IT may surprise you to hear that many people spot the first signs of ageing when they hit just 25.
The ageing process can creep up quickly, with the first three areas usually affected being dark circles under your eyes, twin lines inbetween your brows and wrinkles on your forehead.
But according to skin repair expert to the stars Lorena Öberg, there are simple mistakes you could be making every day that's excelling the ageing process by up to 20 years.
Simply by observing and changing your behaviour and habits, she says you can knock years off and in some cases even reverse the process.
Here, Lorena, who has advised and treated hundreds of patients, reveals the six most common mistakes and how you can avoid the damage.
1. WEARING HEAVY MAKE UP AND FALSE EYE LASHES
Lorena says that the first ageing mistake that women make is wearing a heavy foundation that doesn't allow their skin to breathe.
"This will result in the accumulation of dirt and bacteria that will not just clog your pores until you take your make up off, but it will cause the skin cells and pores to destabilise," she explains.
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"The cells will over-produce oil in an aim to re-balance your skin but this will leave you prone to acne and scarring.
"Once the surface of your skin becomes sensitive from this, it weakens, causing fine lines and wrinkles to appear."
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The skin expert goes on to say that foundation will also cause your skin to dry out, making your wrinkles even more noticeable, which makes you look much older than you are.
"Fake lashes are also surprisingly heavy on your eyelids and medium to long-term use will see your skin loosen up and cause elasticity," she continues.
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"You will be more susceptible to premature fine lines and wrinkles from pulling and tugging on the delicate area."
How to avoid damage: Lorena advises switching your foundation to a CC cream or BB Cream.
"They're traditionally less thick in consistency/application than foundation," she says. "Ensure you have a ‘make–up holiday’ a couple of days a week for your skin to repair itself and just simply allow it to breathe."
The beauty expert goes on to advise that when taking off false eyelashes, do so carefully and "opt for oil based make up removal solution" to avoid further damage.
2. YOUR WEEKLY MANICURE
Lorena points out that many people are wrong in thinking that UV light exposure is just a factor to consider when you're outside.
"You can be exposed to UV light indoors," she points out. "Over exposure to UV light is widely known to cause premature ageing and a host of skin complaints by the UV rays damaging the cell’s core DNA. "
She proceeds to say that whether the salon you frequent uses LED lamps or UV lamps, they're the same – both giving off UV radiation that can cause skin damage.
"Your hands are a major giveaway for your age and regular gel manicures will age your hands by as much as 20 years," Lorena adds.
How to avoid damage: The skin repair expert notes it's important to take a break and let your nails and skin around your hands repair and rehydrate.
"Get into the habit of applying hand cream on both hands nightly to add back in any lost moisture so the skin on your hands 'self heals' over night," she comments.
3. HAVING A HOT BATH
As we head into Winter we all look forward to a long hot bath, however, this habit can be a disaster zone for your supple skin, according to Lorena.
"Hot water can make your skin dry out because it draws out the moisture and natural oils it inhibits," she explains.
"Once the skins oil barrier has been removed not only will it extenuate your fine lines and wrinkles, it'll help instigate newer wrinkles because your skin will be dryer, more sensitive and easier for toxins to penetrate."
How to avoid damage: The skin repair expert recommends keeping your baths cooler and to a shorter time frame.
"Don’t just switch your hot bath for a hot shower," Lorena warns. "This causes the exact same damage due to the heat/steam it creates.
"Always have the window a jar or ensure there is some ventilation to let the hot damp air escape."
4. YOUR FAVE FACIAL MOVEMENTS
The beauty guru notes that frowning and smiling widely can also dramatically age you.
"Sudden and undesirable creases and folds can become permanent from simply laughing and frowning and other common facial movements you make," Lorena explains.
"Although one might say you can't keep a straight face forever, over-exaggerated expressions should be limited to reduce grooves, folds and ridges from easily forming in the skin through use of your favourite facial muscles."
She goes on to say that from the age of 25, your skin is not as supple and flexible as it once was and it'll naturally struggle to repair itself.
"The creases and grooves become a permanent physical fixture and the older you get the deeper they get causing them to look prominent," Lorena adds.
How to avoid damage: The skin repair expert advises limitingrepetitive movements that focus on particular facial muscles.
"By simply paying a little bit of attention to your expressions you can stop the clock instantly," she points out.
5. SLEEPING ON YOUR FRONT OR SIDE
The beauty pro warns that any contact your face has with your pillow when you're sleeping can spell bad news for your face.
And it's not good news for people who sleep on their side or their stomach.
"You won’t just wake up with temporary creases on your face that fade as the day goes on, the creases or small folds caused by your sleeping position will create permanent wrinkles," Lorena explains.
"Wrinkles are caused by compression, tension and gravity as the weight of your head misshapes the natural formation of your skin and as you naturally loose elasticity as you age premature ageing occurs."
How to avoid damage: Lorena recommends sleeping on a silk pillow – adding that this will cause "much less friction to the skin."
She explains: "Silk pillows are friendlier to your face and they don’t just protect your skin, they also protect your hair as the limit any breakages caused by moving around as you sleep."
6. GRINDING & CLENCHING YOUR TEETH
Lorena notes that many of her patients complain about teeth grinding.
"I'm no a dentist but it's important to understand that our teeth are a vital part to our facial structure and shape and central to defining our features," she says.
"With this in mind, a large percentage of my patients who clench or grind their teeth have more fine lines and wrinkles around their mouths and jowls."
She goes onto say that it's a bad habit that's hard to break because the root cause of teeth grinding and clenching is down to tension, stress and anxiety.
"Premature ageing forms around your lips and jowls due to the break down of collagen and elasticity which make you look 20 years older," she continues.
"The mouth area is very noticeable ageing zone because as we speak the eye directs us to that part of your face."
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How to avoid damage: Lorena advises finding a therapy to stop you from grinding and clenching your teeth.
"In addition, dermal fillers and PDO threads are highly effective in putting back what time has taken away in a natural and subtle way," she concludes.
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