50 Everyday Habits That Can Make You Look Younger
Forget aging gracefully—here's how to age youthfully. Keep a healthy glow, a spring in your step, and a radiant appearance with tips from the experts.
Smile, wide!
Young, middle-aged, and older individuals studied thousands of photographs and were asked to guess the age of models with various facial expressions. Neutral expressions yielded the most accurate results, and fearful expressions made subjects look older; happy faces were rated as younger than they really were. Also, avoid saying these words that make you sound old.
Eat more grapes
Sorbitol, which gives grapes, berries, plums, and pears their sweetness, is a humectant, a substance that attracts water when applied to the skin, helping it absorb and retain moisture.
Touch up your hair
As we age, our hair changes. "It often becomes coarser in texture and more dry," says hairstylist Jenna Mast. Heat styling can damage hair, so try air drying an only use an iron around your face. Whether you have your hair washed at home or at a salon, use deep conditioning treatments regularly to combat dryness. Here's what your facial wrinkles are trying to tell you.
Frame your face
Keeping your eyebrows well-groomed and shaped helps provide a frame for your face and draws attention to your eyes.
Cleanse and moisturize regularly
Cleansing and moisturizing helps protect skin and keep it healthy; but banish regular soap, which can be drying for older skin. Instead, use a cleanser that gently washes without stripping skin of its natural moisture. Avoid skin toners, especially those with a stringent or alcohol base. Follow with a good moisturizer, morning and night.
Conceal your problem areas
If you have a wrinkly neck or jowls, avoid tight-fitting or crew-neck tops, which squeeze skin upward. A shirt collar over a round-necked jersey is a better option. Wear dark-colored shirts if you have a large belly. Here are more outfit tricks to help you look instantly younger.
Give yourself a hand or two
A study showed that people could accurately guess women's ages by looking at their hands. Use a good hand cream frequently, preferably one that contains SPF for daytime. Brighten dull hands by exfoliating regularly: Mix sea salt with lemon juice and gently scrub into your hands with a soft toothbrush.
Eat more greens and reds
Vitamin K—in kale and other green vegetables—helps your blood coagulate, reducing the impact of bruising. Lycopene in tomatoes gives the skin powerful protection against UV rays. Fruit and veggie consumption resulted in better skin complexion, according to a study.
Wear less makeup
Instead of heavy makeup or these other makeup mistakes that age your face, pick pink, radiant hues that mimic the look of natural youth, says makeup artist and What Not to Wear star Carmindy. "As we age our skin loosens and is not as taught as it once was, so the more makeup you apply, the more it can move, settle, and travel," she says. "Less makeup will adhere to mature skin much better so you stay looking fresh all day."
Eat oily fish
Salmon and other oily fish are rich in DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol), a compound that boosts muscle tone and is one of the must-have ingredients in expensive "mature" skin creams. Eating oily fish twice a week offers the same benefits. Here are more foods that can help fight wrinkles.