Aging is a necessary part of life. As of each us grow wiser and knowledgeable we also grow older as does our skin! Human Kind has ever been on the hunt for the fountain of youth, and although the antidote to eternal youth may be one of dreams, this research has lead to a better understanding of aging and what factors can rapidly accelerate aging and what can help slow it down especially when it comes to our skin.

Skin aging has two major contributors to its process. The first is intrinsic aging i.e. the natural aging of our skin. The second is the extrinsic aging caused by our environments, free radical damage, chemical factors and stress. So when we talk anti-aging its referring to the process of slowing down, preventing and counteracting the degradation of our skin’s cells DNA.

There are a number of lifestyle measures that can be taken to promote anti-aging, that being to live a healthy life, eat a well balanced diet, ensure to get adequate amounts of sleep, drink enough water per day, exercise regularly, and reduce stress wherever possible. This is sometimes easier said than done! Especially in our fast paced lifestyle so many of us live.

We can combat aging both internally & externally. Internally we can do with nutrition and herbs! As research develops we are now learning that antioxidants are wonderful allies for anti -aging, they are compounds that appear to protect cells from oxidative stress damage. Some nutritional  allies include red, blue and black berries, dark leafy greens and dark chocolate! (who said eating healthy had to be boring!) There a also many herbs both traditionally and currently used for anti-aging. Some of these herbs that can be added to your anti-aging arsenal include turmeric, ginseng, garlic, pomegranate and ginko.

Externally there is also a number of actions we can take to protect, hydrate and restore. Here in Australia you wouldn’t even dream of going outside in Summer without SPF on you! SPF Sunscreen helps protect our skin from UV which can hugely accelerate the aging process. We can keep our skin hydrated and moisturised which helps anti-aging as it puts the moisture back in our skin giving it a youthful appearance. Specific ingredients can help restore skins beauty by countering damage from the sun, environmental and lifestyle factors causing free radical damage than can lead to early signs ageing and accelerate our skin’s aging process. A number of these powerful ingredient’s include Vitamin E, Pomegranate Oil and Olive Oil all which can be found in Herbal Hiraeth’s Mother Nature’s Restoring Facial Serum. Certain oils can also improve skin elasticity and act as an astringent improving both firmness and tone, such as Frankincense Oil also found in Herbal Hiraeth’sMother Nature’s Restoring Facial Serum.

So in summary there is many things we can do naturally to slow down the natural aging process, so you can age gracefully and beautifully and love the skin your in no matter what age you are!

Candice O’Shannessy

Founder & Herbalist