Hi, Friend,
I just met one of my friends today at the “Coffee Bean” as I was getting my daily dose of caffeine before picking my kids up from school. And she asked me a very important question.
She said: I don’t see any “crow’s feet” wrinkles under your eyes… How do you prevent them?…You now what? I’ve never given this issue very much thought! I mean, I always felt that having a smooth and youthful appearance was important. And I’ve put down a good amount of time learning all about the proper skincare routine, about the types of skin and the types of creams and other skincare products out there…
But as for these little wrinkles that usually appear under your eyes… I guess intuitively I’ve been just doing what felt right based on my common sense and my basic knowledge of what a good skincare routine looks like…
But now that this question was asked, I thought that it’ll be beneficial for me to give this issue somewhat of a deeper thought (since non of us (well… me, including) is getting any younger as the years go by and it’s always nice to know how to take care of yourself to prevent certain unwanted issues) and, of course, to share what I’ve learned so far with you, my beautiful reader!
… So, let me first take a closer look at the few things that actually cause the appearance of these little annoying wrinkles:
- The sun… And it’s both the sun-tanning (totally avoidable) and us squinting as the sun hits our eyes.
- Smiling (totally unavoidable!)
- The incorrect skincare routine (something that’s in our hands to figure out!)
And here are my answers to the issues listed above:
- Protecting our skin from the sun is completely in our hands! I don’t want to be boring-and-repetitious, but there is a ton of evidence against not applying the sunscreen when you’re out in the sun! And… I know how annoying it could be to squeeze yet another chore into your daily routine. I also know that a sunscreen doesn’t usually feel so good on your skin if you just buy ANY sunscreen. It might feel caky, or look whitish… But I very much believe that investing your time into finding the sunscreen that’s right for you, the one that will make you feel good when you apply it, is definitely worth the effort! After trying many different brands I’ve discovered that my favorite sunscreen is Avene SPF 50 Plus Sunscreen because it never irritates my super-sensitive skin; it’s very creamy, but it doesn’t cake up. Finally, unlike some sunscreens other that contain a lot of alcohol and not enough oils (or no oil at all), it doesn’t dry my skin up. Find that perfect sunscreen that suits you. And USE IT!
- If I can avoid it, I do my best to not spend too much time out in the sun during its hottest hours (usually from 12PM to about 4 PM). I mean… I won’t ever become a recluse just because the sun is so “bad”. But if I want to go for a long run in the park, I’ll rather do it later at night, or earlier in the morning.
Wear the shades! Yes, the sunglasses help a lot! Invest in a nice pair (I always try at least 10 pairs before buying the one that looks good on me! I know it probably drives the sales associates crazy! But having a nice pair of shades is super-important). …But the sunglasses are still… well… GLASSES. And if you can see through them, then the sun can “see” you, too, right 🙂 ? …I think that for the best results we shouldn’t stop here…
- Another thing that I’ve been kind of intuitively doing is I always pick the shady side of the street. And it’s not just because I’m always conscious of getting the crow’s feet from the sun being in my face. It just feels more comfortable not having to squint my eyes and being able to comfortably look around as I walk down a street!
- Get a hat (or a few hats) that look REALLY good on you! Pick the ones that you’ll LOVE wearing… I’d recommend having at least three basic styles: a baseball cap (a go-to with all sorts of casual and sporty wear), a fedora hat (if you’ll only have one – get a black on! It will match all kinds of fall and wintery outfits!).
And finally, get a straw hat: my must-have for the hot summers. And if you live in a warm climate like I do, you’ll like wearing this light hat all year long, because when it is winter, but the temperature outside is, like 90F, you don’t want a heavier fedora hat to be sitting on your head!
But… there are times when I forget to take my hat. There are also days when I don’t want to wear my hat, because even though I love all my hats… Still… they are kind of… bulky… Right? And if there is also no way for me to avoid having the sun shine straight in my face, I’ll either shield my face with my hand or, if even that fails, (in a instance if my hands are filled with like, five grocery bags, kids backpacks, etc), I’ll just look down, instead of looking straight ahead so that my facial muscles are relaxed!
- OK. So what about the smiling? I will never tell anyone to stop smiling to prevent the wrinkles! I’ve read a story about a lady who never smiled for like… twenty years to keep her face flawless… Well, it was difficult to tell how flawless her skin really was from the little photo… But a beautiful skin isn’t just about the lines and the wrinkles! Aside from the skin your face also has the muscles! And if these muscles are always tense in an attempt to never smile… Or, even worse, if your face gets used to looking strained, it’ll never look beautiful and youthful! Relax! Smile! Laugh! The only thing is… do it naturally, joyfully. It’s not about always having a “stone” face. It’s about having a relaxed face!
8. The skincare routine… By that I don’t mean a retinol cream. (I haven’t used anything that “intense” on my face just so far… Not only because it costs a lot. I just don’t seem to need it yet!). And no matter what anyone says, I am not putting my poor skin through any sort of a scary procedure! (No matter what Kim K says… I just feel like I want to be in control of my skincare. And I’m not letting anyone “experiment” on it!) By the correct skincare routine I mean making sure that the thinner skin around your eyes is always moisturized! If your skin is rather dry like mine – smother it with something oily! I love adding a little bit of facial oil to my sunscreen. The sunscreen will spread easier and will feel better when I have it on! To learn more about what I do to make sure that my skin stays moisturized throughout the day just jump to this link!
Facial oil has become my savior!’ And I love your tips on sunscreen (super important) and also wearing a hat! I use to always want to tan when I was younger but that tan fades and your left with wrinkles when your older so it’s def not worth it as I was told when I was younger! Thanks for all of the great tips!
Thanks, Kit! Yes, Thank Goodness that the Pale Skin is becoming a trendy thing! After hearing about all the sun-damage I believe that actually there can never be enough protection from the sun!
Very interesting, good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.