by T. Parker

Created on: August 02, 2009

To keep your skin looking young and fresh, it's essential to limit your exposure to the elements that age skin prematurely. Sun exposure, dryness and dehydration, tobacco and alcohol, and a lack of proper dietary nutrients, will all accelerate the aging process. If you're under 30, the best thing you can do for your skin is to wear a natural sunscreen every day, eat a healthy diet full of fruits and veggies, and stay hydrated. If you're already experiencing some signs of aging, here are some tips that can help!

As skin gets older, dryness becomes more and more of an issue. However, this doesn't mean you need to smear your face with heavy, greasy creams. Instead, try to hydrate your skin from within: drink lots of water, and treat yourself to a lotion that contains a humectant. The more you can do to keep your skin hydrated, the less you'll see of the fine lines that eventually develop into wrinkles. And "hydrated" doesn't mean "greasy" - a greasy cream will sit on the surface, and doesn't penetrate as deeply as a humectant, which will actually pull water molecules out of the air and allow your skin cells to hold on to them more effectively.

If your skin is severely dry, try using a gentler wash before you ratchet up to a heavier cream, and take it slow. Dry skin doesn't produce very much of it's own oil, so one key is to avoid disrupting the delicate balance of your skin. Try using a creamy cleanser rather than a foamy or frothy one that soaps up - cleansers with lots of soapy bubbles will strip dry skin. Ideally, your cleanser should be a tissue-off cream that does little to strip away oils, but can effectively remove foreign substances like dirt and make-up from the surface of your skin. Fine lines tend to be a sign of dehydration, rather than surface dryness, so act accordingly and hydrate your body when you see them!

As skin ages, it also becomes thinner. This is why we begin to see the kind of sun damage that resembles blotchy freckles. Those pigmentation irregularities may have been there since our first tan or burn, but young skin is so thick we don't see them until much later in life. Even though your skin may be thinner, it's still important to exfoliate, since a buildup of dead skin on the surface will increase the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, not to mention the fact that too much dead skin will create a barrier between live skin and your skin care regime. There are medical facial treatments that address pigmentation irregularities,

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