If you want to keep your youthful skin appearance, you need to know why your skin starts to change as you age. I have listed some of the most important things that affect skin appearance and some of the ways to prevent the skin from aging too fast. The sooner you start applying these ideas the longer you will keep your youthful appearance. As you age here are some of the changes that will occur: * Your top skin layer, epidermis, becomes thinner and more fragile * Your skin becomes drier, since oil glands produce less oil * The number of blood vessels decreases in your face and throughout your body. Blood brings nutrients to your skin cells, giving your skin a healthy and rosy look * Less skin cells are repaired or replace quickly * The sun and pollution start to show their effects on your skin by breaking down collagen and elastin, which give your skin its elasticity. * Your good or bad diet starts to show it effects on your skin. Your bad diet did not provide the nutrients your skin needed to be flexibly, hydrated, oxygenated, and healthy. * The un-healthy skin products you have been using start to show their bad effects on your skin. Now, you can see that skin beauty is dependent on what kind of food you eat, how you have exposed yourself to the sun and pollution, and what chemicals your facial and skin products have. Excessive exposure to the sun and pollution will damage your skin and accelerate its aging appearance - age spots, blotches, wrinkles, roughness, sagging. Here are some things you can do to slow down the aging skin. * Use sunscreen every day - You can slow down wrinkle formation and even prevent it, if you use sunscreen early in your life. Use sunscreen that contains Zinc Oxide. It is better then those that have Titanium Dioxide. Daily, use a broadband SPF 15 and for heavy out door sun activities use SPF 30. If you wear makeup, put your sunscreen on first. * On hot days and even when it is overcast use your sunscreen and a hat. Stay in the shade when possible. * Keep away from highly polluted areas and don't smoke. Smoking changes the elasticity of the skin fibers leading to rough and wrinkled skin. * Get enough sleep. Your skin repairs itself when you sleep. * When you sleep, don't sleep with you face into the pillow. * Drink plenty of water. Your skin loses water during hot days and needs plenty of water to keep hydrated. Water is found in raw fruits and vegetables. Sodas, sugar drinks, tea, (except herbal teas) coffee, or milk are not water. Rotate between buying and drinking Reverse Osmosis and Distilled water. * Minimize drinking alcohol. Alcohol can lead to spider veins and broken capillaries. It also causes your skin to become dehydrated. * Eat more fruits and vegetables. They provide plenty of antioxidants, which protect you from sun and pollution damage. * Take an antioxidant supplement, which should include up to 2000 mg of vitamin C. You may have to take the Vitamin C separate. Start using these ideas and you will see improvement on your skin. This improvement may take a few months to appear on your skin. Be patient and persistent and you will be rewarded with good skin appearance.