If there is one thing that all women want, it’s to look younger the older we get. Our lives are a series of ironies that are certainly not lost on us. We spend the vast majority of our adolescence dying to look older and more mature but as we finally begin to look older and more mature, we suddenly want nothing more than to look younger. Don’t get me wrong; I’m all about natural beauty and I’m not really into the concept of plastic surgery (for me, for fun). My grandmother is in her late 90s and still looks amazing, beautiful and absolutely gorgeous and I know that I have some great genes in my future, so I don’t worry too much. I’m learning to embrace age as it quickly approaches, and I’m okay with that. That does not, however, mean I want to look older than my 32 years. That’s why I’m always interested in finding interesting and healthy ways to look younger, and I thought I’d share some of the most surprising with you.
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Quit Smoking
The fact that we even have to tell you this makes us sad. You are an intelligent man/woman, and you know that smoking is going to kill you. You know what your lungs look like. You know what smoking is doing to your kids who are exposed to second hand smoke. You know this; and you smell bad. And you’re making yourself ugly. Why? Why would you purposefully do something to make yourself look awful? I don’t get it.
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Stop Drinking
I know, I know! Don’t shoot the messenger, okay? I’m not telling you to stop all together; the doctor even wants you to have that glass of red wine every night to keep your heart healthy. But we need to stop the binge drinking and the excessive drinking and just keep it to that glass at the end of the night. Good luck with that one; but just remember it’s going to help you feel better (in the morning), look better and live longer.
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Skip the Harsh Cleansers
I’ll never forget the time I went to the dermatologist so very embarrassed that at 32 I still use the same skincare routine I used when I was 12 when it comes to washing my face. Seriously, I wash with Clean & Clear in the shower at night and in the morning. He was impressed and said that the fact that I don’t cover my face in a bunch of unnecessary cleansers and chemicals is probably why I have great skin and look so young (I say good genes, personally). So, stop using all the harsh crap and start being a little more natural in your cleaning process.
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Play with the Kids
Happy women are prettier than unhappy women, and what woman is having more fun in her life than she who is spending some serious quality time with her kids? We love the idea of being more active with our kids so that we look younger and happier as a whole. It works for us.
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Exercise
Just the thought of sweating first thing in the morning or having to take yet another shower in the middle of the day is enough to stress me out, but exercise is so important to us. It helps us to look so much younger, healthier and better as a whole. Exercise makes us feel less stressed, happier and much better overall. Why not get a good 30 minutes a day in so that we all feel much better?
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Eat a Balanced Diet
I know, it’s shocking, right? We spend so much money on beauty products that contain so many different antioxidants and other chemicals, but we don’t spend much time actually putting those into our bodies by simply eating them. How about we do ourselves a favor and we stop looking for things to put on our faces to look younger and we start thinking about things we can put into our bodies that will help us look younger?
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Lower that Blood Pressure
That’s right friends; calm down, take care of yourself and get your health in check. Doctors have found that women with lower blood pressure tend to look far younger than those who have high blood pressure. Get to the doctor to see where you fall and start creating a life plan that will help you lower your blood pressure and get healthier than ever before.
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Go to Bed Earlier
Your body needs to sleep to feel good, look good and work well. You need to go to bed earlier and get more sleep. Did you know that you need around 7 hours or more of sleep every single night so that you can look, feel and function your best? Now’s the time to get to bed on time. It’s going to make you look younger (and feel better, people!).
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Take Care of your Teeth
Did you know that the darker your teeth get, the older you look? It’s a huge problem for people like me, who love the red wine. I have to make sure my dentist whiles my pearlies and I keep good track of that. I like to have white teeth in general but the whiter they are, the healthier we look. The healthier we look, the younger we look. Do you see where we are going with this one? Good oral health is really in.
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Drink more Water
It’s surprising how many people do not realize that drinking more water is a great way to help us look younger. We need water to keep our skin healthy, and it really does work. I know that when I drink more water, my skin always looks healthier and younger. I will tell you what I do to ensure I get at least 8 big glasses of water; I carry my Yeti Tumbler around with me since the ice never melts and I always have ice cold water on hand.
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Put Stress in Check
We all have stress, and sometimes it’s beneficial in that it motivates and inspires us. However, stress is not a good thing. One of the most consistently stressed acquaintances my husband and I have is only a few years older than I, but she looks like she’s a lot closer to 50. That’s not my opinion, either; that’s the opinion of another acquaintance that was shocked to learn her real age. She’s a high-stress woman and it shows – a lot.
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Have Sex
Preferably with your spouse, but your personal life is your personal life and we don’t want to be too involved. The more sex you have, the more exercise you get, the more happy endorphins your body releases and the younger you will look as a whole. You cannot beat that, now can you? No; so stop pretending you have a headache and get busy.
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Smile
Say goodbye to your inner Posh Spice and start smiling more often. Did you know that simply smiling is a wonderful way to help you look younger as a whole? You’re going to create some lines on your face, but women who smile are far prettier than those who do not. And who doesn’t want some lines that make them look happy and like someone who is a lot of fun?
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Don’t Frown
If you insist on not smiling more often, at least do not frown. When you frown, you work a number of muscles in your face that cause you to look older than you really are, and no one wants to look older, right? How about ignoring that and moving on so that you can do something to make you look younger, like not frowning. Turn that frown upside down, girlfriend.
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Say No to Surgery
I know, it’s not going to be easy for some of you. But, let me tell you that while you might look temporarily younger with the Botox and other fillers and other items, you look a little bit worse as you get older. There is something so obvious about a woman that’s had work done as she gets older, and it’s not a good look. You want to look good longer, skip the surgeries and other things.
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Get Rid of Toxic People
Nothing sucks the life out of you, makes you look older and makes you feel worse than toxic people; and you know who they are in your life. Get rid of them; it’s not going to be easy, but there is nothing that is as freeing and as nice as getting rid of people in your life that make you feel as if you are less than you want to be or less than who you really are.
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Get off Social Media
Do anything else; but get off the internet. The more time you spend on social media, the worse you feel about yourself. When you feel poorly about yourself, you lack confidence. When you lack confidence, you don’t look so good. When you don’t look so good, you don’t feel so good. When you don’t feel so good or look so good, you start to look older.
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Stay out of the Sun
We aren’t asking you to stay pasty white and inside forever, but you have to keep your skin from being overly exposed to the sun. I say that as a Floridian who lives in the sun almost 24/7, because that’s Florida. Get a hat, get great sunscreen; get yourself some protection. You need it, and it will really make a difference in the way you look and the age you look.
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Get out of the Tanning Bed
Another issue that you have to get over is your incessant need to look like Snooki. Pasty isn’t so bad (says the palest and pastiest Florida girl on the planet). It’s pretty healthy. So while you are tanner than I right now, you will also look older than me in a few years, and that makes me feel better than it makes you feel, right?
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Do What you Love
When you do what you love, you free yourself. When you free yourself, you feel more confident. When you feel more confident, you show that confidence in everything that you do. When you show that confidence in everything that you do, you begin to radiate happiness and exuberance, and that makes you look so much younger and more attractive. Good luck, ladies!
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