Anti-Aging Tips For Menopause Beauty

Menopause doesn't mean looking like an old hag.  Here are some anti-aging tips on menopause beauty to keep you looking younger every year. 

You see, shifts in your hormones can result in dry skin, wrinkles, thinning hair, brittle nails, and more. 

When you get around age 40 your skin's stratum corneum starts to change.  That's the outermost layer of your skin.  It protects all the deeper layers of your epidermis and your dermis.

It's really built of dead skin cells and some collagen.  and as you get older it gets thicker, drier, and flakier.  At the same time, the tender, young inside layers of the skin get thinner and thinner.  they lose their elasticity and plumpness.  You start to notice wrinkles and sags.

The same aging process is going on with your hair and nails.

But you can do something about your changing skin, hair, and nails.

Anti-Aging Tip #1: Get Rid of Aging Foods

Anti-aging tips start right in the kitchen.  Sugar and processed carbohydrates are big culprits in adding years to your appearance.

Make an effort to avoid all processed foods but especially breads, crackers, pastas, cookies, cakes and candy. 

Anti-Aging Tip #2: Eat Anti-Aging Foods

Just as some food makes you look older, other foods help you retain your youthful glow. 

Some nutrients can increase your circulation.  Antioxidants can slow down the signs of aging.  They destroy free radicals that damage healthy skin, hair, and nail cells.

Click here for 7 anti-aging foods to help you look younger starting at your next meal.

Anti-Aging Tip #3: Use All Natural Cosmetics

Chemicals lurking in your personal care products and cosmetics are very damaging to skin, hair, nails and your overall health. 

Commercial hair products contain formaldehyde. Lipsticks contain lead.  Your daily beauty routine could expose you to over 500 chemicals. 

Almost every personal care product contains parabens.  These chemical preservatives lurk in cosmetics, toothpaste, soaps, cleansers, body wash, nail polish, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions.

Parabens have never been tested for safety.  They disrupt your hormones even more than menopause does.  Harvard researchers have linked parabens to fertility  problems in women. 

And they've been found in breast tumors of cancer patients.  They may cause or at least promote cancer. 

Look for products labeled "paraben-free."  Avoid anything that has "paraben" in any of the ingredients like ethylparaben, butylparaben, methylparaben, and propylparaben. 

Anti-Aging Tip #4: Get Your Beauty Sleep

Even though modern technology lights up the night, your body still obeys  Mother Nature's rules when it comes to sleep.  Ignoring the rhythms of the sun and moon can leave you looking old before your time.

Not getting enough sleep can weaken your skin's ability to repair itself at night.  During the day, your skin is busy protecting you from environmental threats like chemicals, toxins, or too much sun and wind.  It needs a rest at night to repair and renew.

In one study researchers followed 60 pre-menopausal women between the ages of 30 and 49.  Those who were poor sleepers showed increased signs of aging.  They had more fine lines, and uneven pigmentation.  They also showed more slack skin and reduced elasticity.  And they had trouble recovering from sunburn. 

Good sleepers retained 30% more moisture in their skin. They could repair damage to their skin more quickly.  They also felt much better about the way they looked and felt more attractive.

Click here for more anti-aging tips on how to get your beauty sleep. 

Anti-Aging Tip #5: Exercise to Look Younger

You already know it's important to exercise for your heart, your waist, and even your bones.  But exercise can also take years off your face. 

Exercise works deep at the DNA level to reverse skin aging.  It helps preserve and lengthen your telomeres that protect the ends of each of your chromosomes. 

A German study comparing runners to sedentary middle-aged people found that the exercisers were more fit and had longer telomeres.

That translates to younger looking skin.  In a Canadian study, volunteers who exercised about three hours a week had thinner layers of the stratum corneum and thicker layers of the dermis and epidermis.  In other words, their skin was less dry and more plump and elastic.  In fact, the 65-year-olds who exercised had skin that was much closer to a 20 or 30-year-old.

A moderate exercise program can shave years off your appearance.

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Sources

Kristen W Smith, Urinary Paraben Concentrations and Ovarian Aging among Women from a Fertility Center. Environ Health Perspect. 2013 Aug 2. Epub 2013 Aug 2. PMID: 23912598

Barr, L., Metaxas, G., Harbach, C. A. J., Savoy, L. A., & Darbre, P. D. (2012). Measurement of paraben concentrations in human breast tissue at serial locations across the breast from axilla to sternum. J Appl Toxicol, 32(3), 219–232.

Amelia K Charles, Philippa D Darbre, Combinations of parabens at concentrations measured in human breast tissue can increase proliferation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. J Appl Toxicol. 2013 May ;33(5):390-8. Epub 2013 Jan 31. PMID: 23364952

Henry F, Arrese JE, Claessens N, Piérard-Franchimont C, Piérard GE. “Skin and its daily chronobiological clock.” Rev Med Liege. 2002 Oct;57(10):661-5.

Werner C, et al "Physical exercise prevents cellular senescence in circulating leukocytes and in vessel walls." Circulation 2009: 120: 2438-2447.