How many women do you know who look years older than their actual age? Whether because they spent too much time in the sun, or smoked heavily for half of their life, or any other reason, their skin is dry and wrinkled long before it should be.

Is it possible to have young looking skin when you are in your 50s? How can you protect your skin now so it looks young and smooth long after others are experiencing wrinkles? There are some things you can do to improve your chances of preventing pre-mature wrinkles.

1.) Drink plenty of water. Doctors recommend everyone drinks at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. It really does help your skin stay young.

2.) Do not stay out in the sun for hours. If you must be out in the sun, be sure to wear make-up that includes sun protection or put on a sun screen. There are make-up brands available that are very good at protecting your face from the sun's harmful rays.

If you use a sun screen, the SPF numbers stand for the length of time it will protect your skin. For instance, a sunscreen that is SPF 15 means that if you normally burn after 20 minutes, the sunscreen will protect you for 15 times longer than the 20 minutes, or about 5 hours. So you want to choose the SPF number that will protect you for the time you are out in the sun, and then re-apply it if you get wet or if you sweat.

3.) Do not smoke. It isn't good for your lungs and it isn't good for your skin. In fact, people who smoke are more likely to get several different cancers than people who don't smoke, including lung

4.) Use moisturizers and emollients to keep your skin moist. When applying a moisturizer it is best to apply it while your skin is damp.

5.) Be gentle with your skin. Use lukewarm water to wash your face, and do not rub hard. Also be gentle when applying make-up.

6.) Reduce the stress in your life and learn how to relax. Stress ages your skin and causes wrinkles at a younger age. Learn to relax no matter how stressful your surroundings.

Combined these beauty tips will go a long way towards keeping your skin young and attractive, and will help fight the onset of wrinkles.


General Guidelines for Skin Care

Whatever our nationality or race, our skin care habits have some similarities of objective, even if the degrees of sophistication of the products we use are very different.

In theory 'normal' skin does not need any modification, since it is already well balanced with respect to its physiological and mechanical integrity. Nevertheless, this balance can be unstable to some extent, and therefore two essential approaches to the care of normal skin must be considered:

a.   Maintenance of this balance
b.   Protection from external injury

The first aim is a passive one: it is more particularly concerned with avoiding products that are not active treatments as such, but may be harmful to the skin - harsh soaps, for example. The second plays a more active role, involving the use of photoprotective products and hydrating agents.

Skin care, from the skin scientist's standpoint, means preserving the integrity of the stratum corneum while removing sebum and soiling and maintaining adequate moisturisation.

For most women throughout many centuries, this was achieved by very harsh and primitive means. Even until relatively recently, the only skin and hair care product used by most people was a bar of harsh soap.

Fortunately today's cosmetic industry is providing increasingly mild and sophisticated products at affordable prices which not only scientifically care for the skin, but also help to reduce the visible effects of aging.

For most of us, skin care focuses on hands and face. Increasingly, however, industry is looking at the care of the body both in general and in specific areas, such as the delicate skin around the eyes, and good-quality products for these are now on the market.


Facial care

In this section we outline some suggestions for facial care regimens for skin of different ages.

Young (teenage) skin

Typical skin type - oily /combination:

• remove make-up
• cleanse, using mild or light cleanser
• tone
• moisturise (using a light product, because of the presence of sebum) containing sunscreen ingredients that will block UVA/UVB.

Adult skin

Example skin type - normal to dry:

• remove make-up
• cleanse twice daily with a mild cleanser
• tone
• by day, use a medium moisturizer, with sunscreen ingredients (UVA/UVB)
• by night, use a heavier night cream without sunscreens
• moisturise hands regularly.

Elderly skin

Usual skin type - dry:

• cleanse with cream cleanser
• use heavy-duty moisturizer daily with sunscreen
• always use a night cream.