How to Look Younger

They say that age is just a number on your driving license, and nowhere else is this more evident than in anti-aging science. The art and discipline of how to look younger have been deeply explored over the last few decades to the extent that there now exists an entire cosmetic niche that specializes in rolling back the hands of time. Still, a lot of people struggle with this and are often at a loss finding the best way to look younger. Most often than not, it is because most people rarely draw a correlation between their biological age and their genealogical age. It is imperative to understand the relationship between these two if you are to succeed in the quest of how to make yourself look younger.

A Look at the Unseen Benefits Of Looking Younger Than Your Age

Nobody wishes to look older than they are, but did you know that there are more than just cosmetic benefits of looking younger than your age? One of them revolves around the fact that biological aging is associated with time-accumulated epigenetic damage. As such, looking older than you really are (i.e your biological age exceeding your calendar years) is a sign that you have not been paying meticulous care to your health. In other words, it implies that looking significantly younger than you actually are is a biological marker that your cells are not excessively damaged or don't have too many defects.

Aside from that, there are several other advantages of having a babyface in a world that is rapidly aging by the day. Here's a quick primer.

1. People Tend to View you as More Trustworthy and Friendly

Here's the thing; we are inherently attracted or drawn to cute kids and puppies mainly because their innocent-looking faces rarely pose an immediate threat to our safety. Centuries of human evolution and years of the condition have also made sure that cute and little things evoke our natural protective instincts for the sake of the continuation of our race - babies would have a  higher chance of making it to adulthood if we shielded them from danger when they are snugly, tiny, and cute.

Intrinsically,  people tend to feel less threatened and more trusting around you if you look decades that you really are. This then morphs into genial friendliness that can propagate you to higher levels socially and professionally without you even realizing it. It is even easier to make friends with the younger generation when you look younger than your peers.

2. We Associate Youthfulness with Potential, Attractiveness and Desirability

Let's be honest: as much as growing old is a blessing and a privilege reserved for a few, nobody really gets goosebumps when they meet a senior citizen for the first time. We are wired to associate youthfulness with potential, raw desirability and attractiveness regardless of the stage we are in life. Why? Because looking young suggests we have a future ahead of us.

You don't need to look far to realize the immense power that youth wields. Strangers, for instance, are more ready to help us when we are younger than when we are older and look firmly set in our ways. Younger women have more dating prospects and get asked out more times than their older counterparts. Even younger interns are often professionally preferred over their older colleagues, and the list goes on.

3. People Subconsciously Know that You are Healthier and Take Excellent Care of Yourself

Having a smooth complexion, wrinkle-free and clear skin speaks volumes about your personal care regimen. You are viewed as healthier, fitter and in better shape than someone with sun spots, eyebags, gray hairs, balding or hideous fine lines. Which, of course, explains why they are naturally drawn to younger-looking people, particularly when they are older than they seem. A 60-year-old lady who looks not a day older than 35 will tend to get more attention in all spheres of her life than her peers of the same age.

Fortunately, if you are at a loss on what to do to look younger, worry no more. We have compiled a list of cosmetology tips on how to make your face look younger.

Valuable Tips to Look Younger

The good news is that there are several natural ways to look younger, you don't even have to go under a surgeon's knife or spend thousands of dollars on botox sessions. Some of these tricks to look younger can be pulled off right at the convenience of your kitchen or the privacy of your bedroom.

1. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize...Especially your Neck

Proper, consistent and regular moisturization is without a doubt key to maintaining the elasticity of your skin. And nowhere else betrays your age (and loses elastin and collagen faster) than your neck. There's a reason the dreaded crepey neck is hardly seen in younger women in their teens or 20s. Taking care of your décolletage and neck is, therefore, a priceless tip to look younger that is often overlooked by many. But in reality, youthful looks revolve around constant moisturization interspersed with gentle exfoliation to keep dead skin away.

Speaking of the neck and how to look younger without makeup, did you know that you can shed off at least a decade from your complexion by firming up the neck area? Yes, that's right. By restoring, renewing and nourishing the upper chest and nape area using Maryann's Neck Cream, you can reverse years of sun damage to recoup your precious youthfulness and hang on to it for several decades to come.

2. Hit the Gym, Lose the Flab and Get Snatched

Nothing makes you look older than you really are than carrying unnecessary weight especially around the middle section. It's the globally recognized antithesis of youthfulness. It's actually no wonder that the fittest athletes on the planet rarely appear to age as their career demands that they keep their BMI within a certain optimum range and don't lug too much fat around.

While you may not be a professional athlete, you can borrow a thing or two about the disciplined lifestyle that this subset of the population leads. For starters, the goal is to make sure that your weight never goes past a certain threshold that's dependent on your height. The ideal youthful-esque BMI (your weight divided by the square of your height) is between 18 and 25. Secondly, try and carve out some time from your hectic schedule to exercise even if it's just a 20-minute stroll. Constant physical activity keeps your heart in excellent shape and prevents varicose veins.

3. Wear Sunscreen Everyday, Even on Cloudy Days

According to anti-aging experts, the sun's unforgiving UV rays are the biggest reason why most women age faster than they are supposed to. Apparently, these ultraviolet rays have a peculiar way of breaking elastin and collagen thus causing excessive sagging and loosening up of the skin especially after continuous exposure. This inevitably leads to wrinkles, fine lines and liver spots. The only viable solution to looking ten years younger as far as this goes is by applying sunscreen religiously.

In other words, whether come rain or shine, winter or summer, sunscreen is an absolute must-wear. A sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 is necessary to stave off other injurious effects of excessive UV exposure such as skin cancer, melanoma and hyperpigmentation. Ideally, the sunscreen should double up as a moisturizer and ought to be infused with an array of vitamins to nourish and revitalize your skin.

4. Go Easy on the Makeup

Heavy makeup, especially with an opaque foundation, tends to block and clog the skin pores if used regularly and overdone. Clogged pores mean that your skin is hardly breathing and toxins start to build up progressively which precipitates pimples, blackheads and, eventually, blemishes. So, does makeup age skin? Yes, it does if overused and abused, particularly if it is powder-based rather than hydrating.

Therefore, if you are looking for how to look 10 years younger naturally, then going easy on the makeup is, undoubtedly, the easiest place to start. Reserve makeup for special occasions only and instead invest your time and effort on natural ways to look 10 years younger. Besides, on the rare occasions that you have to wear makeup, dermatologists recommend going for a hydrating foundation paired with a suitable primer.

5. Use the Right Creams and Lotions for Your Face

The most foolproof way of how to look 20 years younger is crafting a skincare regimen that makes use of the right products tailored for your complexion and sticking to it for eons. Speaking of which, if you are in the market for skincare products, be on the lookout for three main ingredients that can help your other anti-aging efforts.

For starters, go for serums and creams that are loaded with antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to brighten and rejuvenate your skin on a regular basis. Secondly, a collagen-containing cream such as Maryann's Collagen Day & Night should be a staple of your daily skincare routine. Apart from stimulating collagen renewal, it also increases cell turnover which will immensely aid your quest for eternal youthfulness. Last but not least, a proper exfoliator such as Maryann's 30% Glycolic Pads must never miss in your grooming cabinet. These pads might be potent exfoliating pads but are gentle enough to be used on a daily basis without causing any adverse effects.

6. Eat Plenty of Fruits and Fresh Vegetables

Sometimes using anti-wrinkle creams is not enough, you have to supplement your beauty regimen with the right food choices in the kitchen. One of the most delicious ways of how to look 20 yrs younger involves munching on plenty of fresh veggies and fruits. If anything, eating yourself to younger-looking hair, skin and nails is a practice that has been around for generations now. The following age-defying foods could really come in handy in your quest of shedding one or two decades from your complexion and overall body.

• Tomato: A top-tier anti-aging food, tomato is known for its legendary ability to boost the production of collagen and support the presence of healthy elastin levels. Not just that, tomatoes are extremely high in lycopene, an antioxidant that shields the skin against progressive sun damage. Combine these two and you have a superfood that works twice as hard as others to keep your skin taut, clear and wrinkle-free.
• Kale: Kale is one of the best anti-aging delicacies if you are looking to fight dark under-eye shadows and tired skin that are making you look older than you really are. Besides, those dark green leafy veggies are loaded with vitamin K which is critical to stimulating skin cell regeneration and eliminating tired-looking eyes.
• Bone broth: Bone broth may not seem like the most appetizing of all beverages but you'd be surprised by the potent anti-aging upsides that it has. Apparently, the collagen extracted from slow-cooking poultry, fish or meat bones can boost your skin's elasticity, not to mention the reduced wrinkles and less-prominent fine lines.
• Lobster: In addition to other finger-licking good crustaceans such as crab and shrimp, lobster is teeming with a whole range of anti-aging goodness including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory fighters such as zinc. Speaking of zinc, it is known to accelerate the healing of wounds by triggering the renewal of the epidermis which is a cheaper way of looking ten years younger than relying on expensive botox treatments.
• Carrots: Carrots are loaded with an array of vitamins and antioxidants that can help turn back the hands of your biological clock by reversing solar damage and fighting hair loss from the inside out. The high levels of vitamin A, in particular, oversees the circulation of blood to the scalp for longer, thicker and stronger hair.

7. Fuller Lips and Facial Exercises

It's really no secret that eyebrows naturally droop with age. Drooping eyelids and saggy eyebrows can make you look older than you really are, aside from giving you that tired, lop-sided and unattractive haggard persona. Fortunately, you can put an end to sagging eyelids by giving yourself a natural eye lift by incorporating facial exercises into your skin and face care regimen. One of the practical facial exercises that you can try is chewing sugarless gum habitually to tighten, tone and lift your orbicularis oculi and procerus muscles.

Speaking of which, one of the pertinent questions that this idea elicits is, does chewing gum make your face thinner? The truth is that as much as localized weight loss is a myth, chewing gum every now and then is a recommended way of keeping your jaw and neck muscles in excellent shape. Bear in mind that facial muscles will over time lose elasticity, get wrinkled and start to deteriorate. So while chewing gum may not make your face thinner instantly, it is still a viable way of toning and stretching your jaw and neck muscles.

8. Balanced Hydration and Nutrition

Did you know that you can drink water to look younger? Staying hydrated is actually a practical way of regenerating younger-looking skin since your body depends heavily on water to combat the tell-tale signs of age-related deterioration. What's more, water does a ton of things to aid your body in staying ahead of ageing factors that can culminate in lifeless, dry and premature wrinkles. By extracting toxins from the system, it also fades premature fine lines and avails vital nutrients to the exterior-most surface of the skin. Other than contributing to youthful-looking skin, staying hydrated also keeps acne, pimples, and blemishes at bay.

In addition to this, managing stress and practicing relaxation techniques is also another highly underestimated approach that you can take to see through the challenge of how to make your face look younger. Get enough sleep while at it too, nothing accelerates premature aging than not getting sufficient sleep for at least 8 hours a night on most days of the week. Your body will even function better after a night of good sleep and it becomes extremely hard to recover from a chronic lack of rest as you get older.

In Closing - The Takeaway

There are several things that you have to remember if you are to succeed in looking younger than you are. For starters, you are what you eat. In fact, 80% of the health of your skin is dependent on internal-based factors (such as your diet, sleep patterns, mental or emotional state) and the other 20% is dictated by the products that you use topically on a daily or regular basis. Secondly, your genes have a significant bearing on how well or badly your skin ages. That's the reason it is imperative to tweak your self-care and skin care routine to optimize the potential of your skin's youthfulness. Do this and you will not just look younger than your peers but also feel great too under your skin.