Keep Skin Beautiful at Midlife and Beyond
If you are nearing midlife maybe you have noticed wrinkles, dryness, sagging skin and acne. These are common skin changes that may become more noticeable as you enter the midlife years.
Here are some suggestions to minimize the impact:
Keep smiling. As we age we lose muscle mass, including facial muscles. Smiling helps to strengthen facial muscles and reduce sagging.
Stay hydrated. It is important to keep skin hydrated and the best way is to drink plenty of fluids, ideally water. Avoid fluids with caffeine (coffee, colas, tea), they have a diuretic effect that may further dry your skin.
Avoid hot water. When bathing and showering use lukewarm water. Hot water is drying to the skin. Add bath oils or moisturizers to the skin immediately after your shower to help skin stay moisturized.
Use antiaging formulas from to repair damaged skin. Formulations with antioxidants, alphahydroxy acids and L-ascorbic acid (a form of vitamin C) may help regenerate the skin’s out layer.
Always use a sunscreen on your face. This single most important factor to aging skin is sun exposure. It causes wrinkles, skin roughness, dryness and irregular pigmentation. A minimum SPF of 15 is recommended. Get your tan from a bottle instead.
Smoking ages skin significantly as well. Not only avoid smoking but avoid second hand smoke as well.
If you had acne as a teenager, you are more likely to have acne in midlife. The hormone changes that accompany midlife can make acne troublesome.
Like our teenagers, we often consider low dose oral contraceptives to manage it, it helps deactivate the androgens in our bloodstream.
There are many reputable skin care centers that offer chemical peels or microdermabrasion. These options can lessen fine lines and even out skin discolorations and fade age spots.
Last reviewed: May 2008
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Women’s Midlife Services
844 S. Washington Ave.
Building 3; Suite 2700
(616) 355-3866
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