Better With Age
Beauty Sleep
Sleep is crucial to keeping your skin looking young and your vitality going strong, so aim for seven to eight hours of sleep per night, suggests Dr. Jaliman. And upgrade the material you're laying your head on while you're at it. She recommends sleeping on silk pillowcases to prevent any sleep lines from leaving their mark night after night.
Daily De-Puff
Another trick to keep your skin looking refreshed is to sleep on two pillows, which prevents your eyes from getting puffy, says Dr. Jaliman. She also recommends using gel ice packs and putting them on your eyes for ten minutes each morning to reduce any puffiness. Or an equally effective solution is to keep your eye serum in the refrigerator, since the cool gel will also remove any swelling, she says.
Sugar Less
What you eat can have a substantial impact on how you look, especially when it comes to your skin. If healthy, vibrant, ageless skin is your goal, cut back on the amount of sugar you consume, which can stiffen collagen and cause wrinkles, says Dr. Jaliman. Instead, swap sugar for healthy fats, such as nuts or avocado (Dr. Jaliman especially suggests eating some avocado every day) since their oils are integral to skin health.
Drink This, Not That
When eliminating sugar, a good place to start is with your beverages. Swap your soda for green tea, which offers a bounty of antioxidants and polyphenols—a powerhouse combination to keep your skin youthful, says Dr. Jaliman. Also, stay hydrated throughout the day and take probiotics to maintain immune function, she recommends.
The Brighter, The Better
As you're scaling back on sugar, increase the amount of fruits and veggies you're eating. Since they're high in antioxidants, they give a glow to the skin, says Dr. Jaliman. As far as which ones to eat in particular, always go for ones that are richly colored, which indicate a higher level of antioxidants. For example, choose red peppers over yellow or red grapefruit over white. And make eating blueberries a daily habit, she suggests.
Vitamin Power
A key component to graceful aging involves intercepting free radicals, which—due to missing a molecule—cause damage to the DNA and cells, says Dr. Jaliman. But antioxidants like vitamin C and resveratrol have the power to inactivate free radicals while being a gentler alternative to retinol—a common anti-aging skincare ingredient. To get double the antioxidant boost, apply an anti-aging product with vitamin C or resveratrol and also incorporate more of these antioxidants into your diet. Good sources of vitamin C include bell peppers, dark leafy greens, kiwi, broccoli and berries, while sources of resveratrol include grapes, pistachios, blueberries and cranberries.
