Ageing is unavoidable (though, wouldn’t it be nice if it wasn’t?).  We will all age and at different rates, with varying results.  Beauty products are all about warding off the signs of ageing as best as possible for as long as possible.  And with any luck reducing any current/past damage.

Still, it is important to remember that some forms of skin damage are not reversible and it’s best not to tempt fate!

Scarring can be reduced and repaired.  For example: if you have wounds such as acne scars, post op scars, cuts and abrasions, skinned knees, burns; these will heal over time although they might not disappear 100%.

Using a product such as Skin Serum will help reduce and repair scar tissue so that any wounds are less noticeable over time.  Your body will also repair itself as best it can, yet using a product to assist the damage means a better reduction in scarring and will also help cut down the healing time.

The trick with sun damage is it can take years to show up and by the time you notice the damage it’s too late.  The type of damage you’ll see are age spots and pigmentation, potential melanomas, as well as a leathery skin appearance.

Though it doesn’t always take a long time to appear.  For example when I was in my late teens a lady in her early 20’s (or maybe late 20’s early 30’s) sat next to me with her super tanned (sun-baked) skin, and I could see already that her skin looked leathery and riddled with lines and wrinkles.

The best way to avoid sun damage is to limit your sun exposure, use a safe sunscreen and avoid tanning.  Tanning to change the colour of one’s skin is an interesting habit in that: those who are light are vying to be darker, and those who are darker are vying to be light.

Loving the skin you’re in and moisturising regularly are great ways to avoid sun damage.  Just think Nicole Kidman.

When you’re young of course you don’t look like you NEED to mositurise.  Your skin is still in its prime with all the collagen in place and cells not too damaged by sugar and other factors.  It’s like a brand new pair of leather (or similar fabric) shoes.  At first they look great, however, after years of wear and tear they begin to wrinkle and crack and look bedraggled… unless you regularly apply a polish with oils that moisturise and soften the leather.  Keeping those shoes well loved and well looked after.

Your skin is the same so apply that moisturiser daily, whether you think you need to or not, and reap the rewards later in life.

Wind, water and other elements (air cons, fans, overheating etc.) are quite drying on the skin.  Quite often you might go outside, feel the effects of the wind and weather and then moisturise when you get home.  This is not enough to ward off those effects.  Moisturise BEFORE you go out in the elements to protect the skin from the get go.

This includes lips which many people don’t think about when it comes to moisturising.  Lips crack and peel and dry out just the same way our skin does and protecting our lips  is equally important.  The best way to do this is to apply an enriching and moisturising lip balm.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again because it is important to remember.  When you get dehydrated your body takes water away from unnecessary parts of your body, such as skin cells, and distributes the water in vital areas such as internal organs.  This water loss is NOT replenished.  Your body doesn’t say, “Oh hey I’ve got too much water today, I’ll give it to the skin cells.”  Instead you urinate the extra water out.

That is why it is so important to stay hydrated as much as possible every day for as long as you live!

Neglect is when you never look after your skin, i.e. no sunscreen, no hat, no long-sleeves, no moisturising, no protection or pampering whatsoever.

You just get up each day and get about your way without even so much as a though about taking care of your skin.  Perhaps it’s of little interest to you in the scheme of things?  Perhaps you’re too busy looking after everyone else?  Perhaps you’re happy to age however you like, and that’s your prerogative.

This type of damage will catch up to you later in life in a really full on way.  You’ll one day look in the mirror and notice you look much older than you are, much older than your friends who did look after their skin, much more bedraggled than you thought you would.  Ultimately the choice is yours… just beware that you won’t know how you feel about ageing until you’re finally in the midst of it and by then you might be full of regret.

In closing, I mentioned above how it might be nice if ageing didn’t happen.

Although ageing has it benefits; knowledge for one thing.

So, if you could pick an age to stop ageing at what age would you pick?  And why?  Or maybe you wouldn’t want to stop ageing?