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Skin Care Tips for Your 20's
Ah, the joys of adult responsibilities! Getting a job, finding a home, relishing the social scene and enjoying your love life. So much to do, so little time. You may feel on top of the world, at a peak of health, fitness and youthfulness, but what you eat now affects your health, your looks and how well you age.
When you're busy, it's all too easy to eat on the run, grabbing quick convenience foods or even skipping meals altogether. Too much salt, sugar and processed food can cause a range of problems later in life, but more importantly it can cause irreparable damage to your skin. Food needs to be energy boosting, stress busting and immune enhancing in order to preserve those youthful looks.
When you're in your 20s, your skin can look great. The teenage hormones that gave you such grief a few years ago have usually settled down by now, while your skin still has that youthful bloom that older people envy. That's down to the collagen, which makes up 70 per cent of your skin. It's the main structural protein in the skin, and its fibres act as scaffolding to give skin strength and maintain elasticity. Elastin, which is the skin's other main fibrous protein, gives skin its bounce.
Don't take anything for granted at this time of life. Appearances can be deceiving; your skin may look at the peak of youthful loveliness but, between the ages of 17 and 25, it will start to age. Even the beauty industry starts referring to the skin of 20-somethings as 'mature'.
- Between the ages of 20 and 25 cell renewal drops by up to 28 per cent and your cells divide more slowly so that 'glow' we associate with youth will be replaced more slowly.
- The dermis gradually thins after the age of 25 when we begin to lose collagen at a rate of roughly 1.5 percent a year.
- Slimness is another feature of youth so be aware that from your 20s onwards your metabolism and muscle mass decline while body fat increases.
- However, oil glands are still producing plenty of oil so skin and hair are being moisturized. Eating the right kind of food will help moisturize from the inside as well to keep wrinkles away.
- The good news is that your hair is thickest when you're 20.
- If you want to keep your face and body looking young, you need to start building in good eating habits now.
- Aim to have a 'healthy' fridge; in other words, something that contains more than a bottle of vodka and a limp lettuce leaf.
- Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen and, as it doesn't hang around in the body for very long, it needs to be replenished on a daily basis.
- Avoid drugs, and drink in moderation. Alcohol and drugs affect liver function, immune function, blood sugar control and fat metabolism - and all that dehydrates your skin, giving it a coarse appearance, adding years to your looks.
- In moderation, alcohol has health benefits. Binge drinking is dangerous and extremely ageing.
- Losing loads of weight quickly may mean you get into those skinny jeans faster, but it can also lead to saggy skin and stretch marks which have a damaging affect on the skin. An 'eatingyourself younger' diet can keep the extra pounds and the years off.
- Working out and exercising help build and tone muscle so you look sleek, fit and young, but don't forget your bones either. If you wantto lookyouthful and feel good later in life, you'll want strong, healthy bones. Your bones continue to grow until your mid-20s. The best time to work on those bones is now, at a time when your body is still building up their strength.
- One of the most important nutrients is calcium but many young women don't get the recommended 8oomg of calcium a day from their diet.
- Limit fizzy drinks - studies show that they can impair bone development by depleting calcium stores in the body.
- Alcohol consumption can decrease the absorption of calcium so have at least two alcohol-free days a week.
Read more articles about Skin Care
Ah, the joys of adult responsibilities! Getting a job, finding a home, relishing the social scene and enjoying your love life. So much to do, so little time. You may feel on top of the world, at a peak of health, fitness and youthfulness, but what you eat now affects your health, your looks and how well you age.
When you're busy, it's all too easy to eat on the run, grabbing quick convenience foods or even skipping meals altogether. Too much salt, sugar and processed food can cause a range of problems later in life, but more importantly it can cause irreparable damage to your skin. Food needs to be energy boosting, stress busting and immune enhancing in order to preserve those youthful looks.
When you're in your 20s, your skin can look great. The teenage hormones that gave you such grief a few years ago have usually settled down by now, while your skin still has that youthful bloom that older people envy. That's down to the collagen, which makes up 70 per cent of your skin. It's the main structural protein in the skin, and its fibres act as scaffolding to give skin strength and maintain elasticity. Elastin, which is the skin's other main fibrous protein, gives skin its bounce.
Don't take anything for granted at this time of life. Appearances can be deceiving; your skin may look at the peak of youthful loveliness but, between the ages of 17 and 25, it will start to age. Even the beauty industry starts referring to the skin of 20-somethings as 'mature'.
- Between the ages of 20 and 25 cell renewal drops by up to 28 per cent and your cells divide more slowly so that 'glow' we associate with youth will be replaced more slowly.
- The dermis gradually thins after the age of 25 when we begin to lose collagen at a rate of roughly 1.5 percent a year.
- Slimness is another feature of youth so be aware that from your 20s onwards your metabolism and muscle mass decline while body fat increases.
- However, oil glands are still producing plenty of oil so skin and hair are being moisturized. Eating the right kind of food will help moisturize from the inside as well to keep wrinkles away.
- The good news is that your hair is thickest when you're 20.
- If you want to keep your face and body looking young, you need to start building in good eating habits now.
- Aim to have a 'healthy' fridge; in other words, something that contains more than a bottle of vodka and a limp lettuce leaf.
- Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen and, as it doesn't hang around in the body for very long, it needs to be replenished on a daily basis.
- Avoid drugs, and drink in moderation. Alcohol and drugs affect liver function, immune function, blood sugar control and fat metabolism - and all that dehydrates your skin, giving it a coarse appearance, adding years to your looks.
- In moderation, alcohol has health benefits. Binge drinking is dangerous and extremely ageing.
- Losing loads of weight quickly may mean you get into those skinny jeans faster, but it can also lead to saggy skin and stretch marks which have a damaging affect on the skin. An 'eatingyourself younger' diet can keep the extra pounds and the years off.
- Working out and exercising help build and tone muscle so you look sleek, fit and young, but don't forget your bones either. If you wantto lookyouthful and feel good later in life, you'll want strong, healthy bones. Your bones continue to grow until your mid-20s. The best time to work on those bones is now, at a time when your body is still building up their strength.
- One of the most important nutrients is calcium but many young women don't get the recommended 8oomg of calcium a day from their diet.
- Limit fizzy drinks - studies show that they can impair bone development by depleting calcium stores in the body.
- Alcohol consumption can decrease the absorption of calcium so have at least two alcohol-free days a week.
Read more articles about Skin Care
