From brushing your hair 100 times, to drinking a gallon of water a day to plump up your skin – we’ve all heard anti-ageing advice from our mothers and grandmothers.
And the same thing holds true for women across the globe, in many different cultures.
Women all over the world are proving you can age well and gracefully, and you don’t have to go under the knife or spend your entire paycheck on a fancy new anti-aging cream.
“Other cultures take advantage of natural ingredients,” dermatologist Joshua Zeichner.
From the glowing skin of women in Latin America to the clear complexions of our friends in Asia, we’ve rounded up the best anti-aging treatments from cultures around the world.
China
Many teas are high in anti-ageing antioxidants. White tea and green tea are rich in an antioxidant known as EGCG, which helps battle wrinkles and helps increase cell turnover. The Chinese mix green tea powder into brewed white tea to create a face mask. Apply this to your face to help fight wrinkles and load your skin with plumping antioxidants.
India
Start the day off like women in India, with a warm cup of ginger tea. Mix some shredded ginger and honey into some hot water. A cup of this tea is loaded with anti-ageing benefits. Honey has natural anti-bacterial properties and helps reduce inflammation. Ginger is rich in an antioxidant called gingerol, which helps protect against collagen breakdown.
Mexico
It’s well known that our hands are one of the first things that give away our age. The skin on our hands loses its elasticity and fullness. In Mexico, women mix together sugar and lemon juice to create a scrub for the hands. The sugar crystals act as an exfoliant to helping slough away dull dead skin. Lemon juice contains alpha hydroxy acid, found in many anti-aging treatments, which also helps peel away the layer of dead skin cells. “When you exfoliate, your moisturisers penetrate better. In the more mature population, we don’t shed our skin as effectively and so exfoliating can be helpful,” dermatologist Susan Weinkle said.
Polynesia
You may have heard of noni juice as a hot, new beauty product that models are raving about. But it’s actually been around for thousands of years, being indigenous to the southeastern part of the globe. Polynesians use the fruit for its moisturising, anti-ageing properties. Studies have shown that it’s effective in softening the appearance of crow’s feet, fine lines, and wrinkles.
France
Studies have shown grape seed extract supplements can actually boost the levels of antioxidants in your blood. It has also been known to protect the collagen and elastin in your skin— the proteins that give your skin elasticity and firmness. Grape seed extract supplements are popular in France. You’d have to eat over a pound of grapes to get the same benefit as you do from 50 mg of the supplement!
Reference: www.huffingtonpost.com
