red dates as a snack.
Tao of Wellness Facial Treatments
Nothing signals good health like clear, dewy skin. No matter your age, with these self-skin care tips, I hope you enjoy youthful facial skin with a joyful life! At the Tao of Wellness, we offer the treatments below to help support skin health.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture treatments help balance hormones, improve energy circulation, lymphatic and blood flow, collagen and elastin production, and deliver nutrient-rich oxygen to your skin cells. Acupuncture is non-invasive, non-toxic, and safe, with tiny needles superficially inserted at particular points on the body and the face. Acupuncture results look natural, making it an effective alternative to plastic surgery, botulinum toxin, and fillers. Skin rejuvenation acupuncture is unique in its ability to simultaneously enhance beauty and restore health with a glowing and rejuvenated face, body, mind, and spirit.
Microcurrent
Microcurrents emit a low-voltage electrical (hence ‘microcurrent) current, which mirrors your body’s electrical currents on a cellular level, repairing damaged skin and stimulating collagen and elastin production. This treatment, known as “facial toning,” is similar to a workout for your face. Facial toning breaks down skin cells allowing for more robust growth.
Chinese Herbal Mask and Acupressure
A mask made with specially designed rejuvenating Chinese herbs is applied to the face, neck, and hands for 15 minutes. This mask cleanses and infuses moisture into skin cells to reduce fine lines, brightening discoloration spots and overall skin tone. We finish with a facial acupressure massage. The acupressure massage gently relaxes tense facial muscles and stimulates blood circulation to the face and neck.
Detox Tuina
This lymphatic drainage massage consists of dry brushing and cupping to gently move the lymph, exfoliate dead skin cells, release tension from multiple tissue layers, and open circulation in energetic pathways of the entire body.
We invite you to make an appointment with the doctors at Tao of Wellness to help you naturally achieve a smooth, glowing complexion.