The pressure to look picture-perfect starts as early as a teenager these days and people go to great lengths one, thanks to newer inventions in the world of cosmetic surgery. When you cross your mid-30s, you tend to develop fine lines on your face – mostly around the eyes and mouth and that would eventually deepen into wrinkles. While this is the natural transition in one’s life and one should learn to accept it gracefully, one could prevent or delay the appearance of some of the fine lines and wrinkles and here’s how:

Quit smoking
Besides affecting your health significantly, smoking can be quite dangerous for your skin too. It makes you look years older by letting your skin go dry and gives age spots and adds a lot of wrinkles on the face especially around the eyes and lips. When you smoke, your skin is deprived of oxygen and other nutrients, causing a whole lot of damage. Note that tobacco smoke has over 4,000 chemicals and not one of them is skin-friendly.

Hydrate yourself
A healthy skin needs to be moisturized and this process also helps in eliminating toxins accumulated in the system. However, one cannot expect the result of appropriate hydration immediately. The results of proper hydration is indeed for long-term health. While you may not be able to explicitly link hydration to good skin, research has indicated that drinking around 8-10 glasses of water daily is helpful for your body and skin.

Go for a plant-based diet
Fruits and vegetables contains innumerable vitamins and minerals that your skin needs in order to stay healthy. An antioxidant present in Vitamin C, for example, is known to be one of the key elements in the process of production of collagen. Collagen, a protein helps the cells and blood vessels on the skin grow. The result of this is strength and firmness on the skin.

Foods that are rich in Vitamin C include oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, guavas, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, red and green peppers.

Foods that are rich in antioxidants include carrots, squash, tomatoes, spinach, apricots, broccoli, almonds and walnuts.

Ensure to use sun screen
A lot of people claim that sunscreen does no good to their skin. This is certainly a myth. According to Skin Cancer Foundation, Sagging, darkness, dryness and wrinkles in the skin is caused due to the damage done to the skin cells by excess exposure to the sun or a tanning bed. The only way to protect yourself is using a good sunscreen and not hitting the tanning bed too often.

Be mindful of what you use
Name even the least heard of skin problem – there is a cream specifically designed to address the issue or a makeup kit available to conceal it. While there is nothing wrong in experimenting on these, there is always a better alternative. Go for products that could harm you the least. Organic products are known to have less side effects and also provide favorable results long-term.