Botox. Filler. Eye creams. Night creams. Neck Creams. Serums. Gadgets. The list goes on ladies. If you haven’t figured out what I’m talking about yet then brace yourselves – we’re talking about aging and that fun thing that comes along with it – wrinkles. Unless you’re Benjamin Button or like the girls on Death Becomes Her (anyone remember that movie?! LOL) then each year you look in the mirror you might start to notice things…err…’changing’ we’ll say to put it nicely. It just happens. It’s one of those unavoidable things in life. It happens to all of us.
My plan here is to try to age as gracefully as possible. Now, that means taking some precautionary steps like avoiding the sun, wearing sunscreen, drinking water, eating healthy, etc. However, I have actually come up with a few not so common anti-aging tips which help to avoid the onset or deepening of wrinkles on certain parts of the face/body. Let me preface this by saying that I don’t always abide by these ‘rules’ so to speak, sometimes I’ll do the complete opposite of what I know helps to prevent wrinkles because I just really don’t care at that moment – and that’s okay too!
Click through to read my surprising anti aging tips…
Sleep on your back – You may or may not have heard of this one, but it is something I swear by. Think about it, if you sleep on your side or your stomach your face is being smashed up into the pillow all night long forming lines (also known as wrinkles) on your cute little face. Try looking in the mirror and pushing your cheek up – see all those little lines that form by your eye? Yep those are getting set in when you sleep on your side or your stomach.
Before I had my son I taught myself how to sleep on my back and it wasn’t easy. I have a hard time falling asleep anyhow and sometimes would wake up with my face in the pillow but at least I was making progress. What helped me was to put blankets or pillows around my face (at least covering my ears) and it gave the feeling of having your face on a pillow and helps block out any sound. During my pregnancy and after I had my son I slept on my side most of the time (they tell you to when you’re pregnant) so I just recently started working on sleeping on my back again.
I can say from experience that the lines around my mouth were significantly less when I was sleeping on my back. I was also drinking lots of water and going for regular facials but they went from being pretty deep to almost gone completely. Now, I feel like they are back again so I’ll let you guys know if they are just here to stay or if sleeping on my back can help again.
If you really can’t bring yourself to sleep on your back try investing in a silk pillowcase like this one or they even make this pillow designed for side sleepers which helps prevent wrinkles as well. Also, if you ladies are of a certain age you may have started to notice small lines forming on your chest. Most likely, that is also due to sleeping on your side. They also make this pillow that you wear on your chest that helps to prevent those wrinkles from forming.
Stop Using a Straw – This is another one of those “weird” things, but unfortunately not only do straws kill sea turtles but they also happen to cause lip wrinkles – also known as ‘smokers lines’ around the mouth. If you’re using a straw throughout the day then over time the pursing of your lips could cause those small wrinkles to start to form above your lips. Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd (board certified dermatologist) spoke with Huffington Post about it in an article here. She says the best way to go is to avoid straws all together if you are prone to wrinkles around your mouth. I haven’t given up my metal straw completely – I still use it when I have cold brew at home because somehow it just tastes better out of a straw. Life is all about balance so it’s just really about finding what works for you.
Keep your smartphone or laptop/computer at eye level – This helps with the prevention of neck wrinkles as well as sagging skin under the neck. I’ve been dealing with neck wrinkles for a long time so this is not news to me. I’ve known this because I’ve researched it in the past but sometimes I still find myself with my chin down to my chest scrolling through Instagram. Again, all about balance. I do try to make an effort to keep my device up at eye level so I’m not bending my neck down to look at my screen but I often forget. I’m on the verge of inventing a neck wedge that sits under your chin so you physically can’t bend it down while watching TV or on your phone LOL. Kind of serious though.
Stop using face cleansing wipes to remove your makeup – Not only have facial cleansing wipes been shown to be not that effective at actually cleansing your face but all the tugging at your skin and around your delicate eye area could actually be causing wrinkles. This article on StyleCaster breaks it down for you a little more. I recommend using an oil like Jojoba Oil or Rosehip Oil (both are low on the comedogenic rating if your pores get clogged easily) or double cleansing withe a cleansing balm first prior to your regular cleanser to help remove all of the makeup and dirt build up from your skin. Properly removing all of your makeup can also help your anti-aging products do what they’re supposed to, so you’ll see better results there as well.
Collagen – This is like my secret weapon against aging, and guys I know I’m not the only one raving about the benefits of collagen these days. I’ve been drinking one scoop of collagen in my coffee in the mornings for quite some time now (check out my morning routine) but recently I’ve also been drinking it before bed too! Ancient Nutrition recently sent me a package and it included a tub of their Multi Collagen Protein Beauty + Sleep . Um, obsessed. This stuff is nothing short of amazing. Not only is it a yummy lavender-bergamot flavor but it also has five different types of collagen, has 9 grams of protein, and includes ingredients like organic ashwagandha and magnesium hydroxide which help promote a more restful sleep. And if you guys weren’t aware, it’s been said that our skin cells regenerate much faster at night while we’re sleeping – so get that beauty sleep girl! PS if you’re interested in the topic of beauty sleep here is a really interesting article on it!
The purple tub you see below is the one I was referencing above which I use at night. The pink one is their Multi Collagen Beauty Within which is a seriously delicious watermelon basil flavor! This one I drink during the day if I skip my morning coffee-collagen combo. It’s easy enough to toss in my swell water bottle and run out the door!
I hope you guys found these anti-aging tips useful! And remember, life is ALL.ABOUT.BALANCE. So if something works for you – great. If not, don’t worry about it and just keep smiling because happiness is really the key to beauty anyhow 😉
xx
