Age brings about a lot of changes to one’s body. Thankfully, a good exercise routine can protect both bone and muscle from the worst of those changes. But protecting one’s skin from the aging process requires a more careful and targeted approach. This is often due to the fact that something like crows feet and aging spots arise from totally different sources. But natural treatments can help prevent or even treat aging skin:

1. Wear sunscreen
Sunlight is one of the most common sources of skin damage. Sunlight consists of UV rays that can hurt skin cells in a number of ways. In particular it breaks down the connective tissue found in collagen and elastin. These are some of the structures which provide a base or foundation for one’s skin. When UV rays break down this support it can cause wrinkles. Wearing sunscreen can help stop this damage.

2. Limit sugar intake
Sugar creates something within the body which is appropriately known as AGEs. AGEs stands for advanced glycation end products. As one burns sugar for energy it creates AGEs. And as AGEs develop they begin to attack the most vulnerable adjacent proteins. In the skin, this means that one will suffer damage in collagen and elastin. This will in turn mean skin sags and loses elasticity. Limiting sugar intake will dramatically cut back on AGEs.

3. Quit smoking
People often assume that cancer is the only danger which comes from smoking. But in reality smoking accelerates most parts of the aging process. And this includes damage to the skin. By ceasing smoking one can end this chain and prevent future damage to the skin. It can even help to roll back that damage over time.

4. Use coconut oil
Earlier tips have noted that damage to collagen can create wrinkles. Coconut oil shows the flip side of this process. Coconut oil is an effective anti-aging skin care routine which can build up collagen in the skin. This helps to reverse current damage to the skin and even reverse some existing damage.

5. Take beta carotene
Beta carotene is known to many as the nutrient found in carrots. However, it’s also one of the best antioxidants to prevent skin damage. Oxidation is the process by which rust forms on metal. But it’s also a natural byproduct of oxygen metabolism within the human body. Antioxidants act as free radical scavengers to catch the negative effects of oxidation before they can have their full effect on skin cells.

6. Wash your face every night before bed
One of the best anti-aging skin care remedies might come as a surprise since it’s so easy. But one of the most effective ways to fight wrinkles is to simply wash one’s face every night. The reason this is so effective is that it takes care of an untold number of potential risk factors all at the same time. It’s important to remember that the skin is a living organ. It can take in any number of substances transdermally. In the case of something beneficial like coconut oil this is a good thing. But unhealthy toxins can be introduced into one’s skin just as easily. And one tends to pick up a lot of these substances from the environment on a day to day basis. People walk through clouds of smoke, they encounter car exhaust, and any number of harmful bacteria can take up residence on one’s face. Washing one’s face every night will remove all of those negative elements.