It all starts with healthy collagen.
The collagen in our skin is what keeps it looking bright, smooth and young. And as collagen proteins begin to break down, our skin starts to wrinkle and look tired. While we can’t avoid this from happening forever, we sure as hell can delay the onset. The choices we make now will affect our collagen and our skin for years to come. So make good choices and reap the rewards for years. How about that for an investment that pays dividends!
And yes, you can go out and buy a $100 bottle of skin cream that’s supposed to carry the fountain of youth. But you can’t truly put a band-aid on bad health and diet habits. Healthy, radiant, resilient collagen starts on the inside. It comes from a lifetime of living a healthy lifestyle. And if you haven’t followed through with healthy habits until now, today is an excellent day to start.
So where do you start in keeping your skin vibrant? Here are 7 ways to keep the collagen in your skin young.
Go easy on the alcohol
Alcohol is one of the greatest enemies of youthful skin. Think back to your college days. Remember how crappy you looked after a night of heavy drinking? Two of the major factors in alcohol’s aging capabilities are dehydration and inflammation. And your collagen starts to take a beating when heavy drinking becomes a repeated pattern. Heck, even just a couple drinks a day will start to age you over a matter of years.
If you’re going to drink, red wine is probably the best option. Red wine contains resveratrol, a protective compound for the skin. But even red wine should be consumed in moderation if you want to keep inflammation at bay
Think about sunscreen and cover-ups daily
Of course you wear sunscreen on a hot day on the beach. But did you know that walking around on a more mild day can also take a toll on your skin? So it’s important to wear sunscreen on your face anytime you will be exposed to the sun.
But here’s a caveat. Some unblocked sun exposure is good to help in the formation of vitamin d. Studies show that vitamin d is crucial to overall health. And sun exposure is the best way to get needed vitamin d.
You should determine how much unblocked sun exposure to get based on your skin tone. The lighter your skin tone, the less you need. And if you aren’t getting enough vitamin d from the sun, make sure to take a supplement. But remembr that you only need a little unblocked sun every day. Anything else will just age you
And here’s another point. The best sunscreens are made from nature, not toxic, skin aging chemicals. So keep that in mind when purchasing a daily sunscreen. I look for sunscreens made of Zinc Oxide. I know that zinc oxide sunscreens can be a bit more messy than the chemical filled ones. And I’ve had a hard time finding a good quality everyday zinc oxide sunscreen I now recommend Badger Rose Daily Sunscreen. This is the best zinc oxide sunscreen I’ve found because it doesn’t leave a white film on your skin or clog pours. Oh, and it really works.
Badger Balm Spf25 Tinted Rose Face Sunscreen Lotion, 1.6 Ounce
Satisfy your sweet tooth the natural way
Refined sugars are a double wammy for skin. Sugar creates the same internal inflammatory process as alcohol. Remember how I just talked about inflammation’s troublesome effect on skin collagen?
But sugar’s aging effects don’t stop there! Sugar takes more nutrients to digest than it provides. So remember all those nutrients you got from eating a healthy breakfast? Well those nutrients are now being used to digest your sugar. Which means there won’t be much leftover to nourish your skin.
The best sugars to choose are those in whole fruit. But after that, maple syrup and raw honey can also be good choices in moderation.
Eat fish a couple of times a week
Omega-3 fatty acids get a lot of positive press for being good for the heart. But they are also amazing for your skin. We’ve talked quite a bit on how inflammation can be super destructive for your skin collagen. Well, omega-3 fatty acids are very effective at fighting against this inflammation. So, omega-3s keep your skin younger for longer.
But it’s also important when eating fish to choose lower mercury options. While mercury surely isn’t good for your body, it’s also bad for your skin. Options like salmon, sole, flounder, tilapia, and crawfish tend to be lower in mercury. And they’re even better if you can get them wild as opposed to farm raised.
If you’re a vegetarian, or just can’t stomach fish, you can also take flax seeds. Flax seeds contain alpha-linolenic acid, which can be converted to omega-3 fatty acids. But keep this in mind. Not everyone’s body is effective at doing this conversion. The body needs an abundance of nutrients to effectively make the conversion from alpha-linolenic acid to omega-3 fatthy acids. This includes vitamin B-6 which many vegetarians lack. Deficiency in any of the needed nutrients will halt this conversion. So eating fish and/or supplementing with fish oil is still the best way to go.
Get your required sleep every night
There’s the expression, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” But the reality is that without proper sleep, that day might come a lot sooner. A lot of people get into the mindset that they can compensate for a lack of sleep by chugging caffeine. And while that will help you feel more alert, it won’t slow down the accelerated aging process that accompanies sleep deprivation.
There are a few things that happen with sleep that support healthy collagen production. The first is that sleep time is the major time of body detoxification. And when the body doesn’t detoxify properly, increased toxicity creates inflammation. And we all know by now what that does for your skin.
Additional, sleep is the primary time of day when your body secretes something called growth hormone. Growth hormone is esteemed as so beneficial for skin that many Hollywood starlets are straight up injecting themselves with it. But the best way to get growth hormone is to produce it in your body. And the only way you can do this is with proper sleep.
Fight against dehydration
Ok, you knew this one was coming. Water can actually help you fight against aging. And most people don’t drink enough water. Ideally, you should be drinking half your body weight in pounds divided by two.
200 pounds divided by 2 = 100 ounces of water daily. Get it?
When you don’t drink enough water, your skin does more than look dry Long-term dehydration can cause permanent harm. This is because cells can become damaged or lose their ability to retain moisture. And this results in old looking skin.So drinking water doesn’t just help your skin look good today. It helps it nourish and thrive for years to come.
Start with a small goal. If you’re not drinking any water, set a goal of having a glass of water in the morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening and work up from there.
Have something green on your plate at every meal
There are a lot of nutrients needed for healthy skin. And this is why fruit and vegetables are so important if you want to have beautiful skin. But many of us include vegetables into our diet an an afterthought
When we’re missing proper vitamins and minerals, we don’t have the nutrients needed to build healthy collagen. And this is just the start of the problem. A lack of nutrition also means we are missing the skin’s line of defense against toxins and other aging invaders. Which means the toxins will succeed at damaging the skin. And this means your skin will start to look older.
Try to have some type of vegetable with every meal. Plan ahead. And build up your skin from the inside out.
Daily health habits Lifestyle habits are more important than creams
Adding nutrients topically won’t undo bad lifestyle habits. It’s up to you to make choices daily that protect your skin. And again, it’s never too late to start.
Follow these 7 healthy habits for youthful skin. And while everyone else is spending money on botox and hope in a bottle, you’ll be able to just sit back and know that your skin glows from the inside!
*Please note: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy this product, I will make a small commission at no extra expense to you. I only recommend products I believe in.
Stress can have a huge effect on skin so meditation and yoga can actually help your skin!!! Lots of water…good for many things.
Stress can have a huge impact on EVERYTHING! So underrated!.
Great tips here. I think the water intake and protecting our skin from the sun as especially important!
Yes, can’t say enough about sunscreen because that one often gets overlooked.
yes, yes, yes to sleep, sunscreen, and hydration…i only wish i’d jumped in with the sunscreen a little earlier. i have fair skin and used to love having a tan.
I have fair skin too. I guess I was “lucky” because I had acne and my Dr. made me wear sunscreen because of the medication I was on. It just turned into a habit.
I took collagen capsules for years. Not for my skin, but for my joints, as it it is said to restore cartilage and mine between the patella and the femur is worn out. It must have helped my skin though, as I was told this week that I look about 15 years younger than I really am!
Wow…don’t know much about taking collagen for the skin but I do know people who take it for their joints. I’m sure its lots of good habits that keeps you looking young.
Looking after your skin is important. Working from the inside out rather than the other way around. Expensive facial products will only provide a mask whereas healthy eating and living ensure you look radiant. At present I do not take any vitamins but I have given it some thought. I eat fruit and vegetables daily – could not contemplate a day going without either.
If you’re gonna take one vitamin, I would recommend vitamin d3. We’re almost all deficient and emergency research is showing just how important it is for disease prevention. I’m fair skinned and live in a warm client (we get d-3 from sun exposure) and I was horribly deficient.
Great tips – a lot are common sense, but it’s great to read the reasons why! I’m trying hard to better my lifestyle and my skin is actually responding. It’s quite amazing. Thanks for sharing!
~Jess
A good lifestyle will definitely shine through. Great that you keep healthy habits.
I could definitely improve on some points here like not drinking too much alcohol, drinking more water and using sunscreen every day, not just during summer. While I do have a skincare routine, this post highlighted the importance of taking care of your skin from the inside too.
I think most people drink a little too much when they’re younger. But the more you keep it in moderation, the more your skin will thank you later for sure.
I do pretty well with everything on your list except sleep. When I get involved in a project it’s really tough for me to stay asleep. Seriously, I’m up at 1-2 am working! But I’ve always been that way. When I was in college I would go to sleep at 9 pm and then get up at 2 am to study, and on a normal day I wake up at 4 am no matter what time zone I’m in. At this point in my life not sure there’s much I can do about that, but I’ll keep working on the other stuff. Thanks!
I actually trained myself to go from a night person to a morning person. But it took a lot of work and active training. Now that I’ve made it a habit and readjusted my internal clock, it is a lot easier.
This is why I love reading your posts Erica!
All necessary points with with proper explanation. Glad that I follow all these points..
Thanks for the kind words, Tuhin!
Good advice & tips and boy I hate when I get to the supper hour and realize I hadn’t had fruit since breakfast. I didn’t know that about sunscreen, which of course I’m religious about, but will start reading ingredients from now on.
No need to worry about eating fruit if you’re having veggies. Fruit has a lot of sugar, so filling up on veggies can be even better if you prefer!
Well, I am guilty of not following some of the mentioned pointers mentioned in the post. How every your post provided the needed push and will help me 🙂
Thanks for sharing dear 🙂
Glad this was helpful, Sushmita. And I don’t think any of this do this perfectly. The point is to keep trying.
These tips are amazing. I am in my 40s so I am fighting that wrinkle battle every day. It is funny that things that are healthy for your body are also good for the skin too, so a healthy lifestyle works so well.
I am turning 36 in a few weeks and I cannot believe the difference in my skin. I am going to follow this great routine for my skin!
I am so bad about drinking water. I REALLY need to make it a goal of mine to make sure I drink enough water and do it every single day!
I find myself recently struggling with sugar cravings. It’s rough and it leaves me feeling pretty crappy about myself after I finish a whole bag of chocolates. I should try this tip and see what happens! Thanks!
Using sunscreen is a must. I have seen many people who don’t use it and spend a lot of time in the sun and it wreaks havoc on their skin.
These are great tips! I’m all about water and sunscreen, but I didn’t know eating fish could help. I’ll have to get down to the market!
I have always heard that you cannot outwork your diet! I can believe it, just cutting out soda has helped me tremendously. I will have to aim for a few more of your tips too!
It’s amazing how our habits directly affect our skin. I notice it most with sugar, specifically white sugar causes my face to break out. Hot yoga though is amazing for my skin and has done wonders!
These tips for keeping your skin collagen young are terrific. It is obvious by your profile pic that you definitely use a skin care regimen.
Nice! I will try this at home! this will help me to have more healthier skin.
I need to follow some of your tips.. I definitely don’t eat enough fish and I need to increase the water amount I drink everyday. thank you for the suggestions.
Totally agree with the sugar thing. When I gave up processed sugar a couple years back my skin cleared up instantly. I still eat it when I am traveling, really limit myself. I don’t personally drink and know that it doesn’t help.
This is a great post. I feel like many of these are easy to follow, yet I personally struggle to do so.
Yes! All of these things are so important for healthy skin & collagen! I always get so bad this time of year. Luckily, I usually take January to re-set myself and try to go no sugar, no alcohol, no grain, etc. It’s especially important now that I’m in menopause, because my skin is super-dry now and more prone to wrinkles because I don’t have the estrogen to protect me anymore!
I think it’s so important to look after your body from the inside. I’m trying many of these things but still have a way to go! I hope that I can help my skin out as much as possible over the coming years.
A lot of people don’t think that drinking a lot of alcohol will age them. It is so true that it will so make sure to keep it in moderation is a great tip.
These are all great tips! I always try to keep up on my hydration and sunscreen is an absolute must for me!!
These are some great tips! I’m definitely going to be implementing more of them in 2018. The sleep one will have to wait though since we have a baby in the house!
These are some great tips to keep our skin young. Drinking a lot of water is so important. and putting sunscreen is a must. Such a great point dear.
YES YES YES to sunscreen!! I’ll be twenty next year (I know, I know, just a baby!) and one of my goals for this year is to be super diligent with my sunscreen.
Growing up in Arizona means I have heard my entire life that I need to take care of my skin in the sun. These are great tips! I never go out in the sun without sunscreen!
Over the last few years, my skin started getting really dry. I need to start eating more fish and drinking more water.
So good!! I started using a 100 spf sunscreen this year because I am so fair and burn easily. It has done wonders!!
I absolutely love collagen. It really has done wonders for my nails!