Guest Blogger: Elise Marquam-Jahns
As I approached a nearby park on my morning walk the other day, I heard the unmistakable sound of a young child’s burst of joy. When I was near enough to see the scene unfold, her ear-to-ear smile as she sat at the bottom of a slide told the story.
But what really caught my attention was not only the beautiful, soft golden ringlets of her hair (which so reminded me of my own daughter when she was that age), but also the gorgeous glow of her skin.
No matter what our age, a dewy, glowing complexion probably ranks near the top of any list of most wanted beauty attributes. But for many of us, as the years pass, so (sadly) does the glow. But the good news is that with a few internal as well as external adjustments, we can recapture some of that radiance.
Check out the list below for some ideas to rev up your skincare and makeup routine to recapture some of that youthful glow.
Let’s focus first on some internal adjustments to get your glow on:
1. The Age Fix author Dr. Anthony Youn [1] reminds us that the most important thing we can do for our skin is to eat a plant based rich diet focusing on veggies, fruits and whole grains and less meat—in other words, your basic Mediterranean Diet approach.
2. Lycopene rich foods such as watermelon, tomatoes, guava, papaya and grapefruit help reduce damage and redness caused by sun exposure. And don’t forget the nuts. Brazil nuts (think selenium), walnuts (think omega-3 fatty acids) and macadamias (think good oils and fatty acids that help skin repair itself) are wonderful included in salads. Sad to say, but sugar pretty much equals wrinkles.
3. Since it’s difficult to get the trace minerals needed to form our body’s natural antioxidants through our food due to increasingly nutrient depleted soil, a daily multivitamin which includes selenium, copper, iron and zinc can also be important. The amount of each depends on our age and sex, so it’s best to check with your doctor or nutritionist first.
4. We’ve all heard it . . . and it’s true: drinking eight glasses of water each day (and even more if you drink a lot of coffee or live in a warm climate), not only helps rid the body of toxins, but it can also help plump the skin making fine lines less evident.
Now for a couple of external adjustments :
5. Keep the following clean: your makeup brushes, your cell phone and your pillow case. Brushes should be cleaned at least weekly (especially those used to apply foundation). Your cell phone deposits a boat-load of germs on your cheeks and jaw with each use, so it’s worth carrying some anti-bacterial wipes with you. Change that pillowcase every few days. Cellular renewal happens during the night, so help the process along by reducing the amount of bacteria your face encounters on your pillowcase.
6. Wash your face every night without fail. If you’ve worn a full face of makeup during the day, it’s best to go with a double cleanse at night. Use an initial cleanse to remove most makeup and dirt and use the second cleanse to deep clean so those nightly serums and moisturizers can reach deep into the skin and do their best work. Consider investing in a sonic cleansing brush which can get your face six times cleaner that a manual wash.
Be sure to check out the upcoming Part 2 of this article for some additional glow-getting ideas! You’ll no doubt discover a few surprises along the way.
We Value Your Thoughts and Suggestions:
Since these articles on beauty are specifically meant to meet your needs, I’d love to hear from you directly about the makeup topics you’d like to learn more about in upcoming articles. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with suggested topics. I can’t promise to cover all of them, but I’ll give it my best shot! Thanks. Elise
About The Author:
Elise Marquam-Jahns is an author, speaker, radio host and makeup artist. As a makeup artist, her passion is helping women 45+ get their glow back. In addition to her work as a makeup artist for a major cosmetics line, she founded Boomer and Beyond Beauty which offers makeup consultations, applications, classes and makeup parties. As host of Normandale Community College’s monthly Learning Well Blog Talk Radio Show, she interviews a wide cross section of health and wellness experts.