Secret Agers: Beauty, Health and Fashion Habits To Avoid Because They Age You

When it comes to fashion, health, and beauty, there are several ways that women sabotage themselves without them knowing it. Several practices can lead to a premature aging and for as long as women are not aware or choose to do what they’ve always done, they will be forever be experiencing aging at an accelerated rate.

If you want to stop it from happening to you, find out what ages you and what you need to do to avoid them.

Secret Ager #1: Poor diet.

More than your fashion and beauty arsenal, great and young-looking skin starts in the kitchen. What you put in your system literally shows up in your face and the overall quality of your skin. If you are looking sullen and dry, you may want to check your sugar and sodium intake. High sugar food items can disintegrate the collagen in your skin and destroy your skin from the inside. Sodium in excess removes the water from your skin, making you look dry and wrinkly.

Instead, eat complex  and high fiber carbohydrates (i.e. black rice, sweet potatoes) and good cholesterol (i.e. avocados, coconut oil) to ensure your body has the building blocks to recover and replenish itself. And of course, load up on water – it’s the best way to remove toxins from your system.

More so, always have exercise in your daily routine. Together with a healthy diet, an active lifestyle improves your circulation and helps your body minimize inflammation which is another skin aging culprit. Thirty minutes a day for at least 5 days is ideal.

Secret Ager #2: Lack of a proper skincare regimen.

Although it’s tempting to try every new moisturizer in the market, doing so will only wreak havoc on your skin. Once you have found a dermatologist that has provided the right set of skin care products tailor made for your skin type, stick to it. These products are created or prescribed to work with the skin you have and not against it. Remember, the effects of these products are cumulative – no matter how good they are as products, if you stop and start your usage, you do not only diminish their effects but also make your skin work harder adjusting to the ingredients of every product you experiment on.

Secret Ager #3: Shimmer, matte, thick and dark make-up.

Do you have a lot of shimmer or matte items in your makeup kit? These may be one of the reasons you look a bit dated in pictures. The secret here is to focus on your great facial points by accentuating them properly with makeup instead of changing the way you look as a whole.

Also, try to balance what you have. Make sure your skin is visible and try not to pile on so many cosmetics on your face. Go easy on the foundation. If your skin is moisturized and even with proper skincare, you may not need to use foundation at all. All you need is a peachy pink blush and a lipstick that’s two shades darker than your natural lip color to look young and fresh. For lipsticks, choose semi-glossy textures that moisturize your lips.

Stay away from black eyeliners that draw attention to wrinkles in your eye area. Lipsticks that are too dark or too bright creates a contrast that also highlights lines around your lip area.

Makeup is supposed to make you look better and not transform you. When putting on makeup, do so with a light hand and with blending in mind. And always moisturize with SPF! Sun protection is the key to a young looking visage for years to come.

Secret Ager #4: Ill-fitting and age-inappropriate clothes that don’t complement you.

Shapeless shirts, dresses or blazers, leggings that you wear like a trouser, mini skirts, all-black ensembles, long hair that goes way past your shoulders, and basically anything that’s too tight or too loose are fashion items that age you.

The key to dressing up to look younger is to stick to the classics and find what suits your body type. For example, if you plan to wear a little black dress, you can avoid looking too severe or drab by accentuating with a cocktail ring or a diamond stud earrings. Instead of wearing mary janes, grab a pair of ballet flats in neutral color to pair with your dress or trousers.

Also, pay attention to your undergarments. The color should always be neutral and they should always be kept hidden.

In an attempt to look younger, many women make the mistake of following trends and sticking to diet, clothes, and beauty practices they followed in their teens or in their early 20s. 

Avoid looking older than you really are by eating a fiber-rich diet that’s abundant in vitamins and minerals, caring for your skin with products that work for you, and wearing clothes and make-up that complement you.