How to Have (and Keep) Great Skin

Here’s me, this morning

Slight lack of sleep

Zero makeup

Zero facelifts

Zero fillers

Zero filters

Botox in forehead only

I’ll be 47 in two weeks

I keep seeing advice on how to have great skin, age well etc.…created by 20-somes and 30-somes. Look, let’s be frank here. This kind of advice is (to put it politely) humor-inducing. When you are 20-some, and even when you are in your early 30’s, you could be doing all the wrong things and still look amazing. So, just because your routine seems to be doing wonders for you at 20-some, does not mean that it isn’t slowly leading to your skin looking terrible at 40.

I am not a beauty expert, nor a supermodel. I am a professional, working female with a science background and a husband who is a medical doctor. As I age, of course I show signs (especially those stupid circles under my eyes). But, I’m still loving my skin. So, here’s advice from an almost 47-year old with great skin on how to have awesome skin, and keep that awesome skin as you age.

Chill on the Makeup

I’m not telling you never to use makeup. However, the women I know with the worst skin, are the ones that have worn the most makeup since their twenties. When I ask them about it, their response is “I have to wear makeup because my skin is bad.” Actually, no. You have terrible skin because you’ve worn lots of makeup for years.

Beauty is an industry — one that wants to keep making money. So, many beauty products are created in such a way as to make your skin dependent on them. The more you use, the more you need. Additionally, it doesn’t matter how ‘light’ the makeup is, it’s still something that is covering your skin and filling your pores and not allowing that skin to breathe the way that it should. Do that for years and years and your skin will become dull under the makeup.

Use what you need and when you need it. But, try to give your skin as many makeup breaks as possible. Your face will thank you in ten years.

Don’t Use Botox (or any other neurotoxins) — Until You Actually Need Them

Yes, I have heard that line about starting neurotoxins in your twenties to prevent wrinkles from forming later. Let me rip that line apart for you. There are ZERO quality clinical trials to-date on preventative neurotoxin use, OR on the potential long-term side-effects of using neurotoxins for decades. The truth is that what they are currently calling 'long-term' studies in regards to neurotoxins are about 6-months long!

That line about preventative Botox…well, it’s a line. It’s anecdotal evidence disseminated by plastic surgeons and dermatologists (i.e. those who are profiting off of you paying for those neurotoxins).

Yes, I use Botox/Dysport. However, I started using it after turning 40 — when I actually started to need it. I get it done on my forehead only and inject as little and as infrequently as I can get away with. Why? Because while there is no evidence to show that Botox is great for you long-term, there is a list of potential side-effects of long term Botox use. This includes facial muscle atrophy (causing ‘frozen face’) , the thinning of the skin, skin discoloration and texture problems.

This year BBC released an article discussing studies on rats that were injected neurotoxins and how those neurotoxins were found not to stay localized (as we’ve been told they do) but to actually enter the nerve terminal and be transported. Some of the transported toxins then escaped into other neurons. While this study has as of yet not been repeated on humans, the fact is that the only other toxin that can do this, is the tetanus toxin. If you don't know, tetanus is a very serious infectious disease of the nervous system, commonly known to be caused by cutting yourself on rusty objects.

So, before going all happy on the neurotoxins maybe we should keep them on the low, until they do some more of those studies?

And here’s the deal, the BBC article also stated the plain truth that many side effects of neurotoxins may simply not be reported. Why? Because the neurotoxin industry is making millions off of the sales. This means that we may not hear of long-term side effects until it is too late for some. Why take the risk? Why be the guinea pig and potentially end up being that ‘some’ in 15 years?

Even if in 15 years I’m proven wrong…Again, I didn’t start Botox till my 40’s and frankly I’m not suffering due to the delay.

Be Careful of Sunscreens

Sunscreen is highly important, however, I personally recommend using sunscreen that is separate from makeup and creams. I have sensitive skin and any makeup or facial creams that contain SPF (no matter how expensive they are or how ‘pure’ they claim to be) give me horrible breakouts and weird, pallid skin. I believe that they use lower quality, more chemical-based sunscreen in makeup and creams. So, combine that with the fact that the sunscreen in makeup isn’t considered enough protection anyways, my recommendation is to buy SPF-free facial products and use mineral or baby sunscreens on your face separately. I always buy hypoallergenic, baby sunscreens since they are the lowest on chemicals.

Don’t Yo-Yo

Don’t get on the defensive. I’m not telling you that you need to have a specific weight. I’m telling you to pick a weight (any weight that feels right for you) and maintain it as much as you can.

Every time you gain weight, you stretch your skin out. Every time you lose weight, your skin then needs to bounce back to its previous tightness. The more you do that, the harder it becomes for your skin to bounce back. While this becomes most easily visible on your face, it goes for the rest of your body too. A woman I know spent her life yo-yoing through fad diets and now she calls her boobs ‘dog ears’. You get the picture.

Things will happen. You might be pregnant. You might get ill. You’ll gain and lose weight.

But, try to maintain it when you can, as best as you can, through good eating habits and an active lifestyle, not harmful diets.

I’ll be honest, if you can maintain a healthy-slim weight in your youth, it’ll pay off for you later. The reason for that is that as you age, you lose fat in your face. This is why you sometimes see superstars with these hollowed-out, slightly ghastly faces: It’s because they are trying to have the same body weight at 50 as they did at 20. However, they don’t have the same amount of fat in their face to fill it in.

So, as you age, you can help your face maintain its fullness by gaining a little bit of weight every decade or so. If you are slim in your youth and you gain weight, you’ll still look shapely while having a more nicely filled-in face. However, if you were already bigger and you gain weight, you are probably going to lose your shape because we all know that with age, our weight stops distributing nicely and instead makes a comfy home around our belly. Plus, your face, while less wrinkly, might end up looking a bit full-moon-y.

K2+D3

You might know that Vitamin D is that lovely thing in natural sunlight that gives you energy. However, did you know it is also amazing for your skin? Unless you live in a very sunny place and are outside a lot, all year, I suggest taking vitamin D supplements. However, make sure you buy supplements that specifically contain K2 + D3. This is because they work synergistically. Not only is D3 far less useful without K2, it might even be harmful. High levels of vitamin D3 combined with low levels of vitamin K, can lead to calcium not transferring to bones properly, and instead ending up in your vascular tissue. So the next time you are at the pharmacy getting your Vitamin D, make sure the label says K2+D3.

Fruit and Berries

I don’t always eat well. I love junk food just as much as the next person. But, regardless of anything else I may consume (like the double bacon cheeseburger I just wolfed down), I always also eat tons of fruits and berries.

All fruits are packed with vitamins, and berries are incredible anti-oxidants, as well as protecting skin from moisture loss.

Facial Exfoliation

I live in Canada — specifically in a part of Canada where winter temperatures reach -40. That can be a death sentence for your skin if you don’t take good care of it. One thing I have noticed over the years that works wonders is simple, drug store facial peels and exfoliants. These get rid of the top layer of dead skin and allow my face to absorb moisturizers, therefore keeping my skin in much better condition over the years. I don’t overdo it. I just use a glycolytic peel once every two weeks or so during the winter months.

Teeth Baby

This might sound like a weird thing to affect the look of your facial skin, but teeth get smaller with age, and as we grind them down. The smaller your teeth, the more scrunched your face looks. This also makes your lips look thinner and therefore the area around the lips more wrinkled. Just think of grandma with and without her dentures in.

So, take care of your teeth. If you grind excessively, deal with that now, before your teeth turn into tiny chicklets. If I financially invest in anything to do with my physical self, it’s my teeth. I’ve had some crowns put in as well as had some teeth built back up, in order for my face to not start scrunching down with age.

Last but not least:

Vitamin A (retinol) and Vitamin E

*disclaimer: this last tip is just what I do and what works well for me. My skin looks great the next morning, whenever I do this and I’ve never had any side effects. However, I’m not a dermatologist and can’t comment on other people’s skin. So, try at your own discretion.*

It’s been proven that both Vitamin A (commonly labelled as retinol in beauty products) as well as Vitamin E, are good for your skin. However, there’s debate over whether the miniscule amounts present in beauty products actually do much. Additionally, vitamin E deteriorates in light, so there’s also debate over whether it’s useful at all in creams, after they are opened.

So, here’s what I do:

I buy Vitamin A and Vitamin E in gel capsules at the pharmacy. I make sure that the brand I choose is as pure as possible. When I’m applying cream at night, I put some cream in the palm of one hand. Then, I cut open the vitamin capsules and squeeze them out, into the cream. I mix it in and apply it to my face. I do this at night only, and only every couple of nights, because the vitamins are pretty oily. It works really well for me.

And now....for the grand finale....ta daaaaa, I put on makeup (still no filters).

Original Published on Medium