Aging is a natural process that comes with its own set of pros and cons. However, as we grow older, it seems we get more cons than pros - especially how aging affects our appearance. No matter how much we try to take it in our stride, our vanity seems to get in the way and we wish that we could turn back the clock on our skin, hair, or even fashion.

Does this sound like you? Are you wondering how to look younger without compromising your unique personal style? Well, you're not alone. In this article, we'll talk about how to develop some healthy habits as well as some easy tricks to help you look younger than your age.

How to Make Your Body Look and Feel Younger

No matter how young you feel in your mind, you can't project a comprehensive image if your body doesn't look and feel younger. Our bodies respond to the love and care we shower on it. We need to look after our bodies to stay feeling healthy, young, and rejuvenated. Let's find out how to look younger and feel even better by cultivating these positive habits.

1. Stay hydrated

Drinking at least 10-12 glasses of water a day is a great way to turn back the age clock. Water is a wonderful moisturizer and it flushes out toxins from your body. Drinking water at regular intervals reduces the appearance of wrinkles, makes your skin appear clearer, and can even help you lose weight. Also, while it's ironic that drinking more water makes you feel less bloated, not feeling sluggish is a great perk of staying hydrated.

Think you may forget to drink water at regular intervals? Download an app that will remind you when it's time to hydrate yourself again. You can also get an infuser bottle and fill it with lemon, mint leaves, or fresh fruits to give yourself more incentive to stay hydrated.

2. Take vitamins

If you want to know how to look younger than your age, you need to include vitamin-enriched foods in your diet. Take these vitamins in your diet to make your body look younger and to feel more energetic:

• Vitamin A helps to prevent sun damage, increases facial blood flow for a plumper and more youthful skin, and balances pigments. Foods rich in vitamin A include carrots, apricots, beef liver, and mangoes.
• Vitamin B6 decreases the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Add some spinach, chicken breast, or white rice to your diet to get the most out this vitamin.
• Vitamin C gives you youthful, dewy skin by keeping age spots and wrinkles at bay. Increase your intake of vitamin C by including oranges, lemon, kiwi, and red peppers in your daily diet.
• Vitamin D increases your skin's ability to repair itself by boosting the cell renewal process. Make sure you include cod liver oil, yogurt, salmon, and cheese on a regular basis.
• Vitamin K smoothes wrinkles, reduces under-eye puffiness, and decreases pigmentation spots. Green leafy vegetables are the best source of this vitamin, as well as having other health benefits.

3. Don't smoke

Smoking has a bad reputation for a good reason. The chemicals in cigarettes dry out your skin and make wrinkles appear faster; that is, smoking triggers premature aging. Smoking also makes skin sag because it decreases oxygen and nutrient delivery to your skin by constricting blood vessels. Avoid the unattractive haggard look and quit this habit.

4. Avoid heavy or regular alcohol consumption

Regular or heavy alcohol consumption can also trigger premature aging. Alcohol decreases the antioxidants in your body and dries out your skin, making it look older and more wrinkly. Limit alcohol consumption to the occasional evenings out rather than as a regular habit to reduce its detrimental effects on your body.

5. Get lots of sleep

Sleep, together with naps, rejuvenates both your mind and body. Your skin cells function according to your circadian rhythms, that is, the sleep-wake cycle. During the day your skin is exposed to UV-rays of the sun, pollution, and stress. Sleep helps to repair tired and haggard skin by boosting the cell regeneration process. So skimping on sleep will affect the regeneration process, leading to premature aging.

Try to get at least eight hours of sleep every day to give your skin the time to repair itself.

6. Exercise regularly

Exercise not only helps you maintain a healthy heart and body weight, but it can also help you feel younger. Regular exercise that includes a good balance of cardio and yoga improves your muscle tone. Moreover, when you sweat during a workout, toxins are flushed out of your body, giving you clear, even, and glowing skin.

7. Reduce stress

How to look young when stress is getting you down? First, let's look at what stress does to your body.

When you are stressed, your body releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which speed up the aging process in the long term. Cortisol inhibits the growth of new skin cells and breaks down collagen, a compound that keeps your skin fresh. Adrenaline reduces blood flow to your skin and leaves you looking tired and washed out. Stress also adversely affects your telomeres, the protective ends of your DNA that keep your cells healthy and in a well-functioning state.

Try to control stress by knowing what is likely to trigger stress in you. You can also try long, therapeutic walks, meditation, and yoga to bring your stress levels down.

8. Have a young attitude

How can you look young when you don't feel young? Get in touch with your former self and cultivate a younger attitude. Be more open to new things, meet friends and family regularly, be active and exercise regularly, and dress sharper. Do this for a week and you will feel the change in your mind as well as your body.

Tips and Tricks to Look Younger

Apart from the aforementioned tips to keep your body young and healthy, take the following tricks for you to appear younger.

• Hide thinning hair with a haircut

Gravity causes thin or balding hair to stick closer to the scalp, exposing the skin and making you look older. Get a haircut with layers to look sharper and younger.

• Dress for your age and body shape

Wear well-fitted clothes with a narrow silhouette to create a fitter illusion. Take some time to know your body shape and choose clothes that flatter features you want to highlight.

• Wear bright colors

Don't be afraid to throw in a bright scarf or a lovely, colorful blouse to refresh your look. Throw in some details like messy beach hair or an edgy jacket to change things up.

• Wear makeup that makes you look more youthful

Wondering how to look younger using makeup? Let's just say less is more in this case. Opt for a foundation that doesn't cake up, use a concealer to brighten up your eyes, and go for a "no makeup" look for a more youthful and trendy appearance.

Final Thoughts

Looking and feeling younger is a product of good lifestyle choices and knowing how to express yourself with effort and grace through your fashion decisions. Start off with a change in attitude and follow it up with good habits like exercising regularly, taking your vitamins, and getting some solid sleep to look younger than your age.