05 May 2021

Mother's Day 2021

Motherhood is one of the most beautiful gifts in life and while parenting comes with a usually unforeseen set of crazy challenges, up and downs, not forgetting to mention the occasional sleepless nights - there is nothing quite as precious as hearing your children laugh, watching their eyes light up and having them throw their arms around your neck in proud proclamation of their love!

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate all mums for their selfless devotion and love to their children and family.

Do You know?

Children are great when it comes to making us feel younger psychologically! From seeing the world from the eyes of a child, to laughing out loud at their daily antics, and getting to reading all our favorite childhood bedtime fairytales all over again; the parenting journey is almost like a rediscovery of the child in us again!

Mums, You Deserve To Feel and Look Younger

Probably the best compliment that mums secretly look forward to receiving is – “Wow, you look like your kid(s)’ sibling! How do you manage it?”

Good genes aside, there’s actually plenty we can do to take care of ourselves and to age gracefully (and hopefully slowly).

1. Drink LOTS of H₂O

This needs no introduction. Drinking more water has many benefits and it is literally the easiest on the list to do! When your skin is well hydrated, it maintains moisture and elasticity₁, which may prevent skin from sagging and wrinkles from forming.

2. Get enough sleep!

Numerous studies have shown that the lack of sleep and/or poor quality sleep contributes to our skin ageing at a faster pace. Our skin goes into the “repair and restore” mode when we sleep, thus not allocating sufficient hours to get a good night’s rest can also adversely affect our skin’s rate of cell rejuvenation.

With good quality sleep, you’ll find that your skin feel fresher and more radiant when you wake up in the mornings!

On the flip side, poor sleep contributes to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, swollen eyes, dark eye circles and paler skin.

3. Use Daily Sun Protection

Applying sunscreen every day can prevent signs of wrinkles. Wrinkles occur from sun exposure as the sun’s UVA and UVB rays penetrate the skin, causing damage which may result in wrinkles and fine lines.

This is the most important step in any skincare routine, and you should reapply it throughout the day if you can!

4. Stop Rubbing your Eyes

We get it. It is very easy to subconsciously forget not to rub your eyes (especially when our eyes feel itchy).But the skin around our eye area is extremely delicate and excessive rubbing and tugging can stretch the skin and breaks down elastin, which may result in wrinkles and fine lines forming prematurely. And sadly, fine lines and wrinkles do nothing to keep up our youthful good looks. So “hands off” when it comes to remembering NOT to rub your eyes.

Tip: Consider adding an eye cream to your daily skincare routine. Look for an eye cream that combats fine lines and brightens the under eye area. Avoid creams that are too rich which can result in the formation of milia seeds around the eyes.

5. Use a good moisturizer that is suited to your skin

A moisturizer helps to hydrate and nourish skin. This is especially important as we get older and our skin becomes drier, making it more prone to wrinkles.

Here’s a pro tip - when applying skincare products like creams and moisturizers, it is best to apply in an upward sweeping motion to aid better absorption. Start from the jawline and smooth the products up and out. Be careful not to apply too much pressure such that it pulls on your skin. Remember to apply on commonly neglected areas like the chin and your neck!

6. Review your Sleeping Position

It might not sound like a huge deal, but a preference to sleep on our sides or face down can contribute to the increased formation of fine lines and wrinkles on the side/area of our face in contact with our pillows/bed linen. Take the number of hours we sleep each night x 365 days in a year, that’s 2555 hours of undesired “dermabrasion”. Multiply that by 10, 20, 30, 50 years and you get our drift.

Instead, try sleeping on your back with your face kept away from your pillows, as rubbing your face into your pillow causes undue friction on the skin and can also cause skin irritation for those with sensitive skin. As a further precaution, you may want to wash your pillowcases and bedlinen with a hypoallergenic laundry detergent too!

7. Eat Vitamin-rich Food

Surely you have heard of this phrase – You are what you eat. Try incorporating more of the following food in your daily diet for better skin health:

■ Foods rich in antioxidants and vitamins such as blueberries, spinach, goji berries and kale - promote skin firmness, combating fine lines and wrinkles

■ Vegetables rich in Vitamin C such as leafy greens, broccoli and bell peppers – for collagen production

■ Fatty fish – protect against damage caused by sun exposure, which help boost skin elasticity and hydration

■ Avocados – contain essential fats and other compounds that protect and repair skin from UV and environmental damage

8. Keep Your Stress Level in Check

We know this is easier said than done. Stress does not only affects our health, it also affects our skin. Stress affects the protein in our skin, which reduces its elasticity and collagen levels. As a result, wrinkles may appear. Make sure to breathe deeply and take time to relax and recharge (and take time out to have fun with your kids)!

With these tips on hand, we’ll like to wish all mums “Good health, great skin, youthful beauty and lots of laughter every day!”

P.S. For last minute Mother’s Day gift ideas – do check out our LAC Taut Range for our best-selling skin health supplements that are specially formulated to help skin stay healthy and beautiful from within.

Reference
₁ Palma L, Marques LT, Bujan J, Rodrigues LM. Dietary water affects human skin hydration and biomechanics. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2015;8:413-421. Published 2015 Aug 3. doi:10.2147/CCID.S86822