Here are our top lifestyle choices for slower ageing and beautiful skin:

1. Exercise Regularly

The best way to slow down ageing is to stay in great shape.

Older people who exercise regularly throughout their lives, tend to have the muscle mass, cholesterol levels, and even immune system function of much younger people and it’s also fantastic for your mental wellbeing too.

2. Eat Whole Foods

Whole foods boost your body’s supply of nutrients that keep cells healthy, reduce inflammation, and reduce the risk of major chronic diseases associated with age.

Limit your intake of processed foods that contain added sugars, fats, and salt to help prevent inflammation, diabetes and heart disease.

3. Get Enough Protein

Studies show protein is especially important in maintaining muscle mass as we age.

Snack on protein sources like nuts, plain Greek yoghurt, or cottage cheese. You can also add ‘protein-toppers’ to your meals, such as hummus to a sandwich, diced chicken to pasta, or beans to a salad.

4. Spend Time Outdoors

Vitamin D, the ‘sunshine vitamin,’ helps keep your bones strong, and it may also help protect against age-related conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Of course, this doesn’t mean sun-baking (and wear your SPF!). You can also get vitamin D in foods, such as salmon and eggs.

5. Protect Your Skin From The Sun

The sun can cause skin damage, wrinkles and increase the risk for skin cancer—all of which promote internal and external ageing.

Guard against premature skin ageing by covering up with clothing, wearing a broad-spectrum SPF 30+ or higher and seeking shade. Slip, slop slap, seek & slide!

6. Avoid Toxins

Cigarette smoke, excessive alcohol consumption and environmental toxins we’re exposed, speed up the ageing process.

Smoking is particularly damaging, causing internal damage to your genetic code, as well as blood vessels and multiple organ systems.

7. Stay Hydrated

Drinking enough water is critical as our bodies need water for important functions such as regulating body temperature, maintaining healthy skin and joints, digesting food, and removing waste.

Drink water even when you aren’t thirsty and eat foods with high water content.

8. Get Some Sleep

It’s called beauty sleep for a reason!

When you’re snoozing, your body gets busy repairing cell damage. If you cut your sleep short, you can accelerate the visible and internal signs of ageing and be susceptible to age-related diseases like heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Anit-Ageing Treatments & Products at Skin Clinic Blyss

Our anti-ageing treatments can assist with any ageing skin conditions. Our Vita-Sol Slow Ageing Powders are a powerful blend of organic superfoods as a source of organic vitamins and minerals and traditional herbs to support healthy ageing as well  acne and inflammatory skin conditions such as rosacea.

Read on for our retinol rule book and choose from our favourite products.

What is retinol?

Retinol or retinoids are a derivative of vitamin A, which increases skin cell turnover within the skin, changing the way skin cells function in the dermis and epidermis (clever).

Why use it?

It’s the holy grail of anti-ageing skincare! Retinol helps to unclog acne skins, increases the production of collagen and elastin, therefore, improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (and acne scars), plumps the skin, stimulates the metabolism of skin cells to even out skin texture and reduce the appearance of enlarged pores, fade sunspots and brighten skin. So, almost everything!

How do you start?

The key to a harmonious relationship with retinol is to start out slow, only increasing frequency and then concentration as your skin acclimatises. Start with a low concentration formula that feels good on your skin 2-3 times per week, and increase an extra day, every 2 weeks, while your skin adjusts to the increase in cell turnover. Give it 12 weeks to notice a change – it takes time!

Rules of engagement?

• Retinols are not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding mamas.
• Use only at night. Not because it makes you susceptible to sunburn, but because vitamin A is broken down by light and becomes ineffective.
• Apply moisturiser 20 mins after your retinol to give it time to absorb.
• Don’t stop if your skin becomes irritated. While this contradicts skincare use, most irritation is due to an increase in cell turnover. Just reduce the number of days you’re using it and your skin will adjust.
• Be careful what you mix it with. Not all skincare ingredients play nicely together so do a patch test if you’re using with another product.

Our favourite retinol skincare

Cosmedix Serum 16

Cosmedix Serum 16 is perfect for retinol newbies, this rapid renewal complex loaded with Vitamin E, gently introduces Vitamin A your skin. The non-irritating, hydrating formula normalises and renews skin.

GOOD FOR: Dry, sensitive and reactive skins.

Aspect Dr Exfol A Plus

Aspect Dr Exfol A Plus is a concentrated Vitamin A and exfoliating treatment for the treatment of acne, congestion, ageing, dull, thickened or pigmented skins.

GOOD FOR: Non-reactive skins.

Cosmedix Refine Plus

Cosmedix Refine Plus is a high-strength anti-ageing retinol serum, fortified with skin hydrators to smooth fine lines and wrinkles, balance sebum production, minimise pores, plump and firm the skin.

GOOD FOR: Oily and acne-prone skin.

Collagen is the ‘formwork’ of connective tissue that supports the structure of the skin to give us that plump, youthful, glowing skin that we all crave. As we age, sun, pollution, free radicals as well as lifestyle are responsible for the breakdown of collagen.

The good news, in addition to topical home care and inclined treatments we are able to boost collagen production in the skin by the power of food. Here are our favourites;

• PROTEIN. As collagen is formed from 19 amino acids – the building blocks of protein, adding protein rich foods into your diet improves collagen production as well as aids healing;
• FISH. Fish such as salmon and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help support the structure of the skin
• VITAMIN C rich foods. such as citrus fruits, berries and green leafy vegetables help amino acids convert to collagen as well as fight off free radicals that break down collagen;
• SOY PRODUCTS. contain plant hormones that serves as antioxidants, boosting collagen production as well as block MMP’s – an enzyme that ages skin

If you struggle to incorporate these foods into your diet, we recommend Vita Sol Collagen Peptide Powder. Packed full of marine peptides with no added nasties, this supplement can boost your collagen building abilities in 2 teaspoons per day.