| DO eat bright, organic fruits and vegetables. For example, strawberries, blueberries, and other brightly colored foods that are rich in vitamins A, B, C, and E, can help protect and add youthful color to your skin. Additionally, many good vitamin sources are high in antioxidants which fight skin-damaging free radicals. |
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DON’T eat too many saturated fats, preservatives and pollutants, which promote free radicals. “I’m recognized by my patients for natural looking results,” adds Dr. Raval, “I encourage my patients to think of diets high in bright, organic fruits and vegetables as part of a natural rejuvenation process.” |
| DO limit unprotected exposure to sunlight. Dermatologists think sun exposure is one of the major causes of premature aging because it attacks youthful elasticity. “Collagen and elastin fibers, under the surface of the skin, keeps your skin resilient,” Dr. Raval says, “sun damage to these structures can take years for the effects to develop and many of my patients don’t notice it underlying UV damage.” |
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DON’T spend long periods under UV rays, such as at tanning salons. “Well-intentioned patients have told me they thought they were improving their aesthetic health through tanning and getting Vitamin D by not wearing sun block,” says Dr, Raval, “but tanning, like extended and unprotected exposure generally, is a damaging process with long term effects. And, many SPF creams have Vitamin D already added.” |
| DO quit smoking, if you smoke, and avoid second-hand smoke. Smokers decrease blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to their skin, because nicotine constricts their capillaries. “Smoking has similar effects to unprotected sun exposure,” says Dr. Raval, “because it decreases the skin’s youthful elasticity by slowly damaging collagen and elastin, which can take years to really show.” |
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DON’T give up trying to quit smoking. There is no protective cream to reduce the impacts of smoking damage to the skin, and the only preventative action is to quit as soon as possible. “Further than adding many years to your life,” says Dr. Raval, “quitting smoking can slow down the process of visible aging. There’s really no alternative.” |
| DO hydrate and moisturize. “Prescription creams will have a higher concentrations of moisturizing retinoids,” says Dr. Raval, “which reduce sun spots in the summer and cracking skin in the winter at this dry elevation.” Without proper moisturizing, telling fine lines around the eyes are the first to form. Use eye cream!” |
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DON’T dry out your skin by removing natural oils from your skin. “The ideal daily skin care regimen has a natural element,” says Dr. Raval, “so soaps and cleansers that don’t hydrate properly or remove too many natural oils will actually worsen signs of aging.” The need for more or less oil depends on our age. Over 30, more natural oils are usually needed. |
