They’re simple, straightforward, and guaranteed to work.

If a guide to devising ‘irresistible clickbait’ exists, I’d wager ‘secrets to youth and beauty’ is featured heavily. It seems we can’t resist a new tip, trick, or hack to looking younger, prettier, and better versions of ourselves.  Empty promises aside, there really are things you can do – most of them are free but take some time and effort. Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik. 

 

When it comes to promises of looking younger, prettier, and more attractive, we just can’t seem to resist clicking to see if – this time – they’re really on to something. Unfortunately, those easy steps, quick tricks, and life hacks, usually leave us feeling disappointed and disillusioned by ‘advice’ that only seems designed to make us open up our wallets. 

 

So why do we keep falling for it? Because the things that appeal most to our scroll-tempted nature are easy. Things (like popping a pill) that definitely hit our wallets, but don’t actually require any change in behaviour or lead to meaningful outcomes.

 

In fact, some of those historical quick ‘youth’ fixes have turned out to be extremely deadly – miracle DNP weight loss pills, tanning, radium waters, to name just a few. 

 

What Really Does Work?

Not unlike the smoking video I released a few weeks back (the vaping crowd was not pleased), chances are I’m probably about to say something many of you don’t want to hear: 

 

There is no quick fix to looking and staying young. No pill, no tweakment, new fad, or miraculous skincare routine can deliver on this promise. There is no easy way to turn the clock back. 

 

The hard truth is that the things you can do to stay vital, vibrant, and healthy are often simple, practically free, and are changes that you can make any time in your life to reap the positive impacts. 

 

Below, I discuss three things everyone can do that are proven to make an impactful difference on our health and appearance. They’re practically free. 

 

The catch? They take effort and consistency. 

 

Hitting the Gym

 

The value of physical fitness has been touted since ancient times, but now we understand more on a scientific level why weightlifting is so good for our health and it turns out our skin.

Keeping in shape, particularly lifting heavy weights at the gym, can absolutely keep you looking young. In fact, it may be the best thing you can do. Image by jcomp on Freepik. 

 

We know now that weightlifting stimulates more than muscle growth, it triggers a multitude of cellular and hormonal changes that improve almost every aspect of our health, helping you to stay vital longer on the inside and out. The best part? You can start at any age. 

 

Weightlifting improves mood, helps us to stay limber and mobile, increases collagen in both the body and skin, improves calcium deposits in bones, and increases the level of hormones that we often see depleting with age – ie: growth hormones, estrogen, testosterone. 

 

The profound effect heavy weightlifting can have on the skin deserves particular attention; it’s a shame it’s been flying under the radar. Weightlifting decreases inflammation throughout the body and enhances the extracellular matrices of your cells, including your skin. It also causes the body to release growth hormones (testosterone and IGF-1) which help stimulate fibroblasts to produce more collagen, something many pricey collagen supplements claim to do. If your goal is to increase the collagen in your skin as you age, and you’re considering shelling out money on pricy supplements, you really might want to look into a weight routine at your local gym or community center instead – it takes time and hard work but provides so much more research-backed bang for your buck.  

Sun Avoidance and Sun Protection 

Sunscreen, protective clothing, and sun avoidance – consistency is hard, but if you get with the program now, it will pay you dividends for decades in the future. Image by Freepik.  

 

Recently I did a reaction video to Bryan Johnson, a multimillionaire famous for his million dollar a year attempt to biohack aging. One of the first things he mentions in a video titled ‘how to not look old’ is sun protection. 

 

UV damage causes multiple issues for our skin. It causes mutations, damages the cells responsible for making and maintaining collagen and elastin leading to their depletion and premature photoaging – it’s not good news for your skin’s appearance or health. The effects decades of sun exposure have is well illustrated by truck drivers, where you can see the effect of sun on the left window facing side of the face versus the right. 

 

What we’ve seen a lot of online in recent years is a large proportion of influencers citing the benefits of sun – vitamin D production, mood improvement, as well as raising (often unfounded) concerns over sunscreen ingredients. 

 

Here’s the thing, while we do make vitamin D as a result of exposure to low levels of UV (UV index below 3), we don’t need the sun to do it. Mostly, we acquire vitamin D from our diet. However, if you really feel that sun exposure is an important thing for you to experience, you can seek out the sun first thing in the morning when the UV index is low (jogging, sitting or walking outside). 

 

One thing that’s become abundantly clear in recent years is that relying solely on sunscreen for long days at the beach (or worse, surfing) is dangerous. It can give us a false sense of security. We often don’t reapply or apply it evenly. Mixing sun protective clothing (rashguards, SPF 50 shirts, hats, and even sun umbrellas), avoiding the outdoors when the UV index is high, and seeking out shade rounds out our protection and makes consistency so much easier. That way, we can concentrate on applying sunscreen well to the areas most exposed, our faces. 

 

 

Life Balance

Everyone wants balance in their life, but the time for doing things we enjoy, managing our stress, and eating healthy often seems very out of reach. Keep working at it and don’t give up! It can make a big difference for your longevity.  Image by cookie_studio on Freepik. 

 

This is one that’s much easier said than done. Finding the time to do things that make you happy, manage stress, and eat a healthy balanced diet is really, really hard. If it was easy, we’d all be doing it. However, longevity research (think the blue zones) is showing that these things have a big impact on how we age and feel. 

 

Often, we focus on big, nebulous things, when thinking of ways to improve our overall life balance, but the trick is to start small with concrete steps and tasks you can reasonably complete. Remove sugary soda from lunch, go for a walk after work, try a morning jog, plan a family trip, or even set up a game night with friends). 

 

A note about cosmetic interventions and surgery

Aging is profoundly beautiful. Some changes to the face that come with age can be treated non-invasively, others really do require cosmetic plastic surgery. Image by master1305 for Freepik and by Freepik. 

 

It’s a profound privilege to get older – a lot of people don’t get that opportunity – and I truly believe people are beautiful at all ages.

 

For those who wish to address signs of aging (deep lines, jowls, hooded eyes, sagging jawlines) it’s important to know what goals can be addressed non surgically with things like filler and neuromodulators, and which really do require surgery for the best outcome. 

 

Be aware that there comes a point where non-invasive tactics and treatments just won’t work. 

 

An example I often talk about is overfilling lips when what the patient really wants is a shorter philtrum. Shortening a philtrum requires plastic surgery. I don’t care how many Instagram accounts claim they can do this with well-placed filler – it just isn’t true. The same thing can be said for many other popular procedures – neurotoxins can’t achieve a brow or eye lift, fillers can’t lift jowls (or not very well), and fat dissolvers, like kybella, are not a replacement for a well performed neck lift or chin implant. 

 

Though many people try to stave off surgery by chasing non-surgical treatments, there comes a point where they really can cause more problems than good. We’ve all seen the dreaded pillow face, which can occur when individuals try to address sagging structural tissues by ‘inflating’ the face. It just doesn’t work. Many a patient ends up lamenting wasted money and wishing they’d explored a surgical option sooner. 

 

That’s not to say neuromodulators and HA fillers are bad. They’re a wonderful tool to have in your box and can address a host of things beautifully. What they can’t do is lift the face or replace a cosmetic surgical procedure. 

Of course, proper skincare is another way you can help your skin look it’s best at any age…

The content of this newsletter is for entertainment and educational purposes only. This content is not meant to provide any medical advice or treat any medical conditions. Patients must be evaluated by an appropriate healthcare provider on an individual basis and treatment must be tailored to meet that patient’s needs. Results and particular outcomes are not guaranteed.