From around the age of 25, cell activity begins to decline. This causes your skin to lose firmness and the first wrinkles to form. Skin aging is influenced by three key components:
- Genes
- Environmental factors
- Individual lifestyle
Although you can’t influence the first factor, we have good news: the skin-aging process can be significantly delayed through the right skincare, a healthy lifestyle, and proven anti-aging methods. The term ‘anti-aging’ covers all treatments, products, and measures that slow down the skin-aging process.
Anti-aging in everyday life: here’s how
If you want to preserve your youthful skin, you should start taking anti-aging measures by age 30 at the latest. In this post, we introduce you to the best natural and minimally invasive anti-aging tips that really help against wrinkles.
1. Thorough skin cleansing
Instead of jumping straight to medical interventions, you should first try gentle remedies and preventive measures to support your skin’s regeneration. This naturally includes thorough skin cleansing – morning and evening.
At the latest before going to bed, you should remove all traces of make-up such as foundation, mascara, and lipstick to let your skin breathe again.
Don’t wear any make-up at all? Reach for a cleansing gel every day anyway, because make-up isn’t the only culprit that can damage your skin over time. Aggressive ingredients in cosmetic products such as alcohol and fragrances strip moisture and attack your skin’s protective barrier. On top of that come environmental influences like free radicals and bacteria that get onto your face via your hands.
That’s why it’s important to cleanse your skin daily and free it from all residue – for example, with a micro-fine foam cleanser with a refreshing effect, an oil-based cleansing balm (‘cleansing balm’), or reusable make-up remover pads. Once old skin flakes, sebum, and dirt are removed, your skin can regenerate – and also absorbs the nourishing ingredients from creams and serums better. A win-win situation!
Add these skincare highlights to your care routine. For a routine tailored to more mature skin, you’ll find more tips on facial care from 40.
2. Sun protection – not just in summer
At Sanft & Schön, we recommend using sun protection year-round. Contrary to the common misconception, UV rays don’t take a break in winter either. Excessive sun exposure accelerates skin aging in every season, promotes the formation of free radicals, and encourages the breakdown of collagen. You can find out how UV rays age the skin in our post on skin aging from sun exposure and photoaging. Every sunburn also causes lasting damage to your cell structure and accelerates wrinkle formation – so especially in summer, you should reapply UV protection regularly. First aid for sunburn includes anti-inflammatory creams, moisturising after-sun products, or cooling showers.
A moisturizing day cream with SPF helps prevent wrinkles and is easy to integrate into your daily anti-aging routine.
3. Enough sleep and recovery time
Sufficient sleep and regular recovery periods are also important for wrinkle-free skin. An anti-aging tip that’s easier said than done – after all, we’re all burdened by the stress of everyday work life.
Still: for young, radiant skin, enough good-quality sleep is essential. Eight to nine hours per night is recommended. During these hours, the production of interleukins – messenger substances of the immune system’s cells – is stimulated, and growth hormones are released.
So: next time, turn off the TV an hour earlier and treat your skin to some extra sleep. It will thank you for it!
4. A vitamin-rich, low-sugar diet and plenty of water
It’s not just sleep – diet also affects the quality of our skin. We need healthy foods to build collagen fibers that strengthen connective tissue and keep it elastic. For beautiful skin from within, you should eat things like hazelnuts, flaxseed, bell peppers, cabbage, and avocado – these contain vitamins C and E and have an antioxidant effect. Equally important: beta-carotene. This precursor of vitamin A improves the skin’s tolerance to light. It’s found in carrots, beetroot, and spinach.
When it comes to bread or pasta, you should definitely opt for the whole-grain version because of its high magnesium content. Magnesium helps keep cell walls stable. The result: firmer skin and a smooth, even complexion. Also make sure to drink enough fluids. An adequate fluid intake of at least 2.5 liters a day is necessary to prevent wrinkles.
5. Anti-aging facial massages
Although the new generation of anti-aging products impresses with its remarkable ingredients, there’s one beauty tool that has proven itself in the fight against the signs of time for thousands of years: the facial massage.
It’s one of the oldest beauty secrets and was already used by the ancient Egyptian women to counteract fine lines. Wrinkles don’t just form through the skin’s loss of elasticity, but also through tension in the facial muscles. Anyone who frequently strains their eyes or furrows their brow produces expression lines. These muscular tensions initially relax fairly quickly, but over time they ‘etch’ themselves into the face.
The simple movements of ‘facial massage’ get your blood circulation going again and give your face a rosy glow. In the long term, your skin becomes more elastic and plumper, fine lines are smoothed out, and your entire facial expression looks softer and more relaxed.
By the way: after a facial massage, serums and oils can be absorbed into your skin better, boosting the effect of the stimulating massage.
6. Anti-aging serums and concentrates
If you want to additionally support your skin with serums and concentrates, you can rely on retinol serums and collagen capsules.
Thanks to its unique molecular structure, retinol is able to penetrate the deepest layers of your skin and stimulate your body’s own collagen production there. Collagen helps maintain your skin’s natural moisture level and elasticity. Used regularly, this can noticeably reduce visible fine lines.
Collagen capsules are a great complement to serums. They help compensate for collagen deficiency from within. Here’s how it works: by taking the capsules, collagen is transported to wherever your body needs it. With positive results: the skin’s elasticity, firmness, and resilience improve, your skin looks plumper and firmer – and wrinkles are smoothed out.
7. No nicotine, little to no alcohol
Cigarettes should already be off the table anyway, since they’re poison for your skin and constrict blood vessels. Smoking attacks your skin cells and drastically worsens circulation.
But you should also steer clear of alcohol if you want to benefit from youthful skin for a long time. Alcohol dehydrates. You notice this not only in the headache you get the day after a party, but also in the general condition of your skin with frequent alcohol consumption. Because alcohol draws water out of skin cells, your skin regenerates less effectively, ages faster, and forms more wrinkles.
Better: when cravings hit, reach for blueberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, bell peppers, and strawberries, as these are rich in vitamin C, which protects your skin from cell damage.
8. Face masks – homemade ones welcome too
Face masks are an ideal addition to your skincare routine. Depending on the ingredients used, a face mask can help clarify, smooth, and soothe the skin. It’s also possible to support regeneration processes for the skin with a face mask.
At Sanft & Schön, we distinguish face masks by how and when they’re applied. While a hydrogel face mask has a refreshing, cooling effect on the skin, an overnight mask supplies your skin especially well with valuable nutrients and nourishing substances thanks to its long contact time.
A peel-off mask, on the other hand, is applied with a brush and dries into a thin, elastic film on the skin. After the contact time, this film is gently peeled off, absorbing excess oil and removing loose skin flakes in the process.
9. Using facial oils
You might be wondering right now: “Why do I need yet another facial oil when I’m already caring for my skin with creams, serums, and masks?” There’s a simple answer: facial oil hydrates deep into the skin’s layers – something neither a cream nor a serum can achieve with the same intensity. Oils not only give your skin an extra dose of moisture, plumping out wrinkles – they also protect your skin’s natural barrier.
The antioxidant effect of oils counteracts cell damage as well as inflammation. So you don’t need to worry that the oily substance will cause blemishes on your skin.
10. Anti-aging facial treatments
You’ve followed all the natural tips – and you’re still frustrated with the results? No worries: you don’t have to plan a major aesthetic surgery procedure right away to rejuvenate your skin.
Our gentle anti-aging treatments conjure up an even-toned complexion — with no scalpel involved.
Noticeably smoother skin with microneedling
The innovative treatment method ‘microneedling’ has long taken the lead in the cosmetic anti-aging field, as it delivers firmer skin in no time – with no surgical intervention at all.
During a microneedling treatment in Berlin Mitte, your skin’s outer layer is gently perforated with a fine derma stamp. The 0.1 mm needles of the derma stamp create tiny injuries in your skin. This creates thousands of micro-channels in the skin, multiplying your skin’s absorption capacity for active ingredients of all kinds. This allows us to get 86 percent of active substances to penetrate deep into your skin and cells.
Why go through this whole process? A microneedling treatment not only improves cell division but also strengthens your skin’s resilience – especially for very sensitive skin. It also refines your pores, removes the uppermost layer of skin, and visibly and tangibly smooths and rejuvenates your overall complexion. Microneedling for the eye area can offer targeted support for dark circles and under-eye bags.
What scenarios is microneedling particularly suited for?
- Scars (acne scars, surgical scars, burn scars)
- Wrinkles
- Pigmentation disorders
- Stretch marks/pregnancy stretch marks
- Scalp issues and hair loss
Minimally invasive, maximally effective: Aquafacial
The so-called ‘Aquafacial’ refers to a special, minimally invasive treatment that specifically removes dead skin cells, allowing the skin beneath to fully regenerate. Using our HYDROcareH2O device, we perform an intensive deep cleanse of your skin in our studio across four phases.
In the first phase, we remove dead skin cells until your healthy, fresh skin comes to the surface. This works through a water vortex – which is where the name ‘Aquafacial’ comes from. In phase two, we apply an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid, such as glycolic or lactic acid) solution to your skin, which softens the buildup in your pores and optimally prepares your skin for the deep cleanse.
The third phase consists of deep-cleansing your skin. Through the Aquafacial device’s vacuum effect, sebum buildup, blackheads, and dirt are drawn out of the pores. Phase four is finally used to supply your skin with moisture. This allows your skin to relax before antioxidants, vitamins, botox-like substances, and hyaluronic acid are infused into your skin via multifunctional vortex technology. So gentle, you’ll barely notice it.
What scenarios is Aquafacial particularly suited for?
- Hydration of dry and sagging skin
- minimizing enlarged pores
- immediate refinement of skin texture
- skin rejuvenation
- deep cleansing of oily and blemished skin
- reduction of wrinkles
- removal of age spots and hormonally related pigmentation disorders
Gently effective: microdermabrasion
Interested in gentle anti-aging treatments? Then the procedure known as ‘microdermabrasion’ is probably something for you. The term ‘dermabrasion’ refers to a mechanical procedure that abrades the skin. The uppermost layer of skin is abraded using special crystal, glass, or sand-blasting devices and then suctioned away with a vacuum.
This gentle, pain-free peel removes not only calluses but also dead skin particles. In addition, our polishing device can smooth out unevenness on your skin. This opens up your skin’s pores, allowing nourishing active ingredients to be absorbed better.
The treatment improves your complexion in two stages: on one hand, your skin is freed of dead skin flakes, and on the other, microdermabrasion tightens, regenerates, and rejuvenates your skin’s cell structure. It’s no surprise that microdermabrasion is one of our most popular and most frequently booked cosmetic treatments.
To maintain the rejuvenating effect of microdermabrasion, we recommend one session per month.
What scenarios is microdermabrasion particularly suited for?
- noticeable reduction of enlarged pores
- immediate refinement of skin texture
- skin rejuvenation
- deep cleansing of oily and blemished skin
- reduction of wrinkles, including fine lines around the eyes
- treatment of (acne) scars
- stretch marks and pregnancy stretch marks
- removal of age spots and hormonally related pigmentation disorders
Source: hedgehog94/shutterstock
Conclusion
Wrinkles, pigmentation spots, and sagging skin – eventually, the first signs of aging catch up with all of us. Honestly: we think there’s something beautiful about looking in the mirror and discovering the little laugh lines that show the joy written on your face. To keep it at fine, subtle lines, you can follow our 10 anti-aging tips: most important is a skincare routine ideally suited to your skin, a healthy lifestyle, and sufficient hydration – both through drinking enough water and through creams, serums, or facial oils.
If the whole aging thing is moving a bit too fast for your liking, we as a team are of course happy to help. Feel free to browse our studio shop for suitable anti-aging products – and reach out to us anytime for a consultation on microneedling, Aquafacial, microdermabrasion treatment, or acne treatment in Berlin.