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From headstands and honey to gurning and grapes, these experts share their own personal secrets for fighting off the signs of ageing
Moisturisers and SPF creams aren’t the only way to avoid wrinkles.
Here, beauty gurus share their unusual secrets.
Exercise your neck
“The neck is a big age giveaway and needs help to keep it taut, toned and firm.
"An exercise I swear by is to lie on your back with your head hanging over the edge of the bed, then lift your head towards your chest. Repeat 10 times every evening.” Noella Gabriel, director of product development.
Serve tea and cucumber
“When my eyes look puffy or tired, I soak chamomile tea bags in cold water and place them over my eyelids for 10 minutes. It leaves me with pepped-up peepers.
"To temporarily tighten the complexion, I place chilled slices of cucumbers on my eyes and cheeks.”
Rivka Rose, founder, Faith in Nature skincare faithinnature.co.uk
Use an ice pack
“To stimulate my skin cells, shrink fluid retention and reduce redness and visible capillaries, I wrap ice in a muslin cloth and roll it all over my face."It leaves you with a rosy, youthful complexion.”Facialist Sarah Chapman sarahchapman.net
Drink from a flask
“It’s essential to drink plenty of water to keep skin hydrated, but I try not to drink from plastic bottles as it causes wrinkles around the mouth."Use a flask with a cup attached instead.” Marcyanna Legan, MD of Skincare Company Racinne racinne.co.uk
Change your cleanser
“Use an oil-based cleanser that won’t strip away natural oils and massage make-up off with plenty of product."Apply pressure across (not along) your frown lines – try a zig-zag motion under the eyes when massaging.” Facialist Su-Man su-man.com
Practice facial yoga
“Facial yoga helps to support the contours of your face, delays wrinkles and improves deep-set lines. Place your fingers on the edge of your jaw and pull towards your ears. This disperses fat around the jaw.” Wren Holmes, UrbanVeda skincare urbanveda.co.uk
Eat face foods
“Wild salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that moisturise from within for smooth, soft, flexible and glowing skin. I eat two to three servings of wild (not farmed) salmon a week. Avocados are also full of monounsaturated oil, vitamin E and B complex vitamins that repair and protect skin from free radical damage. I eat avocados three to four times a week.” Nigma Talib, naturopathic doctor healthydoc.com
Pack in the powder
“Renowned make-up artist Laura Mercier told me never to put powder in the crow’s feet around my eyes. It just makes wrinkles look bigger.” Kirsten Carriol, Lanolips’ creator lanolips.com/uk
Do a headstand
“Headstands are great for getting the blood to flow to the face, oxygenating your complexion and helping to remove wrinkle-inducing toxins.” Esther Fieldgrass, founder, EF Medispa, efmedispa.com
Try “oil pulling”
“To maintain youthful skin I do the Ayurvedic practice of ‘oil pulling’.
"I take a teaspoon of organic sesame oil, swish it in my mouth for a minute each morning and then spit it out. It helps detoxify the body and improve skin.” Dr Pauline Hili, founder, Nourish Skin Range, nourishskinrange.com
Massage back-handed
“Dot a small amount of cream on the backs of both hands, then, with the backs of your hands, massage your neck upwards and outwards in long strokes until the cream is fully absorbed.
“This won’t ‘drag’ at the skin, like fingertips do, and helps prevent ageing signs on the backs of the hands as well as your neck.” Liz Warom, founder, Temple Spa, templespa.com
Drink green tea
“I drink a cup of green tea daily and keep a punnet of blueberries at my desk to nibble.
"They both provide a powerful dose of protective antioxidants that keep wrinkles at bay.”
Kristy Cimesa, founder, Elemental Herbology, elementalherbology.com
Say yes to serums
“To fight inflammation and ageing free radicals, I use an antioxidant serum, and to hydrate I drink 1.5 litres of water a day.
"I follow my antioxidant serum with a good hyaluronic serum, which can absorb up to 1,000 times its weight in moisture.” Jill Zander, founder, Jill Zander Skin Rejuvenation Clinic, jillzander.co.uk
Give gurning a go
“I do facial gymnastics to tackle wrinkles every day. Puff out your cheeks and move the air from one to the other. Do this three times.
"Then, with your lips slightly pouting, gently blow as if you’re blowing bubbles. Smile widely, hold for three seconds and release. Repeat three times.” Donna Tait, skincare expert at Resultime, resultime.co.uk
Tuck into honey
“I’m a great believer in using natural ingredients. Getting more honey in your diet is great for the face. It’s good at helping the skin absorb moisture.” Helen Ambrosen, co-founder and product inventor, Lush, lush.co.uk
Enjoy a smoothie
“My secret to good skin is a daily smoothie of spinach, kiwi, banana and unsweetened almond milk.
"Spinach is an excellent source of iron. Without it you can’t transport oxygen efficiently, which can leave you with pale skin. The vitamin C in kiwis helps make collagen for new skin cells and the vitamin E in almond milk protects the skin.” Sharon Hilditch, founder, Crystal Clear skincare, crystalclear.co.uk
Pinch yourself
“I pinch my skin to keep it plumped and youthful as pinching stimulates the fat cells under the skin to keep it firm, full and tight.” Dr Terry Loong, skin energy doctor, drterry.com
Guzzle grapes
“I try to have a Mediterranean diet and every September I eat only grapes for three days. They’re full of antioxidants, which help to give you really beautiful skin.” Mathilde Thomas, co-founder, Caudalie skincare, uk.caudalie.com
Photos: blackdoctor.org
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