Skin care for mature skin is essential. Make up can only do so much to conceal skin problems. For beautiful skin you have to really have to treat your body right from the inside out. Beautiful skin does not just depend on skin cream and face creams with expensive ingredients. Skin products are helpful yet not the only solution for clear, soft, beautiful skin. Important skin care tips for older women also include these essential beautiful skin secrets: Don’t smoke, wear sunscreen with SPF protection, drink plenty of water, have good nutrition that includes anti-oxidents and omega fatty acids, avoid stress, and finally keep skin well moisturized with non-irritating skin cream.

Changes in our skin as we age

If you are over 45 years old, you may have started noticing the signs of aging skin. The signs range from inelasticity, roughness, wrinkling skin, skin pigmentation, to skin discoloration. You may also find yourself with enlarged sebaceous oil glands and adult acne which can be aggravated by the hormonal changes women face. All of these can be normal changes that merely happen as we age, yet none of these changes are particularly welcome.

Why is this happening to our skin?

Aging skin is unavoidable. When you get older your skin doesn’t rejuvenate itself and produce new cells at the same pace that it used to. Environmental factors such as prolonged sun exposure and sun burns, smoking which weakens the skins elasticity even more, and biological factors (some women age better than others depending on if they are fair skinned, thin skinned, how their parents aged, etc). The first signs of damage come in the form of freckles, wrinkles, brown spots, skin tags (those pink little dots) and enlarged pores. Stress doesn’t help either and we all know there is stress we have to face at seemingly every turn we take in life!

What can you do about aging skin

There are so many things you can do that are natural and don’t involve serious expense on fancy skin care products. I am going to give you the top five natural beauty steps you can take to keep your skin beautiful, soft and natural. These tips really don’t cost much, and they don’t involve expensive skin care systems either. If you have taken care of your skin most of your life, you should be able to go a purely natural route and keep your skin naturally glowing and healthy. If however, you have done significant damage or have substantial discoloration problems or seriously sagging wrinkles, then you would have to go to more serious measures such as glycolic and vitamin skin treatments, facials, laser treatments, chemical peels, and maybe even plastic surgery to get age reversing results.

The good thing is that modern technology gives us a broad range of options and each of us has choices we can make. You can be a natural beauty into organic food and skin care, or more plastic and superficial into skin injections, lasers, peels and facelifts. Or, you can employ a hybrid combination of both philosophies!

Skin Care Tips #1: Stop smoking

First and foremost, stop smoking if you do that. Smoking absolutely accelerates skin aging. If you want your skin to be as healthy as possible you have to quit smoking for sure. Smoking causes your facial skin to get thin and sallow, and it really contributes to lip wrinkles and pursed lips too from the mouth movements constantly made when smoking.

Skin Care Tips #2: Wear Sunscreen

Second and foremost, wear sunscreen protection with SPF 30 or higher whenever you are in the sun. Re-apply sun screen if you will be exposed for prolonged periods. Stop sun tanning altogether and sit in the shade when pool side, and under an umbrella when at the beach. If you do any kind of sports that involves the sun, try to do it at non peak sun hours (before 11:00 or after 3:00). Wear sunglasses and a hat and other protection if your body is exposed. Your face is not the only thing to consider. Don’t forget your hands, arms shoulders and chest, all of which show signs of aging right on the heels of your facial aging, the face usually starts to go first.

I’ve always had a preference for the sunscreen creams over the sunscreen sprays. Use a base coating of sunscreen cream before going in the sun, and a spray only as an emergency touch up to the cream if you are on the run. Some women try to get the sunscreen from makeup, such as foundation. Trust me, you want a separate sunscreen product to apply. Apply it pre-makeup and a small amount after makeup too in case any rubbed away. Makeup containing sunscreen is not going to give you a thick enough coating, and you need the sunscreen for other parts of your body anyways. I like the thick cream Banana Boat sunscreen in SPF 30 or above. I get a huge tube, it agrees with my skin, and it’s inexpensive!

Skin Care Tips #3: Get Proper Nutrition

The proper nutrition is critical in helping to repair and slow down the ongoing damage from the sun and environment. You need to have a well balanced healthy diet including all of the food groups. Anti-oxidant rich foods like fruits are atop the good foods list. Try fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates and vegetables like broccoli and artichokes. Foods with healthy oils in them are effective for softening and conditioning your skin from the inside out. Nuts, which are loaded with softening oils, are absolutely great for the skin. Essential fatty acids (like Omega 3 and Omega 6) are great for your skin. You hear of oily salmon and fish for this purpose, but you can get it the vegetarian route with foods like nuts (try walnuts) and avocadoes also. The anti-oxidant foods fight the free radicals and the omegas help your skin retain the moisture and softness, so make sure you get both in your diet.

Keep your nutrition needs met and make sure you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need. Your yearly blood tests should let you know if there are nutrients missing or problems brewing. Take a multi-vitamin or supplements if your doctor finds out certain nutrients are lacking. Moisturize your skin from the inside by drinking plenty of waters and fluids. When you get dehydrated your skin shrivels and dries up so drink plenty of water.

Skin Care Tips #4: Buy Skin cream

In the past you may not have needed skin care creams, but trust me that now you do. More important than the brand of cream or the fancy ingredients, is that the skin cream you choose keeps your skin soft and moisturized while letting it breathe. A cream that agrees with your skin and adheres well and stays on for some time is the way to go. I personally like body butter creams that are thick in consistency and I use a small amount particularly on my face and chest morning and night. I also use body butter skin cream on my body as needed, whenever I notice dryness.

I know there are fancy oils, vitamins, emollients and anti-aging additives in the expensive creams, but in all honesty, just using a moisturizing cream, even an inexpensive one, is all you really need. If your skin is feeling dry, it is time to go to a different moisturizing cream. The hypoallergenic or gentle fragrance-free creams are easiest on sensitive skinned women. I like checking out all of the organic and natural ingredients and vitamins in the skin care product lines. It’s a lot of fun to me, because there is a wide range of products to try, and they sure do come in all different price ranges. But the bottom line is that once you’ve discovered the product, consistency and ingredients that compliment your skin best and keep it soft and moist, then stick to that product! Whole Foods always has interesting natural and organic skin products to check out in their health food section. A good 99 cent store can be a gold mine for finding and trying out different skin creams too. You can find everything from Shea cream to Vitamin E cream to Cranberry cream there!

Skin Care Tips #5: See a Dermatologist

Keep up with your skin by seeing a dermatologist from time to time and getting small skin problems dealt with early on. Brown spots, fine lines and skin tags can often be removed or lightened with the newer skin rejuvenating treatments including laser treatments. By handling skin problems early on, you will be staying on top of the situation and your skin will love you for it. Better to solve problems sooner and as they come along than to wait. If you let everything go, you may wake up one day to suddenly be shocked at how your skin has changed. Don’t ignore your skin care and be proactive about getting irregularities checked out and treated if it seems sensible. Dermatologists are less expensive than most other doctors. If you lack insurance and walk in with cash you can usually negotiate an inexpensive appointment fee. I think it is worth it. Just try not to let them talk you into buying expensive skin care product lines while you are there. Dermatologists carry that stuff and sell it to you for extra cash which can add to your skin care treatment costs!

I hope you enjoyed these simple tips/reminders for mature skin care. Remember to stay on top of the problems and try to handle them on the way. Don’t wait until you have a bunch of aging related problems stacked up because honestly that will make you feel old. Take a proactive maintenance approach because this helps keep you feeling and looking young and gorgeous along the way as you get older and older (and hopefully wiser).