How to Protect Yourself from Environmental Aging

With each year that goes by, you add to your incredible life with new experiences, new friends, new journeys...and occasionally, new fine lines or gray hairs. There’s no shame in showing signs of aging — everyone ages eventually, and wrinkles can be a beautiful badge of the long, full life you’ve lived so far.

But do you want to start showcasing them prematurely?

Aging naturally is one thing. But aging ten or twenty years early thanks to unnecessary skin damage is a whole different matter.

Whether or not crow's feet are already creasing your eyes, you don’t have to blindly wait for time to take its toll. Find out what causes those early wrinkles and learn how to keep your skin taut and radiant for years to come.

How Free Radical Damage Causes Wrinkles 

Have you been hoping that some miracle of genetics will save you from the signs of aging?

Good genes can help, but your skin’s condition is also decided by damage from environmental stressors. For example, how many of the following do you encounter on a day-to-day basis?

• UV radiation from sunlight
• Pollution
• Cigarette smoke
• Pesticides
• Chemical cleaners
• Blue light from device screens

Depending on your lifestyle, you’re probably dealing with some (or all) of these harmful triggers. But what makes them so dangerous for your skin?

The danger lies with tiny molecules called free radicals.

These little molecules already exist in your body and won’t hurt you in moderation. However, it’s important to keep them in balance. When everything is running smoothly, your body keeps free radicals in check and even uses them as weapons to help fight off disease.

But environmental stressors completely demolish this balance, producing free radicals in high doses and disrupting your body’s natural processes.

Science fact: This nasty imbalance is called oxidative stress.

It can happen on the most normal of days. You run errands downtown, give your house a bleach-filled spring cleaning, or even enjoy a lovely afternoon out in the sun. Along the way, your skin absorbs hidden pollutants that ramp up the free radicals in your body.

These free radicals are unstable, so they constantly interact with your cells and spread their instability. When too many free radicals pile up in your system, it creates a domino effect. Little by little, they knock your previously healthy cells out of rhythm and leave damage in their wake.

The disruptive influence of free radicals spreads through your body like chaos in a kindergarten. Have you ever seen a group of well-behaved children suddenly go wild when one kid starts acting up? Free radicals are like that one kid, setting a bad example that throws your whole system into panicked disarray.

 

And what do you think happens when your skin cells succumb to this free radical disruption?

That’s right, premature aging. Left with weakened defenses and decreased regeneration, your irreplaceable complexion soon falls victim to fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, sagging, and more.

Your skin is most vulnerable to this process because it endures the most contact with triggers like pollution and sun radiation.

The #1 trigger of premature aging is UV radiation. Just one more reason to wear sunscreen every day!

Long story short, the whole terrible process breaks down like this:

Environmental stressors → free radicals → damaged, aging skin

No, thank you! Isn’t there a way to break this dreadful chain of events?

Your first instinct is probably to protect your skin by eliminating those harmful environmental stressors that kickstart the whole process. And certainly, you can limit your exposure to cigarettes or cut back on the sunbathing. But it’s not that easy. You can’t just stop running your errands and live in a contamination-free bubble. In the course of your normal, daily life, some level of pollution is bound to creep in.

So if you can’t eliminate the triggers, how can you resist premature aging from your environment?

Fighting Free Radicals With Natural Antioxidants

If you want to keep your free radical levels safely balanced, antioxidants are the key.

Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals by making them more stable. These newly stable free radicals stop disrupting your cells and don’t end up wrecking the integrity of your skin (or other organs).

Essentially, antioxidants are like the kindergarten teacher that calms down unruly free radicals before they set the entire class on a path of child anarchy.

Of course, for antioxidants to do this all-important job, first you need to get them into your system. So what’s the best way to do that? You may already have a few ideas of your own.

“Blueberries are full of antioxidants, right? I’ll just start eating a ton of blueberries.”

You’re not wrong. Eating an antioxidant-packed diet is one great way to introduce more helpful antioxidants into your body. But you don’t have to glut yourself on blueberries alone to keep free radicals at bay — there are dozens of options to up your antioxidant intake. Vitamins like A, C, and E are excellent nutrients to get you started and are easily added to your diet.

 

But diet is only half the battle. For the most thorough antioxidant enrichment, a two-pronged approach works best: both internal and external.

While you’re feeding your body internally with antioxidant-rich foods, you can also nourish your skin externally with antioxidant-rich skincare.

The Power of Antioxidant-rich Skincare

Want to protect your precious skin from the ravages of time and free radicals? Preventative aging is the skincare for you.

Our Forever Radiant Kit is crafted to support and maintain your innate beauty with wild-harvested botanical extracts. Bursting with natural antioxidants, every product in the Kit empowers your skin and helps defend against free radical damage.

As a complete AM/PM routine, Forever Radiant keeps your skin consistently infused with revitalizing nutrients. And all in just four easy steps!

1. Opulent Hydration Dew: A light, refreshing mist saturated with soothing botanicals. The Dew takes its clear-sky color from blue tansy, which also imbues this mist with calming antioxidants.
2. Refining Cleansing Nectar: This rinseless cleanser comes infused with nourishing oils like kahai, which bathes your skin in vitamin E for full cleansing and illumination.
3. Invigorating Renewing Elixir: A smooth clay mask reinforced with rare extracts like Kakadu plum, the world’s richest natural source of vitamin C. Worn overnight, the Elixir soaks your skin in protective antioxidants and prepares it for the day ahead.
4. Decadent Restoring Cream: This silky moisturizer pairs rejuvenating peptides with pure, antioxidant-rich fruit extracts like strawberry and pomegranate. Together, they deliver deep hydration and help defend your skin all day long.

 

With skincare like this, there’s no need to sequester yourself away from the world. From start to finish, the Forever Radiant Kit gives your skin the nutrients it needs to balance out free radicals and maintain its youthful luster.

There are indeed a lot of potential pollutants out there in your environment, and trying to protect yourself can feel overwhelming. But you don’t have to live in fear! Partnered with a vitamin-forward diet, sensible precautions, and a good sunscreen, antioxidant skincare can be the cornerstone of your holistic, skin-empowering lifestyle.

So, what is vibrant, healthy skin worth to you? If you’re ready to protect your one-of-a-kind complexion, invest in yourself today with the Forever Radiant Kit. Your skin will thank you!