When it comes to anti-aging, there is a lot of advice out there. Some tips for taking the years off of your appearance make sense, while others are simply a bit out there. It can be difficult to sort through all of the advice and figure out what works for you and what isn’t particularly helpful. Whether you want to minimize the appearance of certain wrinkles, slow down the process of aging, or just feel better about the way you look, these five tips can be the most helpful.

Don’t Go Overboard

There are a lot of products out there that promise to hide lines and wrinkles, shrink your pores, and otherwise make you look a lot younger. Since there are so many options, it can be challenging to figure out which ones are right for you. It’s fairly easy to decide to try everything.

While your facial plastic surgeon might recommend combining some treatments or having multiple procedures performed at once to maximize your results, it’s not usually a good idea to put the entire beauty aisle on your face. Using too many products or mixing and matching products with strong ingredients can actually backfire on you, making your skin look worse for wear. Instead, try one product at a time or try using just one serum and just one moisturizer. If you don’t find the products to be effective, you can always stop using them and try something else.

Choose Appropriate Treatments

Similar to not using too many products is not choosing too many treatments or selecting your in-office treatments with care. Not every procedure is the appropriate pick for every patient, for example. A facelift is typically recommended for people who have looser skin in their lower cheeks and chin. If your major concern is lines between your eyebrows, a facelift won’t do much to help your particular issue. But, a non-surgical treatment such as Botox might be ideal.

A facial plastic surgeon can also help you decide which combination of treatments will give you the results you are hoping for. In many cases, surgeries such as a facelift or brow lift only help to tighten and tone skin. They don’t help improve the texture of the skin or minimize any blotchiness or hyperpigmentation. It might be that combining surgery with a laser treatment is the best option for you, or it might be that a laser treatment along with a filler or other injectable gives you the results you wanted.

Use the Right Products

Some products are better than others when it comes to helping your skin and helping you maintain a youthful look. Ingredients are important when it comes to skincare. Take a look at what’s in the products you’re using. For example, retinols are known for helping to minimize and reverse wrinkles, as they help increase cell turnover and improve the production of collagen in your dermis.

Ingredients such as vitamin C are known for brightening the skin. If you’re dealing with dark spots or hyperpigmentation, choosing a serum that contains vitamin C or another brightener such as kojic acid, can help fade those spots. It’s also worth knowing when an over-the-counter or topical product will do the trick and when you need something a little more intensive, such as an in-office chemical peel.

Protect Yourself

While some causes of aging are beyond your control – you can’t change your genes, for example – others aren’t. If you smoke or spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun, without using sunscreen, you’re increasing your risk for developing lines and wrinkles at a younger age.

What can you do? Get in the habit of wearing sunscreen daily, even on cloudy days and even on days when you’ll just be outside to get to and from your car. One way to get into the habit of wearing sunscreen daily is to find a lotion or moisturizer that also contains an SPF of at least 30.

Watch Your Diet

Some foods are better for you and your skin than others. A diet that contains a lot of sugar is likely to speed up the aging process, for example. Eating a lot of sugary treats, or even consuming a lot of foods with hidden sugars, can adds years to your look. Sugar can increase inflammation in your system and can also cause collagen, the protein that is responsible for keeping your skin firm and smooth, to break down more quickly. You don’t have to go cold turkey on sugar, but take steps to wean yourself off of it.

Want to learn more about what you can do to minimize the signs of aging? Make an appointment to speak with Dr. Stephen Smith, a facial plastic surgeon in Ohio , today. Dr. Smith can explain the various procedures and treatments available and give you advice on the most appropriate skincare products to use. To schedule a consultation, call (614) 678-7180 today.