My son said to me one day as we were getting into the car “Why Do you You Look Sad and Wrinkly Mom?” Nothing makes you feel older than hearing this from your kids. The expression “ kids say the darnedest things” is an understatement in my family. I immediately thought to myself I need to find out how to reverse wrinkles naturally ASAP.
The wrinkly comment day started when I was trying to get my kids ready and off to summer camp. It had been about half an hour and I was getting frustrated to say the least. I decided to go sit in the car and wait.
While I was sitting in the passenger side of the car with the door open, one of my six year old twin boys came out and said “Mom, why do you look sad and wrinkly?”
As an older Mom raising young kids those words hit me in the gut like nothing I’ve ever felt.
I had recently become very aware that I’m looking older. So I was a little self conscious, so now I’m really self conscious. Not being one for medical intervention I needed to find out how to reverse wrinkles naturally ASAP and look happier.
I explained to him that I wasn’t sad I was just frustrated. I proceeded to explain to him that I didn’t have any makeup on hoping that would be the end of it.
But then he asked, do all women look like that with no makeup on (insert funny voice inflection here)? I started to explain that everyone looks different and then changed my mind and just said yes.
That was the end of that conversation with him and the beginning of long and arduous conversations with myself. It was definitely time to start finding out how to reverse wrinkles naturally and look happier.
Let me count the 10 ways NOT to look sad and wrinkly and how to reverse wrinkles naturally.
Tired of Being Tired All of The Time?
1. Smile
This is definitely the easiest and the quickest one to fix. The number one way I’ve found to not look sad is to just smile. Try being sad and smile at the same time it just doesn’t work.
I’ve been told my whole life to keep smiling it makes people wonder what you’re up to. If I keep smiling then my kids are sure to ask me why I’m smiling and not that other question.
*This actually accentuates your laugh lines (wrinkles), but helps reduce the dreaded “jowls.”
Turn that frown upside down!
2. Give Yourself Some Head Space
Being overly stressed makes you age faster on the inside and the outside. So get in your head. There’s plenty of room up there once you quiet all that negative noise and focus on what you’re grateful for.
3. Get The “Tude”
It’s all in the “tude”, the attitude that is. Having a positive attitude can definitely help you with turning that frown upside down and looking happy not sad.
Thinking about the younger version of yourself sometimes helps with changing your attitude. Think to yourself “I have just as much energy and excitement for life today as I did 10 years ago.” You will then definitely feel significantly better.
This helps with the sad part not so much the wrinkles. But at least you won’t be sad and wrinkly.
4. Meditate
Meditation is a great way to get into your head and reduce stress. When you get stressed your body releases Cortisol from the adrenal glands as a response. This is part of our internal “fight-or-flight” mechanisms. Chronic stress has been linked to premature crow’s feet, frown lines and under eye wrinkles.
I know a lot of people won’t even give this a try, or tried it a couple of times and determined that it’s not for them, or they just can’t do it. To anyone reading this who feels that way I HIGHLY recommend that you give it a chance. Keep in mind that they call this a meditation practice and the word practice is in there because it takes practice.
Start with guided meditations, I recommend using one of the many apps out there. Most have a free trial so what do you have to lose?
Try incorporating meditation into your daily routine.
5. Drink Lots of Water
Experts advise that you should drink half of your body weight in ounces for general health reasons. One of the benefits is that it hydrates your skin, helps get rid of toxins and plumps skin up leaving your skin looking younger with less wrinkles.
Not everyone may agree that drinking water can help reduce wrinkles, but why not try it and see if it works for you. What people will never dispute is that if you’re drinking water you’re not drinking other things such as sugary drinks, and you also won’t eat as much because your stomach is fuller.
This is definitely one of the cheapest of the anti-wrinkle “arsenal” at your disposal
6. Eat/Drink Foods High in Antioxidants
Lucky for me some of my favorite foods are high in antioxidants such as dark chocolate, red wine and blueberries. I pay no attention to the red wine controversy of whether it’s good for you or not. It doesn’t matter to me because I know it’s good for my mind, body and soul.
Antioxidants are molecules that stop the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that produces free radicals that travel through the body, stealing electrons from healthy cells leading to cell damage of the skin.
Eat right and stop the ox is one of my mantras. Some foods can also give you energy and less body fat which will make you look and feel happy.
7.Take Care of Your Skin and Stay Out Of the Sun
Get Your Daily Boost of Energy
The next day after the sad and wrinkly comment and we were inside. Not outside with the sun on my face. I asked my son if I still looked sad and wrinkly and to my surprise he said no.
So literally stay out of the sun!
No one disputes that the sun causes damage to our skin and is the number one culprit of premature aging. But how about those of us that didn’t care when we were younger because we were more concerned with “looking good?”
We can’t change the past, but now that we know better we should minimize exposure and do everything else possible to prevent premature aging.
This may not help to reverse wrinkles naturally, but it will definitely help to not deepen the ones that have already started forming.
Of course we can’t stay out of the sun all of the time and we shouldn’t. We need to get our healthy doses of Vitamin D from the sun and getting fresh air also important.
It’s recommended that we stay out of the sun between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. When you’re out in the sun wear sunscreen and a hat.
Have you ever wondered what kind and what SPF you should use? Should you use a higher SPF on your face? Should you use the highest number SPF available?
According to the American Academy of Dermatology you should you use sunscreen that…..
- Protects against both UVA and UVB rays (Broad Spectrum)
- A minimum of SPF 30 or higher which means that it blocks 97 percent of the sun’s UVB rays).
- Is water resistant.
As the SPF number goes up so does the protection, but only a small percentage.
8. Retinol
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They say the best wrinkle creams on the market contain Retinol which is made from vitamin A. It gets rid of wrinkles by making more collagen & hyaluronic acid in your skin. This reverses the thinning of your skin by making it thicker and helping smooth out & erase wrinkles.
Some products with a high percentage of retinol may make the top layer of your skin dry and flaky. Applying it at night, wearing moisturizer and sunscreen the next morning helps.
9. Vitamin C
Research shows that putting Vitamin C on your face causes your skin to produce more collagen which can smooth out your wrinkles.
There are many products you can purchase or your can make your own out of edible and natural sources. Some of my favorite home facial recipes are from NowLoss.com
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10. Facial Exercises (facial yoga)
Exercising your facial muscles is important just like exercising the rest of your body. Your muscles support your skin and keeps it firm.
Facial exercises also increase blood flow and circulation throughout the muscles which help counteract wrinkles. It is also said to stimulate collagen production which provides integrity, firmness and elasticity.
There are lots of facial yoga tutorials on YouTube.
Reverse Wrinkles Naturally and Look Happy
I’m very happy that my son’s visual perception of me changed that following day when we were inside the house. Maybe it helped that I asked the question with a big smile on my face, I don’t know but I’ll take the win.
Do you need to smile more or get a better attitude? Try implementing a personal practice such as meditation, what do you have to lose?
If you want smoother skin, to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and prevent premature aging then try some of the options mentioned in this post.
Use the right sunscreen, wear a hat and buy or use products that boost collagen production.
Let us know in the comments below what you do to stay happy and to keep your skin healthy. Let us also know if anything mentioned in this post such as increasing your your water intake, eating foods high in antioxidants or facial exercises (facial yoga) has helped to reverse your wrinkles naturally.
