Have you ever seen a woman twice your age walking down the street and thought, “What is her secret?”
Maybe she just has better genes. Perhaps she’s had work done. But the cold, hard truth is that she has probably just always taken care of her skin.
Though wrinkles are inevitable, for some people—especially women—they come sooner than for others.
Aging is just a natural part of life, but that doesn’t mean you should have to put up with wrinkles already.
There are plenty of surprising things you do right now that are setting you up for wrinkles in a few years.
Here are some bad habits that can prematurely age your skin:
- Chewing Gum: While speaking with Daily Makeover, Joel Schlessinger, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon and founder of LovelySkin.com, said he’s seen many women with wrinkles around the mouth from excessively chewing gum. You may not realize it, but the constant chewing will eventually stretch the skin around your mouth and cause irreversible damage.
- Not Removing Makeup: When you’re young, you pretty much only remove your makeup to avoid causing breakouts. But you might take this nightly ritual a little more seriously once you learn what else it’s doing to your youthful complexion. Both makeup and other environmental pollutants sink into your pores throughout the day, breaking down the elastin and collagen that keeps your face firm. No matter what, you should cleanse and moisturize your skin every day.
- Stretching Skin To Apply Makeup: If you’re pulling your eyelids up and opening your mouth to apply eyeliner and mascara every morning, you’re just asking for wrinkles. When done every single day, the simple act of stretching your fragile skin will break down elastin and collagen, causing more wrinkles over time.
- Picking: Any time you irritate your skin by popping zits and picking pimples that are still healing, you’re doing lasting damage to your face. Not only are you causing your skin to scar, but eventually, these marks will turn into fine lines and wrinkles. ##MN_RESP##
- Sleeping: If you know you sleep on your face often, you might want to invest in a satin pillowcase, which can easily slide across your face. The marks your pillow leaves on your face during the night may disappear pretty quickly right now, but one day they won’t.
Which of these wrinkle causing habits surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2011 Maegan Tintari/Flickr
