Santa Barbara Cosmetic Surgery Center on How to Look Young

Many people are on a quest to retain their youthfulness – or at least to look younger than they are. Facelifts, chemical peels, Botox, and many other cosmetic surgery procedures offered by Santa Barbara cosmetic surgeon Dr. Terry Perkins can keep a person looking refreshed and, perhaps, even looking like they are a decade younger than their true age. But, alas, there is more to staying youthful than plastic surgery.

Dr. Perkins has seen many patients over his three decades of cosmetic surgery in Santa Barbara. He will readily admit that it is not just surgery alone that keeps people “young”. Here are his top ten (non-surgical) tips for defying age:

• Be happy. Being happy, not just on the outside, but also on the inside, is key. Being content with who you are can unburden you from all the stressors of wanting more, wanting something else, or wanting to be someone that you are not. 
• Protect your most delicate skin. The skin around your eyes is the thinnest and most fragile and can be the first to show signs of aging – i.e. wrinkles, crepey skin, and age spots. Moisturize and apply an SPF daily to protect this skin. Eyes are often what people notice first and you want your eyes to be surrounded by healthy, glowing skin with little to no wrinkles.
• Laughter is good medicine. Laughter can improve your mood and induce changes in your body such as stimulating your heart, lungs, and muscles with extra air intake. It also increases the endorphins that are released in your brain and acts as a tension reliever. You have lots to gain from laughing. 
• Sweat regularly. Walking and cycling are great, but give your body a boost by adding short, intense bursts of exercise. When you do this, the growth hormone – which is the most powerful way to cut body fat, tone muscle and promote anti-aging – is naturally produced by the body.
• Feed and protect your skin. Keep your skin nourished and looking plump by moisturizing daily. Always use a sunscreen, year round, to ward off the UV rays which are known to cause wrinkles, age spots, fine lines, and cancer.
• Embrace tomatoes.  Lycopene, found in the red pigment of tomatoes, is a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by sun exposure. Research has shown that adding just 5 tablespoons of tomato paste daily to your diet may reduce sun damage by 35%. Cooked tomatoes are more potent because the heat liberates three times the amount of lycopene from the plant’s tissue. 
• Breathe deeply. Ten slow and deep breathes a day can make a remarkable difference in your life. Breathing deeply massages vital organs and improves circulation in them. It also relieves tension and removes toxins. It slashes cortisol levels and lowers blood pressure. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more benefits to breathing deeply (we could write a whole blog post on that alone).
• Put your best brow forward. As we age, eyebrows tend to gray and/or thin out. Brows “shape” your face so keeping them full and colored helps. Eyebrow tinting is available at many salons or coloring them in with a specialty eyebrow kit will add back the definition that was there in your youth.
• If you snooze you … win.  Seven to nine hours of solid sleep every night helps your body and skin to regenerate. It also allows your facial muscles to relax (softening potential wrinkles) and helps to prevent bags from forming under your eyes. There are also a whole host of benefits that getting a good night’s sleep brings including boosting the immune system, relieving chronic pain, and better weight management, to name a few!
• Don’t let age stop you. Don’t succumb to the number of candles on your cake! Make your age an attitude. Do what you like to do and don’t stop just because you’ve reached a certain number. 

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