Invest in YOU! After you make the decision to invest in yourself, it is so important to take care of that investment. We touched on this in our last blog post, but let’s dive deeper!
The five key ways to protect your investment parallel what you can do for prevention in the first place:
- Observe and be present with your body
- Protect your body from the environment: sun, smog, pollutants, etc.
- Avoid addictions: smoking, overeating.
- Nourish – Eat a healthy diet full of vegetables, nutrients, and water
- Be joyful – release endorphins, help your body deal with stress; smiling affects yourself and everybody around you!
Observe and be Present With Your Body
Where attention goes, energy flows. You have made the amazing decision to invest in yourself. Before you can protect it, you need to be present with yourself and understand what your body needs. Spend time in quiet, meditating, breathing, or just being present with yourself. It is interesting what our body tells us when we aren’t thinking about endless worries in our mind. In a quiet state of mind, when you look in the mirror, your focus may shift to areas you didn’t previously think about.
For example, if your skin feels dry or oily, do not ignore this. The appropriate moisturizer or cleansing treatments will prevent dry or oily skin from becoming a bigger problem. Or when you look in the mirror, do your eyes draw attention in a positive or negative way? How about your demeanor? Do you feel happy and playful, or stressed, sad, and depressed? Your body will tell you when you listen. It is worth repeating that we never see ourselves as other people see us. It is a very useful exercise to look at ourselves in the mirror as if we were meeting ourselves for the very first time.
Protect Your Body From the Environment
UV rays are extremely harmful and cause damage to the skin, and you won’t see this until the changes are present as wrinkles and sunspots on your face. Sunscreen and sun avoidance is your best defense. Of course this doesn’t mean you have to avoid the sun completely; just be smart about it, wear a hat, use SPF, and time your outings to avoid the heat of the day. Opt out of using tanning beds that are extremely harmful to your skin and go for options like self tanner or spray tanning. Making simple changes like this will have your skin thanking you later!
Although the sun is the most common factor that comes to mind when thinking about protecting your skin from the environment, there are other things to consider like pollution and smog. Sick building syndrome is described as symptoms of headaches, eye, nose, and/or throat irritation, with or without dry or itchy skin. Exposure to these toxins can have an insidious effect and slowly rob us of our health and healthy appearance.
Avoid Addictions
Smoking is such a powerful addition that people rationalize their cancer and lung disease risk. From a cosmetic point of view, we have never met anybody who likes their “Smoker’s Lines.” We have had patients who quit smoking say that their primary reason for stopping was to protect their skin, even though they were completely aware of the significant health risks. Not only will this protect your skin, it will speed up your healing process along with any treatments or procedures you may have.
Another addiction worth mentioning is our eating habits. Our cultures can eat so emotionally. At one time or another we are all guilty of being stressed out, overtired, or anxious, and soothing our nerves by eating comfort food. Gaining weight can plump your face and make you look younger; however, it can also plump your coronary arteries. If your coronary arteries block, you may stop aging altogether.
Excessive weight fluctuations and weight gain are one of the primary reasons we can get sagging in the neck. Many patients feel they inherit their neck from family members, and often it is more of an issue of inheriting family eating habits.
Nourish
Being present and aware of your body is a powerful strategy to guide us. Being present with what we eat is equally powerful in shaping who and what we are. Less wear and tear on our body from eating less food will keep you healthy longer, and preserve your healthful appearance. Are you drinking enough water? The fact is most of us walk around in a constant state of dehydration. A good rule of thumb is if you aren’t going to the restroom every few hours, then you probably aren’t drinking enough water.
Skincare is SO important. There are so many skin care lines out there, and it can get very expensive and confusing when trying to figure out which will work best for you. Our advice: KEEP IT SIMPLE! Your skin likes simple. Start with a good cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF. This is a basic regimen that is practical for anybody. You don’t need the highest priced products. Don’t get caught up on name brands, trending products, or incorporating too many new products at once. If you already have a regimen that your skin loves, then stick with it! Medical grade skincare is a great option if you’re looking to up your game. At your consultation with us, we can chat about the medical grade options we offer and put together a good skin care regimen just for you!
Be Joyful
One of the secret weapons of your body is the hoy you decide to have in your life. When you choose to be happy, your body releases natural endorphins that make you feel good! This stimulates your immune system, gives us a sense of vitality, and gets our juices flowing. The lack of joy in our lives stresses us, makes us feel depressed, and contributes to our aging process. Joy makes us smile, and that’s a free facelift for all of us! It influences us and those around us. You don’t need an excuse to be joyful. Just do it, it will make you healthier and happier. This might take some practice, and that’s okay. It is worth the effort!