Most of us know very well that how we age is influenced by a combination of genetics and environmental factors such as free radicals and stress, but have you thought about how much weight your home holds in terms of aging? It turns out that the space in which we live, and spend a considerable part of our time, can easily replace all the creams we apply to our skin against wrinkles, as well as eliminate their effect completely. From the light that comes through the windows to the colors in our homes, these are the 10 ways your home can make your skin look and feel older, along with the recommendations that will help you feel and look your best every day.
When we enter our home, lock the door and close the windows, we usually feel secure and protected against any factor that might harm us. However, according to the American Institute for the Study of Skin Cancer, at least 50 percent of the sun's harmful UVA rays penetrate glass windows, even when they’re closed. The result is that even in the winter if we don’t apply or protect our skin while at home, it will still be exposed to sun damage.
UVA rays are known to be responsible for wrinkles and age spots, as well as for skin cancer. It is very important to note that if you have to work at a table facing the window, do so only when the sun isn’t beaming into the room, also make sure to check your children’s room. You can hang curtains on the windows, or move most of the activity to another room and return to your room at times when the sun is not shining through its windows.
During sleep, when we sleep on the side and squash our face against the pillow, we can cause the appearance of "pillow wrinkles" that over the years become permanent wrinkles in different areas of the face. This is because, unlike young skin that manages to recover every morning from the changes and pressures exerted on it during the night, mature skin may succumb to them. To fight the problem, try to sleep on your back as much as possible, or sleep on a satin pillowcase, which is softer, therefore, more delicate on our sensitive, thin skin.
At the end of a long day, all anyone wants to do is kick their feet up and relax. However, we are often met with a sink full of dishes, a messy coat rack, and dusty shelves, conditions where it is difficult to relax. Messiness in a place that is supposed to protect us, causes many to experience considerable mental stress even if we aren’t aware of it.
Mental stress is certainly one of the leading factors in accelerating the aging process, so you have a good enough reason to donate clothes or toys that the children don’t use, go through the mail pile or at least make sure that the entrance to your home is clean so that you don’t feel anxiety the second you walk through the door.
We may encounter unpleasant odors in the house during the winter months when we try to keep the windows closed, however, the accumulation of bacteria in wet and damp places or dirty clothes in the laundry basket is a source of odors that no one wants to encounter. All of these, just like a mess, negatively affect mood, the general feeling at home and later on our aging process. The good news is that you can get rid of bad odors easily, and even make your own natural air purifiers. Click here to learn how to get rid of the problem once and for all.
Dry, moisture-free skin can age very quickly, and low humidity in the air dilutes the natural moisture from our skin and leaves it cracked and dry. In the winter months, not only do we seal our house off to keep the cold out, but we also use heating devices to raise the temperatures, which happen to also be great at drying out the air. If you feel the need to use hand cream or lip balm to add moisture to your lips even when you’re at home, it’s a sign that you're relying on the heating devices too much. Try to dress warmer instead and reduce their use as much as possible.
The first thing we are quick to do when we return home from the office is to sit on the comfortable couch, but the next thing we do is take our smartphones out of our pockets or pull out our laptops. Many of us prefer to hang out in front of the computer or the phone on the most comfortable furniture in the house, but the problem with this type of sitting is the burden it exerts on our neck. Unlike our sitting position at work, where we are sat in front of a desk and have our computer right in front of us, when we sit on the couch at home using a laptop or smartphone we hold our head at an angle of about 45 degrees, causing the formation of folds in the neck area. The skin on the neck is thin and wrinkled in the first place, and this form of sitting leads to the formation of deep wrinkles quickly. Try to hold your smartphone higher so that you aren’t bending your neck, which will benefit both your skin and your spine.
There is nothing more enjoyable than a long hot shower at the end of a long day, followed by drying off with your favorite big fluffy towel. While the feeling of cleanliness at the end of a shower and a change of clothes may make us happy, our drying habits may be very harmful to our skin. Rubbing the skin of the body or face with a towel, especially when it comes to a thick towel, cuts the skin because it is too rough a fabric for this task. Instead of rubbing the skin, try to gently pat your body dry. This process will reduce irritation and prevent wounds. Also, be sure to apply a moisturizer to the skin as soon as you get out of the shower, while your skin is still moist. The skin absorbs moisture better when it is wet.
While we all choose to dress in colors that complement our skin, few of us do so when it comes to the colors of our home. Painting the walls or adding accessories in colors that match the color of our skin will enable us to look our best even when we host in our homes. To figure out which color suits you, look at the inside of your wrist. If your veins are blue in tone, you should surround yourself with shades of blue, green, purple and pink. If your veins are greenish in contrast, decorate your home with warm colors like orange, brown, ivory or red.
