The 5-Step Guide to Looking and Feeling Young All Season Long
Just because you’re outside more in the summer doesn’t mean you can skip exfoliation. Wear your sunscreen, and regularly slough off dead skin cells and impurities (of which there are plenty this time of year, thanks to humidity and pollution). Opt for a gentle form of AHA, like the lactic acid in these peel pads. They’re set in a resveratrol base, resveratrol being one of the powerhouse anti-aging antioxidants, which helps prevent free radicals from creating fine lines and pigmentation issues. We know Liza would approve.
Full hair is one of the prevailing indicators of youth. Which makes sense, as hair does thin as we age. But a lot of volumizing hair products work on a superficial level—once you rinse, you’re back to square one. Instead, strength, rebuild, smooth, and resurface hair with pure keratin—it’s what makes up 90% of our hair, skin, and nails. Virtue products build thickness, repair split ends, and, perhaps best of all, increase color vibrancy (though we still recommend wearing a hat in the sun to prevent your hair color from dulling in the summer sun), so you can have high school hair well into well past college years.
By now, we really don’t need to tell you to eat avocado. But we’ll just give you a little refresher on the anti-aging benefits of healthy fats, for good measure. Add avocado to summer smoothies and salads to reduce inflammation, stimulate collagen production, promote skin elasticity, and stabilize your blood sugar to protect lean muscle and increase your energy. The monosaturated fat hydrates skin from the inside out, too. In sum, it’s good for your skin, body, and mind. So bring on the guacamole (just swap chips for crudité).
Summer is the time to take your workouts outside. But there is one reason we’ll tell you to go to the gym: the foam roller. You may think of it as a tool to roll out sore muscles, but it’s so much more than that. Foam rolling improves circulation, boosts lymphatic drainage (which helps flush toxins from the body, decrease bloating, and even reduce cellulite), lubricates the joints and connective tissue (which makes skin and muscles appear supple and youthful), reduces inflammation and stress in the body, and increases flexibility. Plus it’s great for posture, so you can stand a little taller in your swimwear.
Forgive us for stating the obvious, but lack of sleep in any season is a surefire way to age your appearance. Stressed about getting your work done in time to leave early on Friday? Plug into a sleep-tracking app. We love this one because it’s basically a series of sleep hypnosis sound clips set to peaceful music with a soft voice guiding you through proper breathing and visualizations. Even if you think that sounds silly, we challenge you to not fall asleep in a matter of minutes while listening.
And if all else fails, throw a mask on your face, some coconut oil in your hair, and kick back at home with a little lighthearted summer TV. We already have next Wednesday marked in our calendars for a roommate spa evening and the premiere of Younger on TV Land at 10/9c. Want in? Watch the new season's trailer below and get pumped.