Surprising Ways you are Aging Your Skin

Many things can prematurely age your skin. There are the usual suspects, like smoking, lack of sleep, and not enough sunscreen. But there are other, more surprising things that you may be doing every day that are also aging your skin. View this article for the complete list and read below for some of the most shocking culprits.

·         Washing Your Face Too Much: While it is recommended to wash your face daily, it is possible to over wash your face. Do not wash more than twice daily and monitor the ingredients in your cleansers. A non-soap cleanser without alkaline is a better option for repeated washing.

·         Drinking through a Straw: Repeatedly pursing your lips around a straw can cause wrinkling around your mouth. These lines may not appear until a later age when your skin is weaker but actions at a young age may contribute to this showing up in your skin later.

·         Wearing Contacts:  Contact lens users typically pull at the skin around their eyes when putting in or taking out their lenses. Over time, this repeated action can cause inflammation, and lead to wrinkling and sagging.

·         Driving: UVA rays, which can cause skin aging, can penetrate through auto glass and affect your skin even while driving. Try to remember to apply sunscreen to your exposed areas, including your face and left forearm.  

·         Sleeping on your face: Sleeping on your face repeatedly might create more facial wrinkles because of facial compression against your pillow. If you must sleep on your side, switch to a silk or satin pillowcase which will decrease the amount of wrinkles and help your skin retain moisture.

·         Slouching at work: Slouching or resting your chin on your arm can stretch the skin and lead to wrinkles over time.

·         Eating too much sodium: You may already know that sodium will suck water out of your system, so it makes sense that too much sodium will also take water out of your skin. Cut out some salty foods and remember to drink plenty of water.

Some of these every day actions will negatively affect your skin over time. While not all habits are easy to break, it’s important to think about routine changes that could help extend the life of your skin. Should premature skin aging be something you are concerned about and would like to treat, our team at Greenville Dermatology can recommend products or treatments depending on your skin condition. Call Greenville Dermatology at 864-242-5872 to schedule an appointment today.