Top skin aging causes

We all look for solutions to aging. We have a skin care routine which involves using facial cleanser to clean our faces and then apply moisturizers to keep the skin hydrated. When we move out in the sun we protect our skin from sun damage by using sunscreen lotion. But even then if we get wrinkles we use anti-aging creams to get rid of them.

Well all of this is good. What if we can prevent or delay the signs of aging by concentrating on the causes of skin aging. If we can address the main causes of skin aging and then address them then we can look younger than our age.

This along with a proper skin care routine will help us to look to look at least 20 years younger.

So what are the top skin aging causes? There are many causes for skin aging like sun’s UV rays, pollution, lack of sleep, dehydration etc. We will address the two causes which have become addictions.

They are smoking and drinking alcohol. If you can stop both this habits then you can prevent wrinkles and saggy skin. So why not address these two problems. Let us start with smoking.

Smoking and aging skin

Cigarettes are the greatest enemy of our health. They cause several diseases. These are chronic respiratory, heart disease and even many forms of cancer, though lung cancer is the most common one. This has to be reason enough for you to quit smoking. However smoking not only effects our inner organs but it also harms our largest organ that is skin.

Take for example cigarette smoke causes peripheral vasoconstriction which reduces the blood flow. This blood flow is needed to nourish our skin tissue.

This has a direct effect on our skin as it reduces nutrition and oxygen supply to our skin. Therefore it will hamper collagen production in our skin which will result in saggy skin and wrinkles. Our skin also will lose its glow and become yellowish.

Now cigarettes are addictive for a reason. The nicotine which is a major component of the cigarette smoke makes it addictive. But do you know that nicotine can directly affect signs of aging like wrinkles. This occurs as nicotine causes accelerated deterioration of collagen and elastin fibres. This results in a grayish dull appearance, with presence of wrinkles and creases in the eye area. It also results in numerous expression lines.

In addition there is a loss in facial contour, which results in more prominent furrows, drooping cheek bones and deep dark circles around your eyes.

There was a survey conducted by Santa Casa de São Paulo which was focussed on the effect that cigarettes have on wrinkles. It was found that wrinkles in smokers was up to 40 % more evident. Therefore it can be safely assumed that smoking is more harmful on our skin than prolonged exposure to the sun without sun protection.

In addition to how your skin looks smoking can cause skin cancer as it is capable of causing mutations in the DNA of the cells that makeup skin tissue.
Quitting smoking can prevent further damage to your skin. But the bad news is that the changes caused by smoking to your skin are irreversible. That means you can’t look the way you used to look.

But all hope is not lost as you can recover the damage to your skin through skin care and treatments. If you are an ex-smoker then you can try several home based treatments. You can go for moisturizing, antioxidant and anti-aging cosmetics. Go for actives like hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. This will recover some of the smoking damage done to your skin.

Tips on how to quit smoking

Now since we know all the bad effects that smoking has on your skin, it’s time to find ways by which you can quit smoking. This is not easy. But you can do it with the right kind of motivation.

1. You need to set a date. Pick a day within the next two to three weeks. This will give a target that you have to achieve.

2. Drink as much of fluids as possible. This will distract you. Keep a glass of water or juice and sip from time to time.

3. Use the money that you would have spent on smoking on something special. Treat yourself to something special.

4. Banish all items related to smoking like ashtrays or cigarette packets.

5. Distract yourself and don’t think about smoking.

6. Avoid places and situations that you firmly associate with smoking. For example where people smoke a lot.

7. Enjoy your withdrawal symptoms. This is a signal from your body that it is healing of the stresses of smoking. This side effects will disappear after a couple of weeks.

8. You can use nicotine medication. Nicotine is the substance in cigarettes that make it so addictive. Though it can harm your skin it is not harmful for your body. You can stop it once withdrawal symptoms are over. Ask your pharmacist for advice.

9. Smokers usually resort to smoking when they get bad news. Stand your ground. Don’t allow any bad news or bad mood to smoke just one cigarette.

10. Eat a healthy balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. This will help you to reverse some of the damage done by cigarette smoke to your lungs.

11. Finally once you have not smoked for a few months enjoy every day after that as you no longer need to smoke. Your wallet will be heavy by the way.

Drinking alcohol and aging

If you consume alcohol in excessive amounts then you are bound to get wrinkles on your skin. This is because alcohol dehydrates the skin. This causes dry skin which makes the skin prone to wrinkle formation. Indeed, alcohol is an "empty" calorie, which has no nutrients for the body and which exhausts the liver, causing general fatigue and slowing cell renewal.

Alcohol also leads to dark circles around your eyes. Alcohol makes the skin itchy which will make you to scratch the skin. This will lead to redness in the skin.

Alcoholic drinks are high in sugar content. This results in a process called glycation. The sugar content damages the collagen in the skin which in turn promotes saggy skin and wrinkles.

Alcohol causes blood to rise in your skin. This is the reason why you look red after a night of binge drinking. This damages the skin and causes inflammation.

How to avoid the harmful effects of alcohol on the skin?

Now since we know the ill effects of alcohol as far as the skin is concerned we must try to minimize its bad effects. This can happen if we limit our consumption of alcohol.

To minimize the effects of these harmful elements on the aging of the skin, here are some tips:

The first thing to do is to minimize the consumption of alcohol. This is possible if you have the will power.

Now if you know that you are going to drink on a particular day, then drink lots of water on that day. This will prevent dehydration of your skin. You can also try hydrating fruits like water melon and cucumber.

Above all, you must moisturize your skin with appropriate care (water, creams, oils, masks, gels, etc.).

You can use the above three suggestions to minimize the impact of alcohol on skin aging.

In conclusion