It’s horrible when your body skin loses its elasticity, unfortunately a natural part of the ageing process, but also a problem from weight loss and after pregnancy. The change of hormones at menopause can give the effect of cellulite (orange peel skin), when actually it can be a lack of skin elasticity.
There are many products out there offering us so much at often un-affordable prices for the body, and extortionate amounts of anti ageing for the face. so what is best to do about the skin on our body that is heading south. My first advice is to do daily exercise to tone up your muscles for body, face and neck. This can be 5-10 mins before your morning shower/bath. Concentrating on body skin today, I would then recommend to vigorously dry with your towel and firmly massage body cream into your skin. This will help exfoliate the skin, increase the blood circulation which will help to nourish your skin and the cream will keep the skin soft or supple.
help skin firming.
The skin loses firmness from being over stretched and it naturally loses elastin and collagen with age. Elastin and collagen are naturally found in the skin and give it its ability to stretch. Many products contain Elastin and Collagen, but unfortunately the skin does not absorb enough of this or replenish what we have lost to make much of a difference. So we need to look at other ways of firming up. It is very important to look at what we eat and how we can promote skin health and firmness from the inside. Keratin is also present in skin and is what our hair and nails are made up of. Keratin is something we can provide our bodies with through our diet.
Keratin
Keratin is a protein found primarily in the skin, hair and fingernails Keratin is produced by amino acids, and the best sources for keratin through diet are foods high in protein. Eat lean meats, kidney and liver, poultry and fish to help build keratin protein in the body. Avoid eating fatty red meats. Low fat dairy products have essential amino acids that boost keratin production, low fat milk, cheese and yogurt are all good.If you are a vegetarian or vegan you can get Keratin from Fruits and Vegetables Vitamin C helps absorb vegetable based proteins in the body, which are building blocks for keratin. Citrus fruits, peppers and brussel sprouts are examples of fruits high in vitamin C that can increase the development of keratin. Vitamin B7 plays a part in metabolizing proteins, the foundation for keratin. You should eat vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and onions because they contain vitamin B7 Whole grains are also good.Silica can also be beneficial for slowing down the signs of skin aging. It’s best to get silica from natural sources, and food sources include leeks, green beans, strawberries, cucumber, mango, celery, asparagus and rhubarb. Vitamin K2 is also associated with slowing down skin ageing and can be sourced from Organ meats, egg yolks and dairy products Vitamin K1 sourced from leafy greens.
I have recently attended a talk ‘Menopause Matters’ given by the wonderful and knowledgeable Liz Earle. She is a massive advocate for women over 50 to use HRT from peri-menopause symptoms onward. She explained that it can have a huge impact on menopause symptoms and general wellbeing. Liz reassured us that the risks associated with HRT are over exaggerated and actually minimal depending on the type and combination of hormones prescribed to the individuals needs. I will delve deeper into oestrogen and the menopause in a further blog post. In relation to skin firming the lack of Oestrogen production in the body reduces moisture in the skin and can effect collagen production. So Oestrogen HRT could be a way of improving skin firmness and putting the youthfulness back in. Something else I will look further into for my own journey, as this is one of my real bug bears of the ageing process.
Natural skin firming – Beauty good enough to eat
Vitamin E creams, Seaweed extract, Jojoba oil, Olive oil,
Grapeseed oil, Cucumber.
My favourite over the counter product for the body is Palmer’s Cocoa Butter firming Lotion.
Recipe for Skin firming Mask: Cucumber and Avocado Mask Cucumber is a natural anti-aging food. It firms the skin, closes the pores and nourishes the skin You’ll need:· 1/2 cup cucumber (sliced)1/2 cup avocado (chopped )· 1 egg white 2 tsp. powdered milk (if not lacto intolerant) Simply blend all the ingredients until they’re smooth, then refrigerate till chilled. Then apply it liberally to the face and neck.Leave the mask on for half an hour before rinsing with warm water.
