SKIN CARE AFTER 50; Moisturize, Get Sun Protection and See an Expert If Necessary
We all strive to look and feel our best and, as any Hollywood starlet can tell you, this tendency is not something that wanes as time goes on. If anything, as the years glide (or fly) by, we want to make sure that we are making the most of our natural assets - first among them, our skin.
Skin care after age 50, much like skin care at any age, is based on a few important principles:
- Moisturize
- Avoid picking, scratching, and rubbing
- Protect your skin from the sun
- See an expert to check your skin on a regular basis
Adhering to these basic tenets will absolutely make a world of difference in any skin care regimen.
MOISTURIZE
Moisturizing the skin, in itself, does not really do all that much for skin health; if a drop of moisturizing cream never touches your skin, it will not increase your risk of premature aging or skin cancer. It will, however, mean that your skin may display more fine lines, wrinkles may be more visible, and that you may have more of a tendency to have problematic itchy spots on your body.
As time goes on, the skin's ability to serve as an effective barrier drops off somewhat; this increases water loss from the skin and leads to more dryness. This, in a nutshell, is why people often notice more dry skin, particularly on the legs, after age 50. Frequent moisturizing can make a big difference here, as the skin needs all the help it can get to maintain its moisture. One of the first signs of dryness is itchiness. Since we want to stop the dreaded itch-scratch cycle at all costs (this is the feedback loop which makes you scratch an itchy spot, yet the more you scratch the more it itches), moisturizing right away and on a regular basis is critical. It is especially important to do so right after leaving the shower while the skin is still damp.
As an aside, the fine lines that are more apparent on dry skin are easily improved with regular moisturizing and, unlike the deep furrows caused by repetitive muscle contractions, these lines will disappear entirely with regular moisturizer use.
AVOID PICKING, SCRATCHING, AND RUBBING
Picking, rubbing, scrubbing and other aggressive attempts at exfoliation have a place in the world, but should be reserved for toilet and bathtub cleaning - not skin care. The skin is a delicate organ, and is very sensitive to repetitive trauma, including scratching and scrubbing. All of these actions provoke a singular response in the skin: inflammation. Inflammation, as scientists are understanding more and more over recent decades, is responsible for many of the negative changes that we see in skin and other organ systems, from cancer to arthritis to digestive problems.
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