Wrinkles form naturally for various reasons. They have funny names like crow's feet, laughter lines, or tech neck that refer to where they’re found or what causes them. The names may be funny but they're far from fun. Wrinkles are formed with age as our skin gets thinner and loses its elasticity. Many top-shelf products are promising to restore the skin's elasticity, but they can be pricey and inaccessible for some people. Little do they know, there are alternatives they can use. Share these 10 genius ways to reduce wrinkles with everyone you know!
1. Swear by Sunscreen
No matter how much you love to bathe under the sun, the shade is your best friend. Researchers back this up because they know that the sun damages our skin more than it helps. In fact, UV rays are one of your skin’s biggest nemeses. Sure, the sun helps us produce precious vitamin D, but its UV rays are also responsible for 80% of facial aging signs, such as wrinkles and necklines.
When you notice the fade lines start popping up here and there, it's time to stock up on your favorite sunscreen! Remember though, not all sunscreens are made equal. The best sunscreen should be able to protect you from broad-spectrum UV rays with at least 30 SPF. You can apply it under your makeup, sandwich it with moisturizer, or even light touches are enough. For extra sunny days, take an umbrella with you. Remember, always seek out the shade!
2. Don’t Squint!
There’s another culprit that causes pesky aging lines. The lines on your face and neck are the result of repeated actions that you do in your daily life. Actions like smiling or squinting your eyes can carve permanent lines on your face. Does this mean you need to stop smiling for a smooth, wrinkle-free face? Of course not.
Oftentimes, we squint our eyes for two reasons: when something is too bright or too small to see. That means glasses are your saviors! Reading glasses helps you see better and squint less. They also relieve eye strain that can result in headaches. However, they won't protect you from bright lights like sunglasses so having a pair ready is a game-changer.
More importantly, did you know that wearing shades levels your mood too? Squinting makes a frown, and when we frown, we send signals to the brain that a stressor is present. Relaxing your brow helps your brain to understand that things are alright so it can relax. Happy and wrinkle-free, it's a win-win solution!
3. Sleep Well – but on your back
Crucial things happen to your body when you’re visiting the “lalaland”. Our organs take turns to self-repair so we can function well the next day. One of our biggest organs, the skin, does this too. After a whole day bombarded by UV rays, your skin needs its nighttime to fix the damage done.
When you start noticing the faint lines on your face and neck, it’s now-more-than-ever time to reshape your sleeping habit. No more late-night binging, please.
At night, your body produces collagen and elastin at full steam. It’s the same reason why skin reparative therapy is best done before you go to sleep. Scientists recommend you to have 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep while this takes place. They also point out the importance of doing it on your back. Sleeping on your side squishes the face and can result in wrinkles forming instead of repairing. Deep slumber is the recipe for smooth and glowing skin!
4. Try Facial Workout
You may be familiar with the benefits of yoga. It makes your heart stronger and your blood circulation healthier. It also strengthens your muscles and amazingly energizes you. Do it for a while and you'll feel that the sagging body parts are getting firmer and going to bed gets easier and faster. Imagine if your skin can get the same benefits of yoga… Wait, it can!
Danielle Collins is a world-renowned Face Yoga expert. She believes in simple yet effective methods to revitalize the skin on your face. The goal of a face yoga routine is to increase oxygen and blood supply to your skin to promote cell reparation. These routines also stretch the skin so the wrinkles are reduced in appearance. Do some facial yoga routines regularly and you’ll notice that your face is more toned and plumper!
5. Do the Spoon Therapy
Why do you need to spend a lot of money on overpriced beauty products when you can use what you already have? People are raving about face rollers claiming to be effective in reducing facial lines. Sure, it’s been proven effective but should you actually buy one while a spoon can work just as well? Even though it sounds too good to be true, spoon therapy has been a thing in Asian countries for centuries!
There are 2 kinds of spoon therapy you can do at home: warm therapy and cold therapy. For warm therapy, you’ll need some warm coconut oil and a pair of teaspoons. Dip the spoons into the coconut oil and let the oil run a bit so it only has enough to glide easily on your skin. Use the spoon to massage your face starting from the center to the edges in an upward manner. Do this for 15 minutes and you’ll see some improvement in plumpness and vividness.
Cold spoon therapy uses the same tools and similar methods but has a different effect on your skin. While warm spoon therapy improves blood circulation and regeneration, cold spoon therapy cools down inflammation and helps drain blocked fluid channels that cause puffiness and wrinkles. You can do this therapy right after you wake up or before turning up at night. See the result after doing it regularly for 15 days.
6. Say Goodbye to Store-Brought Facewash
Face cleansing is a crucial part of any beauty regimen but choosing the right face wash for your skin can be tricky. There’s no tried and tested product that can accommodate all skin types. Yet, putting your skin on trial and error can cause more problems than it solves. The answer to this problem is actually here around us. Kiss store-brought facewash goodbye and turn to what nature has to offer.
What you need is a couple of raw almonds and 2 tablespoons of brown rice finely ground into powder. This is the base of your cleanser that you can mix with goat’s milk or coconut milk powder. To use it, introduce rosewater to the powder mixture until it becomes a smooth paste. Wet your face and scrub away before rinsing it clean. Follow up with coconut oil (for dry skin), jojoba oil (for oily skin), or avocado oil (for wrinkle-smoothing). This last step helps moisturize your precious skin.
7. Do Chemical Peel At Home
One of the most popular methods to rejuvenate our skin is through skin peeling. It was invented in the 19th century by a dermatologist, Ferdinand von Hebra, in Vienna. He needed a method to gently treat pigmentation conditions such as freckles. His method is to deliberately peel the top layer of the skin using chemicals to let a new layer of skin takes its place.
The result was astonishing! However, the method carries some risk since the basic principle is to cause a controlled injury to your skin. Chemical peeling solutions can be pricey since it has to be done by practitioners. Luckily, you can use what’s nature has provided so you can make your own solution at home.
Using egg white, cucumber, and lemon juice, you can make your own peeling solution. The lemon juice acts as the peeling agent due to its acidic property. It's also rich in vitamin C – one of the collagen-building blocks – so it helps refresh your skin while peeling takes place. The defining keys are the use of egg white and cucumber. They work in tandem to supply your skin with amino acids and reduce swelling. Home treatment done right!
8. Do A Collagen-Rich Steam Session
Our skin is made up of tiny pores that can clog up after a whole day of activities. This can be bad because clogging can cause several issues like acne breakouts and fluid buildup. It also prevents our skin from healing properly that which eventually leads to sagging and wrinkles. One of the best ways to unclog our pores is by steam therapy. It works by dilating our pores so we can rinse pollutants off our skin easier. And after it clears up, our skin is ready to absorb the moisture and nutrients!
You can do a simple steam therapy with a pot of hot water and a towel. First, wash your face to remove the dirt off your face. Then, add 2 drops of tamanu essential oil into the hot water. You can use the towel over your head and position it over the pot of steaming water. Enjoy the experience for at least ten minutes or until the steam dies down. Iron those pesky lines out!
9. Boost Rejuvenation with Pumpkin Mask
The skin has tremendous power to heal itself. Our body produces everything we need to repair and maintain the elasticity of our skin. Unfortunately, this production decreases as we age. Enzymes such as hyaluronic acid are fundamental in the collagen-making process. This collagen is the building block of elastin and fibrillin tissues. Think of these issues as the bungee cords that hold your skin together. Without them, wrinkles will start forming and make our skin dull.
That means pumpkin is your hero! Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A, C, and E, antioxidants, zinc, potassium, and fruit enzymes to kick-start the body's natural collagen factory. You can combine it with honey and olive oil to make a pumpkin beauty mask. Restore your skin’s regeneration by supplying the right ingredients for the enzymes. Do it for the smoothest, plumpest version of your skin!
10. Brew A Time-Reversing Potion
Your beauty regimen wouldn’t be complete without help from within. Brew yourself the legendary time-reversing smoothies that not only make your skin glow but also reverse the effect of aging. What you need is a clever blend of superfoods rich in antioxidants and anti-aging agents.
The potion is comprised of a mango and a handful of strawberries for some vitamin boost (vitamin A, C, and E), mixed with avocado’s fatty acids so your body can absorb the vitamins with ease. To seal everything up, pour in a glass of coconut milk before turning the blender on. The coconut oil will lock up the nutrients in your body while preventing wrinkles from forming. Let us tell you, this concoction is not only so refreshing but also makes your body feels amazing!