Can we stop the aging process? Of course…not.  Never believe what anti-aging cosmetics are bragging about restoring youth because this has not been possible yet, at least as evidences suggest.  The fact is our skin gradually loses elasticity as we grow older, and gravity works its way to pull things down resulting to wrinkled or sagging skin in older people.  On the positive side, we can slow down skin aging and preserve, for a limited time, what we have.

A wrinkle free skin care starts in your youth.  If you’ve been abusive of your body in your adolescent and young adult years, chances are your body, especially your skin, will pay dearly for that.  Smokers for instance look older than their age.  Truth of the matter is smoking plays a big role in hastening the skin’s aging process because it disintegrates or weakens the skin’s natural defenses.  The sun might be good for the plants but it’s not kind on our skin.  The sun’s ultraviolet rays are damaging to the skin’s outer layer, which can lead to skin cancer.  UV sunscreen, with a minimum sun protection factor of 15 (and more for fairer skin) may help to reduce skin wrinkles when the time comes.

Aside from the sun, other contributing factors to premature skin aging are external exposures to other substances such as pollution and tobacco smoking.  Also wrinkles appear when the skin loses moisture and fats making moisturizers are a must for a wrinkle free skin care.  Moisturizers help the skin retain moisture, which is essential to attain a healthy, younger-looking skin. 

Skin care products designed for aging or maturing skin may also help in preventing the early appearance of the signs of aging.  Oil of Olay Total Effects contains a combination of vitamin B3, pro-vitamin B5, and vitamin E.  This formulation is intended to target the seven signs of aging by aiding the skin in retaining moisture and improves surface dullness, which may be a part of your wrinkle free skin care regimen.  Other topical products also offer promising wrinkle free skin care by repairing and nourishing damaged, aging skin. 

A healthy, natural diet consisting of fruits and vegetables are essential to wrinkle free skin care.  In addition, a sufficient quantity of vitamin and mineral supplements, moisturizers, and sunscreen may be all that you need for a wrinkle free skin care.

First step first – cleansing skin care

Foremost in skin care is cleansing. Dirt and dead skin cells can accumulate on the top layer of the skin while bacteria can rapidly act upon it creating a major disaster we call acne. Here’s a little skin trivia: skin is the largest organ in the body, covering about 19 square feet and weighs around 7 pounds. That accounts to millions of skin cells that need nourishment. However, the first step to achieve a radiant skin is proper cleansing.

Cleansing skin care may begin by choosing a cleanser specially formulated for your skin type. Although our skin basically has a similar structure, the amount of oil produced by our skin has a huge impact on the degree of formulations of cleansers. For instance, dry skin formulations may contain more moisturizers than the oily skin types. However, bar soaps generally (no matter how they claim to contain moisturizers) are too drying and must be used only from the neck down. A means to find out if your cleanser is too drying is if it leaves a “squeaky” finish. Get the idea? It removes your skin’s natural oil and lipids. Cleansing skin care is responding to your skin’s actual needs and removes dirt and makeup.

Cleansing skin care includes face washing with warm water to open pores and loosen deep-seated dirt. Extreme water temperatures may result to broken capillaries and cause your sebaceous gland to produce more oil. Also, in cleansing skin care, put a small amount of cleanser on your palm and apply on face in a circular motion. Then, rinse off with warm water and finally with cool water. Cool splashes close your pores down so as not to invite unwanted particles in.

As much as you want to achieve beautiful skin immediately, it can’t be done overnight. So, in cleansing skin care, wash twice a day only. Anything more than that can strip your skin of its natural oils that are necessary for moisturizing or irritate it the more. Frequent washing of the skin weakens its natural defenses and balance, which may result to: rashes (when skin becomes too thin allowing external substances to permeate the dermis or inner layer), adult acne (cleansing skin care twice a day may set off an adverse reaction on the skin), seborrheic dermatitis (appearance of red flakes on the scalp and T-zone).

Finally in cleansing skin care, you might be better off with the simplest regimen. Too much of anything, especially on the skin, can wreak havoc. Cleansing skin care prioritizes cleansing the skin more than anything else. After all, dirt is a major source of any problem.