Don’t we all love our skin when we were younger? Every time you pinched your own cheeks, the skin would bounce back, because it was so sprightly! That plump skin is actually healthy skin and over time, not only does age start to catch up, but at times, our own lack of concern for our skin starts to show as well. We tend to get so busy in our lives that we hardly have time for anything, including taking care of our skin. And then one fine day, when we look at the mirror, we realise that our skin is no longer as plump and as healthy as it once was.
But before we can get to bringing healthy skin back, we need to first look at what makes our skin plump and healthy in the first place:
Two words – collagen and elastin! These are two factors that are naturally present in our body, and these are what give our skin that healthy sheen and plump nature. With time, these start to deplete and that is when our skin starts to lose its sheen and the first lines of aging appear.
And while stopping the natural process of aging might not be possible, there is no reason why you still can’t get healthier skin! What you need to have for skin that feels as supple and smooth as a baby’s skin are - collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. Now, while the first two are protein fibers that are naturally found in the body, hyaluronic acid can help fill out the spaces that appear in between these fibers. It is also interesting to note that if your skin gets dehydrated or loses moisture, there will be an appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and your skin will not bounce back, the way it used to!
With some lifestyle changes, with some carefully additions to your regular routine, maintaining healthy skin is not that tough:
- The sun, no matter how nice it might feel on a cold winter day, is never your friend; well at least not for your skin. You need to make sure that you keep your skin protected against the UVA and UVB rays at all times, which is why investing in a really good quality sunscreen is paramount. Constant sun damage can actually cause loss of collagen from the skin, because it can cause damage to structural proteins and make your skin look saggy.
- Given that it is collagen and elastin that your skin is losing, the most obvious thing to do would be to add some of both these ingredients in your life. Superfoods like dark leafy greens, such as kale, veggies like avocado, garlic and even eggs are a great way to add collagen into your diet. You can even consider adding hyaluronic acid to your skin care routine, because it can naturally help stimulate the production of collagen in the body. And while water might not be associated with collagen, it can hydrate your body, giving you healthier skin too.
- Another one of the tips for healthy skin and naturally help stimulate the production of collagen in the skin is to massage it – when you massage your skin, you are relaxing the muscle tissue and that in turn promotes lymphatic drainage as well as collagen production. This not only fights muscle atrophy, but also helps improve the overall volume of your skin, making it look plump. Exfoliation is also said to help, because not only does it remove the dead skin cells that sit on the surface of your skin, but also make you look more radiant and nudges the natural collagen production into action.
- Now the most important factor – you need to invest in some products for healthy skin and these mainly include hyaluronic acid, retinol and vitamin C. Research studies as well as clinical trials have proven that these ingredients can actually help with collagen production.
- Retinol or its plant based alternative bakuchiol works as a powerful antioxidant, which not only fights off the free radicals, but also protects the existing supply of collagen in the skin. It can also instigate the skin cells that sit on the surface to die, which will prompt the body to produce new skin cells, giving your plumper and healthier skin.
- Hyaluronic acid is one of the best ingredients that you can apply on the skin to lock in moisture and we all know that well moisturised and hydrated skin will glow! So, when you want intense moisture for your skin, you will want this acid in your skin care routine.
- Vitamin C is a powerhouse – it can hydrate your skin, while brightening it; it can also help promote collagen production.
One of the easiest skin care secrets that we can share with you would be this – pick a bottle of our AM Sunrise Glow Serum and PM Sunset Restore Serum, because between these two, all your skin care worries are taken care of! From vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, to bakuchiol, we have it all – so for plump skin, these two bottles are all you need!