10 Daily Anti-Aging Skin Care Hacks (From an Esthetician!)

While there’s no way to prevent the natural aging process that comes with chronological time, there are definitely ways you can enhance your natural beauty from a lifestyle perspective—but it’s going to take a little effort on your part.

Another word to describe anti-aging skin care is prevention, so if you’re not taking care of your skin from the inside out during each stage of your life, it’s likely that you’ll look more aged before your time.

But you need not invest in costly procedures and quick-fix treatments to make you feel your best. Healthy skin is within reach!

10 Daily anti-aging skin care hacks

Here are 10 anti-aging skin care hacks to help you look and feel your best at any age.

1. Wear sunscreen—even if it’s cloudy outside

SPF should not be reserved for the beach alone, yet studies suggest that most Americans don’t use sunscreen. Neglecting to do so can result in premature aging, to include fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots.

Many people don’t realize that up to 80 percent of UV rays can pass through clouds, so you’re still very much at risk for damage. Makeup with an SPF is not enough coverage (though touching up with a broad spectrum SPF powder throughout the day is not a bad idea), so look for a natural and/or day cream that includes coverage of at least 15—but 30 or higher is even better.

Don’t neglect other exposed areas of your skin either, especially during warm weather months when you’re wearing less clothing. Obviously, you’ll want a separate sunscreen for larger areas of your body and a hand cream that provides powerful antioxidant activity to help promote beautiful skin.

2. Wash your face every single night—no excuses

One of the most basic steps in any beauty routine is also one of the most important: cleansing.

From makeup to dirt, sweat, and pollution, impurities of all kinds have been linked to skin conditions such as premature aging, an uneven complexion, roughness, sensitive skin, dry skin, and a lackluster appearance.

3. Use a serum

While all steps of your regimen are important and serve their purpose, think of a serum as the workhorse of your beauty routine. Applied after cleansing and toning but before moisturizing, serums are lightweight yet powerful because they are comprised with smaller molecules that can penetrate the skin on a deeper cellular level than a moisturizer ever could.

A small bottle typically contains an extremely high level of active ingredients formulated to address skin care concerns such as dullness, acne, hydration, wrinkles, age spots, and more.

4. Don’t skimp out on the moisturizer

Along with providing hydration, moisturizers balance the complexion so that other skin issues (think inflammation, acne, dullness, sensitivity) don’t occur. Everyone regardless of skin type needs to moisturize, even those with oily skin as a lack of oil can cause the skin to produce even more oil as a sign of distress.

Moisturizing is a key element to the anti-aging process as it plumps the look of the skin for an ageless appearance, reduces the appearance of dullness, tightens and firms your look, and lessens the appearance of occasional redness. Try a hyaluronic acid to lock in the moisture!

And when moisturizing, avoid these moisturizing mistakes to maximize your anti-aging routine.

5. Layer your products correctly

Not only will you not see results if you layer incorrectly, but you’ll be pouring money down the drain too. Applying your anti-aging products made with natural ingredients in the correct sequence ensures your skin will reap the full benefits from each formula, as only a small amount of key ingredients can actually penetrate the skin.

Anti-aging routine

As a general rule of thumb, the proper order is: cleanser, toner/essence, serum, eye cream, spot treatment (if applicable), moisturizer, and SPF for day and cleanser (two times to remove makeup), toner/essence, eye cream, treatment product (serum, leave-on exfoliating treatments, etc.), and night cream.

Remember, a couple of times a week you’re going to want to incorporate an exfoliant and mask into your routine. This would take place after the cleansing process. Make sure you pause a bit in between steps to ensure each product penetrates effectively.

6. Take care of your health

You can layer on the most expensive anti-aging skin care products on the market, but it won’t matter if you’re not taking care of your health. While it’s all about the basics, sometime we forget just how important those fundamentals are when life gets chaotic.

Water

Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day can help your body eliminate pesky toxins that can cause dark undereye circles, dryness, and a lackluster complexion.

Sleep

Along with water consumption, many models an A-listers swear that sleep is truly the secret to looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Not to mention, the skin repairs itself while you’re snoozing and is at its prime for receiving the benefits from your anti-aging skin care products so it behooves you to get at least seven to eight hours of quality shuteye each night.

Exercise

Along with making you feel better in body and mind, exercise can improve the skin by carrying oxygen to the cells (which in turn keeps them healthy), increasing blood flow that flushes away cellular waste and free radicals, and nourishes and replenishes your skin’s appearance. Not to mention, exercise is a stress-reliever.

Stress is linked to the production of cortisol—the hormone that obstructs collagen production—and studies have shown that cortisol levels can decrease after an intense workout.

Diet

Feed your skin from the inside out by eating a balanced diet rich in anti-aging foods such as red bell peppers, papaya, avocado, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, and sweet potatoes.

7. Choose the correct anti-aging skin care ingredients for your skin type

It can be easy to get pulled into the marketing vortex, but it’s crucial that you’re choosing the correct formulas for your skin type so that you’re properly treating your skin in lieu of having an adverse reaction.

Know your skin type

For example, a person with extremely sensitive skin isn’t going to want to use an overly active product like a retinol, whereas someone with acne will want to stay away from anything overly emollient.

Of course, in order to determine what ingredients are best, you have to know what type of skin you have. If you’re not sure of this, book yourself an appointment to see an esthetician (even for a 30-minute facial) or dermatologist so you can craft the correct regimen to meet your needs.

8. Exfoliate regularly

While over-exfoliating can have negative side effects like irritation and dryness, it’s important that exfoliation is a regular part of your beauty routine.

Whether you choose a mechanical (scrub) or enzyme-based (non-mechanical) formula, this important step eliminates dead skin cells so that the rest of your products can penetrate and work to your skin’s advantage.

Bonus points for encouraging revitalized skin, removing impurities, and bringing radiance to your look.

9. Give yourself a face massage

For those who can barely manage to take off their makeup at night, giving yourself a daily face massage may sound like an unattainable feat—but once you start seeing the results (firms and tightens your look, face rejuvenator, balances natural oils, temporarily reduces the look of pesky dark spots and puffiness), you may be more apt to jump on the bandwagon.

Along with the traditional method using only your fingertips, ancient methods such as the gua sha and jade rolling are making a comeback, so explore the different modalities to see what works best for you.

10. Implement self-care

Many of the items on this list fall under this umbrella, but make sure you’re taking time out in your day to do them. Self-care is the key to stress relief and optimal physical and mental health, so never feel guilty about putting yourself first!

SOURCES
“Most Americans Don’t Use Sunscreen, Study Shows,” Science Daily, May, 2015,
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150519091129.htm
“Cloudy Day Does Not Keep Skin Cancer Away,” Molescope, March 2017, https://molescope.com/blog/cloudy-day-does-not-keep-skin-cancer-away
“Exercising To Relax,” Harvard Health, July 2018, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax
10 Anti-Aging Foods To Support Your 40s-and-Beyond Body, Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/anti-aging-foods#1