The Anti-Aging Thread

[Vamos]

I was asked about this in my log and I think it's an important topic: How to age as well as possible.

We can't stop ageing and that's okay, that's life. However, we can influence how we age. We are all getting older, but the question is how well? Like a good wine a little better every year, or like milk, disgusting with time?

I am doing this anti aging stuff since years now and would like to show you what I do. This is not meant to be the perfect guide. I'm sure it can all be expanded, but I don't want to go too crazy with all this stuff, true to the motto of achieving 80% of the results with 20% effort.

Perhaps this Thread will lead to a discussion, you will also inform yourselves and we will find the perfect, permanently applicable routine. Participate and bring in aspects that you know, would be awesome!

Let's go:

Of course, as with everything, genetics play a massive role, but we can't influence that. Let's focus on what we can influence.

The routine below is designed to keep the skin and your face “fresh” over the years. In the case of the skin, it is primarily the loss of collagen, elastin and lipids that causes us to age. But joints, bones and hair are also an issue.


The basics:

- Do sports, don't get fat and eat often but not always healthy, that should be a no brainer to look fresh even with more years

- Take care of your mental health. I think you can (partly) see that in people, you can see it in their eyes, their facial expressions, everything I speak from my own experience

- Take care of your general health. Looking fresh and fit for a long time is synonymous with being healthy

- Reduces stress! How? I don't know, I'm still working on that myself. But stress is a health and looks killer, you can tell by looking at people that they are stressed and there is tons of research on how it affects our health and appearance. Look at pictures of how people age in high stress jobs. There are many comparisons of politicians before they took office and a few years later.


Supplements:

Vitamin C 1-2gr daily - Promotes collagen production (i think from 1gr+) in the skin, reduces wrinkles, antioxidant (see below)

Astaxanthin 12mg daily - Very powerful antioxidant, neutralize free radicals, protect cells from damage, slow down skin aging and promote overall health, protect skin from UV damage

Beta Carotine - Weaker antioxidant, but gives a good light tanned skin tone without an even tanning

Omega 3 1500-2000mg EPA/DHA - So many effects on overall health and reduce inflammation, strengthen the skin barrier, promote moisture and elasticity of the skin and protect against premature aging

Multi Vitamin - General health, ensure you have everything you need

Ashwaganda - Stress cortisol reduction, works great for me

Vitamin D3 K2 - Bone health

Glucisamine - Joint health


Creams:

The holy grail for skin anti aging are sunscreen and tretinoin.

- Sunscreen on your face every day, actually reapply several times a day, especially in summer. SPF 30+
It protects the skin from harmful UV rays, preventing premature aging.

- Tretinoin, use the real deal from the pharmancy and not the Retin A forms from the skin care companies. This is not the most effective form. Tretinoin promotes collagen production, increases cell turnover, and reduces fine lines, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation over time.
I use it in the evening together with moisturizer or vaseline. There are lots of guides on this, check them out. Your skin may get pimples at the beginning. The stuff costs me €5 a year with a prescription in Germany, you wouldn't have to use much cream and is probably the most effective aspect of the whole list.

- Sure, you read things like Vitamins C Hylauron etc. serum, but I don't do that at the moment.


Other stuff:

Botox! So far I have used it 3 times next to my eyes to reduce the crows feet. Lasts 4-6 months and costs 90€ here. Fortunately, at the age of 34, I don't actually have any real resting wrinkles (expression/laugh lines that become permanent over time), but there is a slight appearance around the eyes, which I think is the part that makes you look less fresh. Botox relaxes the muscles in this area, allowing less contraction and fewer expression lines, which then do not become permanent as quickly.


Costs for the routine:

All in all maybe 20€ per month (except botox).


Things I am not taking, but will inform myself about:

- Collagen supplements
- NAD
- Resveratrol
- Coenzym Q10
- Metformin
- Microneedeling
- Red light masks
- co2 laser
- HGH
- Fat grafting

Further links/videos with more details about the stuff:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6204628/

 

[Holden]

I used to take ashwagandha too but apparently it's quite bad on the liver, and it's not like I noticed a lot of effects so I just stopped it.

Chris GLL and Derek from MPMD both swear by hyaluronic acid (the pure liquid you put on your face, not the creams with 2%) and so I use that, but I can't really say if it makes a difference. The problem with anti-aging stuff is you don't know if it actually works because you can't be a control group for yourself. If you don't have wrinkles it could be all the stuff you do, or it could just be your genetics. No way to know.

Also, what you didn't mention: avoiding alcohol. I don't do this lol, but it's probably one of the smartest anti-aging (and health) things you can do

 

[TonyV]

Great list! Especially the sunscreen, took me too long to get to wear it daily, the sun is really the #1 cause of premature skin aging.

Couple of things to add:
- On the basics: sleep. So damn underrated. It affects your body on so many levels: repairing of tissues damaged during the day (by the cold, by the sun...), helps your mental health and reduces your stress.
- Cold showers. Cold water tightens tissues, prevents inflammation and stimulates collagen production. Also research points at positive effect on mental health.

About reducing stress:
- Good sleep, as mentioned above
- Good social life. Work on meeting people you enjoy the company of at least twice a week.
- Laughing. If you can merge that with the previous point, great, if not, go visit a comedy club, find comedians you like on Netflix, whatever puts a smile on your face.

About supplements:
- Take a good hard look at your diet, you can easily disregard taking handful of supplements if you make an effort to load your diet with fruits, veggies and fish.

 

[Bman]

For skin care: I use beef tallow, literally the same tallow I cook with, every morning on face and lips after getting out of the shower. I also periodically put it on my lips instead of chapstick. Sometimes I'll use it as moisturizer for my tattoos as well, but if I'm lotioning my entire body, I tend to use extra virgin coconut oil rather than tallow because I'd rather smell like coconut than a hamburger. Lol Tallow used to be used in soap for a long time before companies started using other solutions for manufacturing. Keeps my skin pretty healthy and youthful looking.

 

[Akilles7]

I've been following GLL Chris's recommendations: hyaluronic acid + African Black Soap. My morning routine for the past 5 years has been (1) use the African Black Soap in the shower, (2) after drying, put on h-acid, and (3) after the acid sets in, put on dry-touch spf 70 sunscreen. In the evening I would just wash my face and put on h-acid. I can feel the skin on my face tightening from the soap and from the h-acid. I don't have any visible wrinkles or creases on my face. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning there is a very, very faint (only I have ever noticed it) horizontal line on my forehead. But it totally disappears after my routine. I think the black soap and h-acid are very effective. As for sunscreen, I once tutored a girl for a college entrance exam who had the most radiant (nearly babyish) looking skin I've ever seen. She told me her mom had been putting sunscreen on her daily since she was a toddler. Been wearing sunscreen every since lol.

I've added more to my routine this month. After reading the skin care section of @pancakemouse's guide on looksmaxxing, I've started using a purifying, foaming cleanser for normal to oily skin (my forehead gets oily sometimes), a 2% BHA liquid exfoliant with salicylic acid, and retinol serum. The cleanser I use 1-2x per day, and the exfoliant and retinol serum every other day. I don't feel anything from the cleanser, but from the retinol and exfoliant I do. Since adding these 3 to my routine, my face has become glowing, more healthy looking. I don't have a moisturizer as apparently the African Black Soap has a moisturizing effect.

I think it's fair to say I have better skin than most people I know. A lot of friends my age - that I know for a fact don't take care of their skin - already have deep lines in their foreheads. Even my ex-girlfriend (22 currently) has 3 visible lines on her forehead (she wrinkles her forehead a lot and follows a different routine). BUT, in addition to the stuff above, I (A) am not naturally expressive with my face and smile infrequently, (B) don't spend much time in the sun, (C) have a haircut that shields the upper 1/3rd of my face and facial hair that covers the lower 1/3rd, (D) more often than not get good quality sleep, (E) am not stressed, (F) exercise almost daily, (G) eat very healthy (largely eggs, steaks, salads, fish, milk, nuts) and (H) genetically have decent skin. Both my parents looked to be in their mid-20s in their 30s.

I don't think my genetics are the best, though. Without the basic routine I've followed for the last 5 years I feel I would look slightly older. I don't think I would look my current age (27), but I would look something close to it (maybe around 25). As I am now, strangers think I'm in college/my early 20s. That's with facial hair. I don't shave because the last time I did (3 years ago), I looked like a teenager. In sum, I think Chris's recommendations work very well.

I've taken Ashwaghanda, but I didn't experience any noticeable decrease in stress. A friend of mine, however, swears by it and cycles on and off. I've taken supplements but only for increased energy and productivity. May try Beta Carotine since I don't spend much time in the sun, but I do look better with a tan.

 

[Vamos]

Even my ex-girlfriend (22 currently) has 3 visible lines on her forehead

In the end, as is so often the case, genetics are a big deal. My two sisters, 30 and 32, don't have a single resting wrinkle on their faces, whereas I see some women 10 years younger with forehead wrinkles. My parents over 60 don't have real deep wrinkles either. Of course they don't look like they are in their early 20s, because wrinkles are just one thing, but it's also the loss of collagen, elastin and lipids.
What has been misunderstood in some posts here is that scincare and anti aging have big overlaps but are not the same thing. Anti aging is about protecting collagen, elastin and lipids, this can be done partly with skincare from the outside, but also from the inside.

retinol serum

If you want, upgrade to tretinoin from the pharmacy. Retinol is the over-the-counter weaker form of tretinoin that needs to be metabolized in the skin before it becomes active. Like testosterone boosters vs testosterone injections.

I've taken Ashwaghanda, but I didn't experience any noticeable decrease in stress.

I used to take ashwagandha too but apparently it's quite bad on the liver, and it's not like I noticed a lot of effects so I just stopped it.

How long did you take it? It definitely works for me. Of course, it's not that you notice it strongly and immediately, but after a while, when i thought about how it used to be with the stress before, I notice a difference. For example, I used to take ibuprofen in the office because I used to get headaches and tunnel vision when I was stressed. Since Ashwaganda, all that has gone.

If you don't have wrinkles it could be all the stuff you do, or it could just be your genetics. No way to know.

Also, what you didn't mention: avoiding alcohol. I don't do this lol, but it's probably one of the smartest anti-aging (and health) things you can do

Yes, as with so many things in life. But there is scientific evidence that these things have an influence on collagen protection and collagen synthesis. Does that make up 1%, 5%, 10% or 50% of the "success"? We'll never know, unless we have two identical twins, one does it and the other doesn't.
But in the end, it's worth the €20-25 a month to me. Because even if the effect on anti-ageing were just small (i think they are solid), the supplements still have many other positive health effects. For example, I wasn't sick a single day in 2024.

Yes, the good old alcohol, simply too delicious, I don't want to live without it haha